Britain has announced a new economic stimulus package, and
the United States says it could take more of its own measures to repair the
shattered financial system.
British Finance Minister Alistair Darling announced a 30 billion-dollar package
(Monday) that supports struggling households and cuts certain taxes to
get people spending again.
He also sharply downgraded his economic outlook for Britain, saying the economy
could shrink as much as one-and-a-quarter percent next year.
In Washington, President George Bush said the government could make more
decisions like the new bailout of banking giant Citigroup.
The U.S. government agreed Sunday to guarantee 306 billion dollars worth of
Citigroup's risky loans and assets.
The rescue plan also gives Citigroup another 20 billion dollars to stabilize
the company after its stocks lost 60 percent of their value last week. (The
cash injection will come from the 700 billion-dollar financial package approved
by Congress.)