US President Barack Obama has joined British Prime Minister Gordon Brown in calling for a global solution to the economic crisis.
Both leaders vowed to repair their countries' shattered financial systems.
President Obama said he was ‘absolutely confident’ his administration's plans to deal with toxic bank assets would succeed.
In an unusual comment, he played down the big declines in the stock market recently and said share prices and the economy would revive in the long term.
‘What I'm looking at is not the day-to-day gyrations of the stock market but the long-term ability for the US and the entire world economy to regain its footing,’ he said during a meeting in the Oval Office with Mr Brown.
Mr Brown was the first European leader to meet the new president.
Under discussion was a co-ordinated approach aimed at easing the financial crisis, which could include closer international regulation of banks and financial markets.
US agreement would be essential to the success of any plan.
The talks were also to cover the war in Afghanistan, where the US wants more help from Europe, and climate change.
Mr Brown's address to the joint Houses of Congress tomorrow is likely to include a warning against countries adopting protectionist policies during the recession.
