US President George W. Bush signed the $700 billion bailout bill on Friday shortly after it was approved by the Congress, paving the way for what many hope will be the first step of a recovery plan that will prevent the US stock market from plummeting further.

Bush appeared outside the White House shortly after the House of Representatives passed the bill 263 to 171. “There were moments this week when some thought that the federal government could not rise to the challenge. But thanks to the hard work of members of both parties in both houses, and the spirit of cooperation between Capitol Hill and my administration, we completed this bill in a timely manner,” the US President said.

The vote capped two weeks of turmoil on Wall Street as the American financial market prepared to confront what has been described at the gravest economic crisis since the Great Depression in the 1930’s.

In anticipation of the vote stocks were up on Friday in Wall Street however the job market has plummeted with statistics for the month of September saying close to 160,000 people had their jobs slashed the largest cut since the terror attacks of September 11.

The coming days and weeks will tell whether the bill succeeded in preventing the American economy from sinking further as well as the world markets. 10/04/08