scale rescue of banks in Europe's largest economy. "The downward spiral has gathered pace. Case by case answers are not going to help any more, even in Germany," he said in Washington. Bush will meet with the G7 ministers on Saturday, while Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson will also be hosting an emergency meeting of finance chiefs from the world's 20 leading economies, in a sign of how far the crisis has spread. Dominique Strauss-Kahn, managing director of the International Monetary Fund, said Thursday the world was on the "cusp" of a recession. The IMF and World Bank also hold their annual meetings this weekend. Bush announced no new moves to ease the US credit crunch that has curbed the availability of loans to consumers and small businesses. Instead he cited the litany of US government interventions and powers already in play after Congress last week passed a 700-billion- dollar rescue package that gives the Treasury broad authority to intervene in the banking system. "We know what the problems are, we have the tools to fix them and we are working quickly to do so," Bush said.
