Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said that the US government planned to invest directly in US banks to prevent them from failing, expanding the focus of the government's 700-billion-dollar rescue plan.

The Italian employers' association predicts negative growth for the country next year, its head said on Saturday, down nearly one percentage point to minus 0.5 percent, ANSA news agency reported.

US President George W. Bush said on Saturday after crisis talks with finance ministers from the G7 rich countries that all agreed the world financial meltdown required "a serious global response".

The US government plans to invest directly in US banks for the first time since the Great Depression, Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said Friday, expanding the focus of the government's 700-billion-dollar rescue plan.

US President George W. Bush on Saturday sought to reassure Americans about the long-term health of the US economy in the face of an acute financial crisis.