President Bush noted Monday that it will take some time for the Treasury Department to enact the nation's financial rescue plan.

"I believe that in the long run, this economy is going to be just fine," the president said. In the meantime, the Treasury Department will be purchasing troubled assets from financial firms to get credit moving again to consumers.

Mr. Bush's comments came on a tough day for Wall Street as the Dow Jones industrials plummeted 800 points and dropped below 10,000 for the first time since 2004. All the major indexes plunged more than 7 percent. After falling by as much as 800, the Dow recovered to a loss of 369.88, to close at 9,950.50.

So intense was the selling spree Monday that only 264 stocks rose on the New York Stock Exchange Monday while 2,986 dropped, the Associated Press reported.

Since investors' decisions are often based on their sense of the economy's future, Monday's actions on Wall Street signal the belief that the U.S. crisis is not going to end anytime soon.

And it is spreading to other countries. In recent days, European governments have attempted to save failing banks. The governments of Germany, Ireland and Greece guaranteed bank deposits; Denmark and Iceland followed. France held a meeting Monday with top finance officials to address the crisis.

Sell-offs in Asian markets affected the Europeans. Russia closed both its stock markets after they fell more than 15 percent.

The European Union's 27 countries seem to be handling the crisis separately rather than in a united fashion. France, which holds the rotating leadership of the European Union, said that each country has pledged to take "all necessary measures to ensure the stability of the financial system."

Congress has acted with legislation designed to stabilize the U.S. financial system. That is positive. Meanwhile, the crisis has spread abroad and other governments are taking action to limit the turmoil in their own markets. None of this will be a quick fix.