Bush, Paulson pleased by Fed action

WASHINGTON, March 17 (UPI) -- U.S. President George Bush and economic advisers are pleased with the Federal Reserve's actions on Bear Stearns, U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said.

J.P. Morgan's $2-a-share purchase of troubled investment bank Bear Stearns during the weekend came with the aid of $30 billion in financing from the U.S. Federal Reserve. The Fed also lowered interest rates by a quarter-point Sunday to stem panic over financial house's collapse.

"We're quite pleased by actions, given the way the markets are performing," Paulson said.

Bush, opening to reporters the normally closed meeting he has with his economic advisers, said he is confident the government has taken "strong and decisive action" on the economy.

"One thing is for certain -- we're in challenging times. But another thing is for certain -- that we've taken strong and decisive action," Bush said. "The Federal Reserve has moved quickly to bring order to the financial markets."

Bush and Paulson both said the U.S. economy would be fine.

"Right now we're dealing with a difficult situation," Bush said.

Paulson said the economy has "strong long-term fundamentals" when compared to economies of other major global countries.