Bush gives economy mixed review

President Bush said yesterday that he was concerned about rising prices and the housing recession even though U.S. economic "fundamentals are strong."

"I'm concerned about the fact that Americans see their costs going up," he said during a White House news conference. "I know Americans are concerned about whether their neighbors will keep their homes."

Bush also called for greater transparency in financial markets and said he was not concerned by an influx of foreign capital as Wall Street firms seek financing to cope with the losses resulting from the housing slump. Bush said he was "fine with capital coming from overseas to help bolster financial institutions."

"Wall Street needs to put it all out there for everybody to see," he said. "If there are some write-downs to be done, they need to do it now."

Morgan Stanley said Wednesday it wrote down its subprime-infected mortgage holdings by $9.4 billion and received a $5 billion cash infusion from state-controlled China Investment Corp.

The president said he was ready to "consider all options" to keep economic growth on track. He declined to comment on specific measures his administration might take.