Washington  - The US financial system has been stabilized and authorities averted a near-collapse in September that prompted unprecedented government intervention in private institutions, US Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said in congressional testimony Tuesday.

But Paulson warned there was still much work to be done to help the financial sector recover and to restrict the credit crisis' fallout into the wider US and global economy.

Washington  - The US financial system has been stabilized and authorities averted a near-collapse in September that prompted unprecedented government intervention in private institutions, US Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said in congressional testimony Tuesday.

But Paulson warned there was still much work to be done to help the US financial sector recover. The government has already purcharsed nearly 150 billion dollars worth of shares in US banks to keep them from collapse, as part of a 700-billion-dollar rescue package approved by Congress in October.

Washington - US Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson Wednesday said he plans to shift some of the focus of the second half of the government's massive financial rescue action to credit card and loan companies and shelve original plans to buy up bad mortgage assets from finance firms.

He also dismissed a proposal that the 700-billion-dollar rescue plan should be used to bail out the ailing auto industry.

Paulson said that the first half of the rescue programme, or 350 billion dollars, had prevented "broad systemic" damage to a financial system that had been on the "tipping point," but warned the financial system "remains fragile" and needs broader help.

Washington - The United States is open to letting more countries into the select group of top world economies known as the Group of Seven (G7), Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said Friday.

Paulson suggested the current bloc was not broad enough to deal with today's economic problems, in a press conference just after G7 finance ministers and central bank heads met in Washington to discuss the financial crisis.

"I don't think it reflects the global economy today," Paulson said.

Washington - The US government plans to take ownership stakes in banks in a fresh bid to restore confidence in financial markets, Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said Friday.

The dramatic step comes as part of the 700-billion-dollar rescue package passed by Congress last week that gave the government broad new powers to buy up soured mortgage assets from troubled banks in the United States.