Washington - President George W Bush on Monday warned it would take some time for the 700-billion-dollar rescue package to help free up credit availability and restore confidence in the financial system.

As stocks plunged more than 5 per cent Monday morning, Bush said the legislation he signed Friday was a "big step toward solving the problem" but recognized that small businesses and consumers were still reeling from the credit crunch.

Sao Paulo - The global financial crisis unleashed panic Monday in the stock exchange in Sao Paulo: just 18 minutes after the starting bell in the largest stock exchange in Latin America, trading was suspended after the leading index Bovespa fell over 10 per cent.

When trading resumed, stocks continued to fall in relation to the previous day's closing, and trading had to be suspended again, this time for an hour.

Amsterdam  - For the second week in a row, the main index of the Amsterdam stock exchange AEX dropped dramatically on Monday morning. By 10:42 am (0842 GMT) the index had lost
5.83 per cent and stood at 323.97 points, with some analysts speaking of a "blood bath."

There was no stock posting any gains in the morning, with Financial firms losing out most.

Leading the list of companies who saw their stock value drop was insurer Aegon (down 20.37 per cent), followed by bank and insurance company ING Group (down 10.92 per cent).

There was no trade in shares of Fortis NV. On Friday, the Dutch government nationalized the Dutch division of the former Belgian- Dutch bank and insurance giant.

Amsterdam  - For the second week in a row, the main index of the Amsterdam stock exchange AEX dropped dramatically on Monday morning. By 10:42 am (0842 GMT) the index had lost 5.83 per cent and stood at 323.97 points, with some analysts speaking of a "blood bath."

There was no stock posting any gains in the morning, with Financial firms losing out most.

Leading the list of companies who saw their stock value drop was insurer Aegon (down 20.37 per cent), followed by bank and insurance company ING Group (down 10.92 per cent).

There was no trade in shares of Fortis NV. On Friday, the Dutch government nationalized the Dutch division of the former Belgian- Dutch bank and insurance giant.

Jakarta  - The Indonesian stock market plunged by 10.02 per cent Monday, sparked by falls of regional and international markets as investors feared the US bail-out would fail to resolve the financi