UNITED NATIONS — World leaders heard assurances from President Bush on Tuesday that he is acting swiftly to contain America's financial upheaval, but allies and critics alike called for a collective effort to rewrite the rules governing global capital markets.
In a speech to the United Nations General Assembly, Bush acknowledged that the turmoil could wreck other nations' economies. He said his administration was working with Congress on a $700-billion bailout while taking other "bold steps" to stabilize markets and credit flows.
"I am confident we will act in the urgent time frame required," Bush said.
Although he did not ask for action by other countries, several speakers at the General Assembly's annual fall debate insisted that a new multilateral forum overhaul the global financial system.
French President Nicolas Sarkozy proposed that the Group of 8, which includes the United States and many of its wealthy allies, take up the task at a special summit in November, with the added presence of China and other developing nations.
"No country, however powerful it may be, can bring an effective answer to the financial crisis on its own," Sarkozy said.
A summit of the kind he proposed would have no authority but could strive for consensus on standards for governments and international financial institutions.
Neither the French president nor other speakers offered a detailed plan for reform. But Sarkozy, who is leading the European Union, said the problem began with hedge funds and could be addressed, for starters, with a closer regulation of credit ratings agencies.
"Let us build together a regular, regulated capitalism, where entire sections of financial activity are subject not solely to the assessment of market operators . . . where credit agencies are controlled and punished when necessary, where transparency . . . replaces opaqueness."
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Final appearance
Bush was making his final U.N. appearance in a presidency marked by testy relations with the world body, notably over his decision to go to war in Iraq without a Security Council resolution. His low-key speech Tuesday repeated old themes, including an appeal for firmer action against terrorism, which he called "the fundamental challenge of our time."
The words terror, terrorist or terrorism came up 32 times in his 22-minute address, which drew a few seconds of polite applause in the giant hall.
