US President George Bush remains optimistic over US economic prospects despite a share-price slide linked to accounting scandals, the White House said today suggesting the decline was part of a market cycle.
"The president is optimistic about the economy. The president knows that the fundamentals are solid, the fundamentals are strong," White House spokesman Mr Ari Fleischer told reporters travelling with Mr Bush to Alabama, where he was to give a speech on the economy.
"Certainly after large periods of growth come corrections. That's all part of the ... cycle of the market and people have seen that come and go before," Mr Fleischer said.
US share prices have plunged to their lowest levels in five years in the wake of several corporate accounting scandals, and Mr Bush's Wall Street speech last week attacking corporate corruption failed to stem the decline, which continued today.
"The president's focus is on the economy ... on long-term growth. Markets take care of themselves," Mr Fleischer said.