The New Nation - Internet Edition

THE passage of the $700 billion bill which is but a rescue package for the US financial system in both Houses of the US Congress, ended not only great anxieties and tensions in the US but also round the world. For the bill was prepared with great haste and sought to be adopted just as fast when, it seemed, the financial system of the world's greatest economy was on the verge of a disaster. The passage of the bill means at least a temporary reprieve from the looming disaster. Taxpayers' money will be used to write off or buy the bad debts of financial institutions. The bad debts or toxic debts as these are called, will now be taken off their balance sheets and they would resume a fresh journey. Financial institutions on the verge of bankruptcy will again find the ways and means to resume credit operations which had been slowing down alarmingly.

Nobody expects this bill to be a panacea for all the troubles the US economy currently faces. The bill will be an instrument in the main for preventing the US financial institutions from crashing all on a sudden. But full recovery of the world's biggest economy will depend on how sagaciously its economic managers conduct themselves to treat and heal their economic weaknesses at the very sources. The temporary cushioning will revive confidence in it worldwide. Nervous jitters will steady for the time being from knowing that the US economy will continue to play out its role as the most coveted destination of international trade. For Bangladesh it is a good news that US consumer spending will not diminish rapidly endangering readymade garment export. But the persistence of the good mood will hinge crucially on the US economy overcoming decisively its ailments in medium and long terms.