Crunch Time —Polischuk

One of the striking things about this situation was that it took a back seat to other economic news. The big news in the U.S. was the $700 billion bailout approved by Congress on Oct. 3. In many countries, this bailout was a secondary item to their own financial crises. Countries around the world—from Russia to Iceland—are pledging huge sums of money to shore up ailing financial systems.