Bush urges common global financial principles

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President George W. Bush, who will host a global summit on the financial crisis next month, said on Saturday that agreeing on common principles to reform regulators would be essential to preventing another disaster.

His comments came one day after a worldwide sell-off in stock markets amid growing fears of a global recession. Friday's session was the lowest closing level for all three major U.S. stock indexes since the spring of 2003.

"In recent weeks, concerns about the availability of credit, the safety of financial assets, and the volatility of the stock market have made many families understandably anxious about their economic future," Bush said in his weekly radio address.

He sought to reassure Americans that the government's actions to ease the credit crunch were starting to show results, but said the full impact on the economy would take time.

The United States will host a summit of global leaders on November 15 in Washington to discuss the underlying causes of the crisis and start developing principles of reform for financial regulators and institutions.

"This crisis is global in reach -- and addressing it will require further international cooperation," Bush said.

"While the specific solutions pursued by every country may not be the same, agreeing on a common set of principles will be an essential step toward preventing similar crises in the future," he said.

Bush warned against taking a protectionist turn in response to the current financial turbulence, saying free markets and free trade were fundamental to long-term economic growth.

"These policies have shown themselves time and time again to be the surest path to creating jobs, increasing commerce, and fostering progress," Bush said. "And this moment of global economic uncertainty would be precisely the wrong time to reject such proven methods for creating prosperity and hope."

(Reporting by Tabassum Zakaria; Editing by Peter Cooney)