Ballmer: Congress must 'stabilize' financial crisis
Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer expressed hope on Tuesday that the U.S. Congress will take action to address a deepening financial crisis, which he warned could ripple across spending on all levels of the economy.
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On Monday, the U.S. House of Representatives rejected a $700 billion bailout plan proposed by the White House.
"I trust that before the end of the week, we have some resolution, at least in the U.S. Congress, that will help to stabilize the situation. We need that; I hope we get that," Ballmer said at a news conference in Oslo, Norway, according to the Reuters news agency.
After the vote on the bailout plan fell through Monday, Microsoft called for Congress to reconsider the legislation in order to "re-instill confidence and stability in the financial markets."
The financial crisis, Ballmer noted, extends beyond the borders of the United States to European banks, and affects businesses and consumers generally.
"Financial issues are going to affect both business spending and consumer spending, and particularly...spending by the financial-services industry," Reuters quoted Ballmer as saying.
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Jonathan Skillings is managing editor of CNET News, based in the Boston bureau. He's been with CNET since 2000, after a decade in tech journalism at the IDG News Service, PC Week, and an AS/400 magazine. He's also been a soldier and a schoolteacher. E-mail Jon. 
