President Bush says the country is in the midst of a "challenging period" and needs swift and temporary actions to boost the economy.

In a White House speech Friday, Mr. Bush said a stimulus package must be big enough to boost the economy and offer consumers broad tax relief to spur spending. He also said he wants tax incentives to encourage businesses to make larger investments and hire more people.

The president said he had encouraging talks with key members of Congress of both parties, and that he believes a deal can be worked out soon.

Mr. Bush gave no specifics of his plan, but published reports say the plan may include $800 tax rebates for individuals.

On Thursday, U.S central bank chief Ben Bernanke told a congressional committee that a timely and temporarystimulus package could give the economy a welcome boost.

He spoke after a string of downbeat economic reports on housing and manufacturing rattled investors who sent U.S. stock market indexes down dramatically for the day, Thursday.