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Finance Chiefs Meet On Global Economic Crisis Members of the G-7 have been meeting in Washington this weekend, trying to come up with solutions to the financial crisis. On Friday, they issued a five-point action plan, but it's unlikely to have an immediate effect on the turmoil in the financial markets. They met with President Bush on Saturday morning at the White House. Voters Take Measure Of Candidates' Tax Plans The tax proposals of John McCain and Barack Obama are markedly different. NPR asked Roberton Williams of the Tax Policy Center to assess how each plan would affect the financial situations of three voters from different income levels. Sales Of Home Safes Climb Amid Financial Turmoil About the same time Lehman Brothers filed for bankruptcy and the stock market began plummeting, one of the nation's leading sellers of safes started to see a sales boost. The company's CEO says he thinks the increase is due to people losing faith in banks. G-7 Leaders: We'll Tackle Crisis Together Finance ministers from around the world tried to show they are working in a coordinated way to tackle a global financial crisis that has proved to be far more serious than anyone anticipated. World Powers Meet To Combat Credit Crisis President Bush was short of specifics in his brief statement after Saturday morning's meeting. Will the meeting itself be enough to calm the worldwide markets after the weekend, or will the finance ministers have to offer a concrete plan to stabilize the world's financial systems? Will The Week's Events Stop The Market Slide? How can G-7 leaders or the five-point plan solve the financial crisis? Scott Simon discusses this week's economic news with NPR's John Ydstie. Fear Drives Wild Trading Ahead Of G-7 Meeting For the first time ever, the Dow Jones industrial index traded in a 1,000-point range on Friday. The Dow ended its day of wild swings down 128 points, to close at 8,451.19. Fears Grow That Tight Credit Could Crush GM, Ford Standard & Poor's downgraded the credit of General Motors and Ford Motor Co. and their financing arms this week. Many fear the automakers lack enough cash to sustain their business during this downturn, and that if they falter, it could have widespread repercussions on the U.S. economy. Paulson OKs Bank Stock Purchase Plan Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson has said the government will go ahead with a plan to buy stocks in financial institutions. Meanwhile, The Group of Seven industrialized nations agreed to work together to fix the global economy. Markets Fall Amid Credit Woes Markets have fallen despite President Bush saying the U.S. is using a "wide range of tools" to address the chaos in the financial markets. Many finance-watchers blame tight credit markets for the trouble. Banks are not lending to on another. Bush Tries To Reassure Nation On Economy President Bush has said the U.S. is using a "wide range of tools" to address the chaos in the financial markets. The stock market, however, has continued its downward slide. Many finance-watchers say the credit markets are to blame. Banks are simply not lending money to one another. Will Sports Weather The Economic Storm? Sports have historically been recession-proof. Sportswriter Stefan Fatsis says events like the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks had little impact on the sports business. But, he says, in the present economic climate three issues must be considered: the credit market, corporate fallout and fans. 'Duck Soup': Take One Fiscal Crisis, Boil Merrily Depression-era comedy sends the Marx Brothers skating through economic territory their namesake Karl would recognize — and it begins with talk of bailouts, tax breaks and other things that Bob Mondello says you'll find familiar, too. Economy, Accusations Cap Week In Politics The campaigns of Barack Obama and John McCain are hurling negative adjectives at each other. David Brooks of The New York Times says they are not focusing enough on the big issue at hand: the economic crisis. E.J. Dionne of the Washington Post says the campaign has swung Obama's way because of the crisis, and he hopes it will bring a more serious discussion of how the government can help people. G-7 Ministers Meet To Plan Financial Recovery Central bankers and finance ministers from the Group of Seven industrialized nations are meeting with President Bush Friday and Saturday. They are looking at ways to restore order to financial markets and avert a lengthy recession.