(The Wall Street Journal) - US Treasury secretary Henry Paulson, in his first public comments since the sharp downturn in financial markets, said the turmoil "will extract a penalty on the growth rate" of the US economy. But he expressed confidence that "the economy and the markets are strong enough to absorb the losses" without provoking a US recession.

The market turmoil occurs "against a backdrop of a very healthy global economy with strong fundamentals," Paulson said in an interview in his office.