WASHINGTON (AP) - As the stock market plunged to its lowest level in five years, the White House on Thursday sought to assure anxious Americans that the United States is working aggressively to stabilize the nation's chaotic financial system.

In a new effort to calm the crisis, President Bush will make a statement on the economy Friday in the Rose Garden.

"He will assure the American people that they should be confident that economic officials are aggressively taking every action to stabilize our financial system," White House press secretary Dana Perino said. "The Treasury Department, the Federal Reserve and the FDIC all have the necessary tools to address the problems we are facing."

"The Treasury Department is moving quickly to use new tools to improve liquidity, which is the root cause of this problem," she said. "Americans should be confident that every effort is being taken to stabilize our markets."