"They were telling the markets not to presume that there will be further easing" of interest rates.
Last week, the Fed signaled that it has moved away from further easing of interest rates.
The I.M.F. said it welcomed the flexible policy stance that American authorities had taken, in particular the Federal Reserve's aggressive easing of interest rates.
With the creation of the euro and the easing of interest rates, a torrent of capital from northern Europe flooded into Spain during the boom years of the early 2000s.
At the same time, Mr. Bush was clearly trying to ensure that the rate cut did not take the wind out of his tax plan, arguing today that an easing of interest rates was not enough.
Joan Solotar, an analyst at Credit Suisse First Boston, said an easing of interest rates by the Fed would provide an almost immediate lift to underwriting and trading, and Goldman and Morgan Stanley would be among the main beneficiaries.
Mr. Sarkozy's regular attacks on the independence of the European Central Bank are not widely shared across Europe, even if some countries would also like an easing of interest rates.
"The underlying premise is that the economy is going to be a lot better in the second half" because of the Federal Reserve's easing of interest rates, said Alfred Kugel, senior investment strategist at Stein Roe & Farnham.
Emphasizing the dangers to the economy, the Fed said in its statement that a substantial easing of interest rates in recent months, "combined with ongoing measures to foster market liquidity, should help to promote moderate economic growth".
Asked whether the central bank had been slow to react to the economic downturn in the euro zone when compared with the Federal Reserve's much more aggressive easing of interest rates, Mr. Duisenberg played down the ability of monetary policy to spur growth.
At the start of 2009, he gave his calls for why he sees an imminent market recovery, among them, the government's massive easing of interest rates.
