Are you anxious about the economy? Wondering if your bank is going to tank or if you’re going to lose your job?

You’re not alone.

As Wall Street continues to be plagued by wild gyrations, many are worried the economy will downright stink for a long time to come.

President Bush gave the country — and the world — a pep talk today, with a more detailed explanation of what the government is doing to battle the worst financial crisis in more than a half-century.

"The federal government has responded to this crisis with systematic and aggressive measures to protect the financial security of the American people,” Bush said, and that includes taking “unprecedented action” to “grease the wheels of liquidity.”

"People look at this crisis and say, ‘Oh, it’s only Wall Street.’ I don’t think so,” the president added.

Despite actions by the Bush administration and the Federal Reserve to get money flowing, U.S. banks and those abroad are still hesitant to lend money to each other and to their customers.

The credit clog is having too many scary effects on the U.S. economy — parents and college students are having a hard time paying tuition as their finances weaken and lenders get tough, college administrators are having a harder time keeping operations going, people are getting laid off, food prices are still high and the housing market continues to tank.

“Many healthy businesses have found it harder to expand their operations and create jobs for our workers,” Bush said.

Bush and his top economic aides have repeatedly asked Americans to be patient and give the government’s relief efforts time to work. But Democrats in Congress insist another round of economic stimulus is needed.

Bush today urged people to be patient – stressing that things are being done to stem this crisis and to prevent another one in the future. For example, the Securities and Exchange Commission is investigating abuse in the markets, and authorities and Congress are looking into the underlying reasons for the meltdown. Bush is also meeting with financial leaders of the world’s largest countries.

But Americans need to be patient in order to see the effects of everything going on, he said.

“The actions will take more time to have their full impact. It took a while for the credit system to freeze up, it’s gonna take a while for the credit system to thaw,” Bush said. But “the American people can be confident it will.”

“To help the American people is the goal of this plan,” the president added, but stressing that the bailout and having the government take a termporary stake in some of the nation’s banks was a “last resort.”

Is it a step toward nationalizing banks? “This is simply not the case,” Bush said. “The government involvement is limited in size” and scope. “A government intervention is not a government takeover … it is to preserve a free market.”

In other financial news today:

-Billionaire Warren Buffett wrote a New York Times editorial today, urging investors — even you — to buy American stocks.

The Berkshire Hathaway chief writes: “A simple rule dictates my buying: Be fearful when others are greedy, and be greedy when others are fearful. And most certainly, fear is now widespread, gripping even seasoned investors. To be sure, investors are right to be wary of highly leveraged entities or businesses in weak competitive positions. But fears regarding the long-term prosperity of the nation’s many sound companies make no sense. These businesses will indeed suffer earnings hiccups, as they always have. But most major companies will be setting new profit records five, ten and 20 years from now.”

-World leaders demanded tougher banking rules on Friday to protect economies from crisis before a meeting of U.S. and French presidents aimed at exploring ways to reform a crumbling financial system, reports Reuters. French President Nicolas Sarkozy has said he would raise the prospect of a global summit to deal with regulatory issues at a meeting with Bush on Saturday.

-World crude prices dropped below $70 a barrel for the first time in 14 months as many in the U.S. use less and less oil. As the U.S. unemployment rate rises and retail sales and manufacturing orders slump, the world’s largest consumer of oil needs less crude to move goods, fly passenger jets and transport workers to the office.