President Bush and Congress are clashing over how to address the housing crisis, clouding the prospects of an election-year rescue package.

Bush said Wednesday he would veto Democrats' broad housing aid plan, saying it wouldn't help struggling homeowners.

"We are committed to a good housing bill that will help folks stay in their house, as opposed to a housing bill that will reward speculators and lenders," Bush said at the White House after meeting with House Republican leaders.

The centerpiece of the housing package, aimed at preventing foreclosures, would have the government step in to insure up to $300 billion in new mortgages for distressed homeowners.

Wall Street tumbled Wednesday as the price of a barrel of oil soared to a record near $124 and touched off concerns that the stock market's recent gains might have been premature as consumers grapple with rising energy and food costs. The major stock market indexes each lost more than 1.5 percent, with the Dow Jones industrial average declining by more than 200 points.

Sharp gains in commodities prices have drawn fresh attention from investors worried that consumers — the lifeblood of the U.S. economy — will be forced to pare discretionary spending to keep up with increasing costs for necessities.

A tiny country of 7 million people, with few natural resources and surrounded by enemies, Israel has against the odds built an economy that has achieved global status and growth of 5 percent a year since 2003.

A shift to free-market policies in recent years has helped, but much of Israel's growth has been based on entrepreneurs who start technology companies and then take them public or sell them, a model that may be reaching the limits of its economic potential.

Oil futures held steady above $120 a barrel Tuesday in Asia after surpassing that mark for the first time in the previous session on threats to supply and a weakening of the U.S. dollar.

The surge in oil prices was also fueled by hopes that the U.S. economy will be spared a sharp downturn after the release of data Monday showing an unexpected expansion in the U.S. service sector in April, analysts said.

Light, sweet crude for June delivery rose 20 cents to $120.17 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange by midday in Singapore. The contract surged to a trading record of $120.36 a barrel overnight before settling at $119.97 a barrel, up $3.65 from Friday's close.

For years, Northern Ireland was a byword for brutality and fear. But now, the tiny province is selling itself as a central, low-cost land of business opportunity, and investors are buying.

A year after Catholic and Protestant political foes put aside decades of hostility and agreed to share power in a regional government, attention is focused on opening the public sector-heavy economy and attracting investment.

"There is no doubt that Northern Ireland is now seen as being open for business," Economy Minister Nigel Dodds told Reuters. "People now see a major opportunity."