'Beginning of the end' of economic problems: Obama

President Barack Obama hailed the "beginning of the end" of the US economic emergency, in newly hopeful rhetoric before signing a huge 787-billion-dollar stimulus bill.

President Barack Obama on Tuesday hailed the "beginning of the end" of the US economic emergency, in newly hopeful rhetoric before signing a huge 787-billion-dollar stimulus bill.

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"I don't want to pretend that today marks the end of our economic problems nor does it constitute all of what we have to do to turn the economy around," Obama said in Denver, Colorado.

"But today does mark the beginning of the end -- the beginning of what we need to do to create jobs for Americans scrambling in the wake of layoffs.

"The beginning of what we need to do to provide relief from families worried they won't be able to pay next month's bills.

"The beginning of the first steps to set our economy on a firmer foundation, paving the way to long-term growth and prosperity," the president said.

Obama's comments, delivered in a Denver Museum that uses a pioneering solar energy plant, formed a marked contrast to recent comments by the president, who has repeatedly warned economic "disaster" loomed without fast action.