Obama names Volcker to head new econ advisers

CHICAGO: President-elect Barack Obama chose a former Federal Reserve chairman Wednesday to head a board of economic experts to advise him, in his latest bid to reassure nervous consumers and financial markets that he will bring swift economic relief as president.

Obama chose Paul Volcker to head the new White House panel to help create jobs and bring stability to the ailing financial system.

Volcker, 81, will head the President's Economic Recovery Advisory Board. The board's top staff official will be Austan Goolsbee, a University of Chicago economist, Obama said at a news briefing.

Volcker is no stranger to economic crises. He became Fed chairman in 1979, a time of high inflation and high unemployment. He helped tame inflation by raising interest rates, a move that helped plunge the economy into recession.

He was later credited with reviving the economy by getting inflation under control. Volcker served as Fed chairman until 1987.

He returns as an adviser with the nation facing increasing unemployment, a growing federal budget deficit and a financial system in turmoil.

It was Obama's third news conference in as many days dealing with the economy. On Monday, he announced New York Federal Reserve President Tim Geithner as his treasury secretary and named several other top economic advisers. He also announced plans for a massive economic stimulus plan that Democrats have said could cost as much as $700 billion.

``I was elected with the charge of getting this economy back in shape,'' Obama said Wednesday. ``We are going to implement starting day one when I come into office.''

He also pushed back against criticism that he was recycling former Clinton administration officials as he builds his new economic team. He said his Cabinet would ``combine experience with fresh thinking.''