Volcker named as Obama adviser
27-11-2008
The American president-elect, Barack Obama, has named a former chairman of the US Federal Reserve, Paul Volcker, as the head of a new White House panel to advise him on stabilising financial markets and avoiding an economic recession. Mr Volcker, 81, led the Federal Reserve under Jimmy Carter and Ronald Reagan. The President's Economic Recovery Advisory Board is part of efforts to tackle problems in the ailing US economy. Mr Obama has pledged to focus on the economic slowdown as his top priority. He has also said he will cut billions of dollars in "wasteful spending". This is designed to partially offset costly stimulus packages aimed at reviving the economy. The panel's staff director will be the University of Chicago economist, Austan Goolsbee, another Obama economic advisor.
