Pakistanis angry over detentions in Times Sq. case Monday, May 24, 2010
ISLAMABAD – Relatives of three men detained by Pakistan for alleged links to the suspect in the attempted Times Square bombing say the men are innocent.
They
AFP - Thursday, August 6TAIPEI (AFP) - - Taiwan's Beijing-friendly government on Wednesday denied boycotting an Australian film festival amid a row over the e
BERLIN (Reuters) - Chancellor Angela Merkel suffered a double blow on Thursday as a senior party ally in east German
Minister seeks closure of anti-Berlusconi websites Wednesday, December 16, 2009
ROME (AFP) - – The Italian government moved Tuesday to close down Internet sites encouraging further violence against Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, who
By ELAINE KURTENBACH,AP Business Writer AP - Wednesday, March 18SHANGHAI - Asia's stock market rally seemed to be running out of steam Wednesday, despite an
Navigation
Primary Navigation
Home
Singapore
Asia Pacific
World
Business
Entertainment
Sports
Technology
Secondary Navigation
Top Stories
Full Coverage
Most Popular
Photos
Search
Search:
Obama rules out new cabinet picks as jobless rate jumps
AFP - Saturday, November 8
CHICAGO (AFP) - - President-elect Barack Obama Friday prepared to meet his economic lieutenants on a day of more dismal news for US workers while his aides dampened expectations of imminent cabinet announcements.
After the meeting with his high-powered advisory panel, the Democrat was to hold the first news conference since his election triumph Tuesday over Republican John McCain, starting around 1930 GMT.
Obama will inherit a recession-bound economy when he succeeds President George W. Bush on January 20, after the government said the US unemployment rate rose to its highest level since 1994 in October, at 6.5 percent.
The Labor Department said 240,000 jobs had been cut in October, the 10th straight month of job losses, and new revisions meant that a whopping 651,000 workers have lost their livelihoods in the past three months alone.
Ahead of the advisory meeting, speculation was rife that Obama would move quickly to reassure jittery markets by announcing his pick for Treasury secretary.
But Obama's aides said there would be "no personnel announcements" Friday, following the incoming president's selection Thursday of combative Illinois congressman Rahm Emanuel as his White House chief of staff.
Obama started his third day as president-elect with a parent-teacher meeting at his two daughters' school with his wife Michelle, a reminder that the next First Family will be the youngest in decades.
He was to hold more meetings to plan his transition to the White House, receive a now-daily classified intelligence briefing from the CIA, and record the weekly Democratic radio address airing Saturday.
Aides said Obama would call more foreign heads of government after speaking Thursday with the leaders of nine US allies -- Australia, Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Israel, Japan, Mexico and South Korea.
The global financial crisis, the Afghanistan war, climate change and the North Korean and Iranian nuclear crises dominated the talks, according to accounts from the various capitals.
Most of the allied leaders are to attend an emergency summit of 20 nations on the economic crisis in Washington on November 15, but Obama has not yet announced whether he will take part in the event.
The calls showed the center of political gravity slipping away from Bush as the Obamas prepared to head to the White House Monday to inspect their new home and discuss the enormity of the task ahead.
Bush said he had directed "unprecedented" cooperation between his administration and Obama's staff before the Democrat is inaugurated in the first presidential handover since the September 11 attacks of 2001.
One of Obama's most urgent priorities will be to wind down Bush's war in Iraq and redirect the military focus to hunting down Al-Qaeda and the Taliban in Afghanistan.
But getting the US economy back in shape will be priority number one for the freshman senator from Illinois, who at 47 will be the fifth youngest US president to take office.
Momentum for a tax and spending plan to boost the flagging US economy is growing after the election of Obama, who has supported rapid approval of a quick stimulus package by the outgoing Congress.
House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi called in an interview published in The Wall Street Journal on Friday for a two-stage effort involving a 60-100 billion dollar stimulus deal in November.
The California Democrat urged Congress to work together with the White House in the last days of Bush's term to pass the measure, the second such plan after a 150-billion-dollar package was adopted in February this year.
Several names mentioned as potential Treasury overseers to command a 700-billion-dollar banking bailout were to attend the meeting later Friday with Obama and his vice president-elect Joseph Biden.
They include former Treasury secretary Larry Summers, ex-Federal Reserve chief Paul Volcker and Laura Tyson, chairwoman of the National Economic Council under former President Bill Clinton.
"The Transition Economic Advisory Board will help guide the work of the Obama-Biden transition team in developing a strong set of policies to respond to the economic crisis," a statement from Obama's office said.
Email Story
IM Story
Printable View
Blog This
Recommend this article
Average (0 votes)
Sign in to recommend this article »
Most Recommended Stories »
Enlarge Photo
US President-Elect Barack Obama leaves the University of Chicago Lab School after a parent-teacher conference in Chicago, Illinois. Obama Friday prepared to meet his economic lieutenants on a day of more dismal news for US workers while his aides dampened expectations of imminent cabinet announcements.
Related Photos
Slideshow US elections 2008
Most Popular – Top Stories
Viewed
IMF sees recession in advanced economies in 2009
Among Obama's next challenges: his own security
US doctors tell Liu Xiang he needs surgery
Obama discusses global financial crisis with world leaders
Airline profits nosedive as leaders debate finance crisis
View Complete List »
Search:
Home
Singapore
Asia Pacific
World
Business
Entertainment
Sports
Technology