Obama focuses on job creation

WASHINGTON: US president-elect Barack Obama turned his focus to the teetering US economy as he outlined a plan to create 2.5 million jobs and transition officials said he would today name a respected Federal Reserve official to the post of treasury secretary.

If confirmed by the Senate, Timothy Geithner, 47, president of the New York Federal Reserve, would be the top Cabinet official in charge of leading the administration's response to the global economic crisis. Word of his likely selection Friday helped send the Dow Jones Industrials soaring 500 points after several days of steep losses.

Obama also will name Lawrence Summers, a treasury secretary under former President Bill Clinton and the former president of Harvard University, to coordinate the federal response to the economic meltdown across several agencies, transition officials said Saturday.