Obama to name Volcker to head markets panel

US president-elect Barack Obama will name former Federal Reserve chairman Paul Volcker to chair an advisory panel to advise the US president-elect on stabilizing financial markets and maneuvering the country out of a recession, sources said yesterday.

Obama's transition team said he would make an "economic announcement" later yesterday at his third news conference of the week, following a similar event on Tuesday, when he presented his picks to head the White House budget office.

Sources said University of Chicago economist and Obama policy adviser Austan Goolsbee would serve as the panel's staff director. The body will be set up to give Obama an official forum for getting advice outside of normal bureaucratic channels.