Obama set to announce economic team

U.S. president-elect Barack Obama will hold a news conference in Chicago on Monday to announce members of a team he hopes will set the United States on the path to economic recovery.

The man reported to be Obama's choice as treasury secretary is Timothy Geithner, now president of the New York Federal Reserve.

Last Friday, the Dow Jones industrial average soared almost 500 points amid reports that Geithner has been chosen for the job.

Obama's senior adviser, David Axelrod, responded to the news leak by saying Geithner, 47, is the right person to help deal with the economic crisis.

"The response has been great, and it should be — Tim Geithner is uniquely qualified to do this job," Axelrod said on ABC.

Former treasury secretary Larry Summers is expected to be named director of the White House National Economic Council, according to media reports.

Richardson tapped

A Democratic official has also said Obama will name New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson as commerce secretary.

The official said Obama plans to announce Richardson's selection after Thursday's U.S. Thanksgiving holiday.

Richardson was energy secretary and UN ambassador under president Bill Clinton.

Obama's cabinet is taking shape in the wake of his announcement Saturday that he plans to roll out a sweeping new economic recovery plan aimed at creating or saving 2.5 million jobs over the next two years.

The plan is expected to be significantly bigger than the $175-billion US proposal Obama had discussed during his presidential campaign.

With files from the Associated Press