This comes one day after President-elect Barack Obama introduced his new economic team, headed by Timothy Geithner, his choice for Treasury Secretary, and Lawrence Summers, who will serve as director of the National Economic Council in the White House. Obama instructed his team to draft a massive economic stimulus plan that would create 2.5 million jobs and rebuild the nation’s infrastructure.

Sen. Barack Obama: “We can’t underestimate the challenges that we face. We also can’t underestimate our capacity to overcome them, to summon that spirit of determination and optimism that has always defined us and to move forward in a new direction to create new jobs, reform our financial system and fuel long-term economic growth. We know this won’t be easy, and it won’t happen overnight. We’ll need to bring together the best minds in America to guide us, and that is what I’ve sought to do in assembling my economic team. I have sought leaders who could offer both sound judgment and fresh thinking, both a depth of experience and a wealth of bold new ideas, and, most of all, who share my fundamental belief that we cannot have a thriving Wall Street without a thriving Main Street.”