US President-elect Barack Obama yesterday called for urgent passage of a US stimulus package to reinvigorate a faltering economy that saw US unemployment hit a 14-year high while US carmakers reported billions in losses.
European Union leaders also met in Brussels before a global summit in Washington next week, and French President Nicolas Sarkozy said they were united on an aggressive plan to reform the global financial system.
Mr Obama addressed reporters after meeting with a team of economic advisers who are preparing him to take office on January 20 amid the world's worst financial crisis since the 1930s Great Depression.
"By calling this press conference he is sending a strong message that he is already on the job," said Greg Salvaggio, senior currency trader at Tempus Consulting in Washington. "He is showing he will be ready to hit the ground running."
The US unemployment rate shot up to 6.5 per cent in October, its highest level since March 1994, as 240,000 other non-farm jobs were lost in October, raising the number of lost jobs for the year to 1.2 million.
"I want to see a stimulus package sooner rather than later. If it does not get done in the lame-duck session, it will be the first thing I get done as President of the United States," Mr Obama said, referring to the period when the outgoing Congress meets between now and the end of the year.
Mr Obama also called on President George W. Bush to join Congress in seeking aid for the ailing US auto industry, which was seeking some $50 billion in emergency loans.
Ford and GM combined burned through some $14.6 billion of cash in the third quarter while racking up $7.2 billion in operating losses.
GM shares tumbled more than 16 per cent and Ford seven per cent before recovering. GM closed down nine per cent and Ford gained two per cent to $2.02.
The broader market bounced back from a 10 per cent loss over the previous two days with the Dow and the S&P 500 both closing 2.9 per cent higher as the job figures, though bad, were not as devastating as some in the financial markets had expected.
Mr Obama made no announcement on his choice for Treasury Secretary - the person who will administer the $700 billion programme to buy toxic debt and recapitalise financial institutions.
While President Bush remains in power, the Treasury Department will consider all options for the rescue plan, including extending it to areas of the financial sector beyond traditional banks, a senior Treasury official said.
The man running the programme, Neel Kashkari, said it had brought some relief to credit markets but conditions remain vulnerable and more work needs to be done.