Obama names Volcker to head markets' panel

US President-elect Barack Obama yesterday named former Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker as chair of a new panel to advise him on stabilizing financial markets and averting a painful recession.

The move is another step toward tackling the problems ailing the US economy and is part of an aggressive effort by Mr Obama to demonstrate that his administration will face the global financial crisis head-on when he takes over on January 20.

The new board is modelled on an advisory panel that gives the president nonpartisan advice on national security matters, Mr Obama said.

"Sometimes policymaking in Washington can become a little bit too ingrown, a little bit too insular. The walls of the echo chamber can sometimes keep out fresh voices and new ways of thinking," Mr Obama said at his third news conference in as many days.

"This board will provide that fresh perspective to me and my administration," he said.

Financial markets were essentially unchanged by the news of the appointment, which had leaked overnight.

Mr Volcker, 81, has been an important economic adviser to Mr Obama on economic issues.

As Federal Reserve chairman in the early 1980s, he was credited with taming inflation through policies that also contributed to a recession at the time.

Mr Obama also named campaign adviser Austan Goolsbee as the panel's staff director.

Mr Obama said the University of Chicago professor had "shaped his thinking" on economic matters.