Obama prepares to face economic crisis

CHICAGO -- Barack Obama will meet today with his team of economic advisers and hold his first news conference as the nation's president-elect.

Obama began to assume the burdens and privileges of the presidency Thursday: The Democrat received a classified intelligence briefing, confirmed the appointment of Illinois Rep. Rahm Emanuel as his chief of staff, and returned congratulatory calls from world leaders.

Economists said today's meeting of the Obama financial team could help bolster confidence that the president-elect will move quickly to shore up the struggling economy.

The stock market plummeted more than 400 points on both Wednesday and Thursday. The number of people drawing unemployment benefits hit a 25-year high, the Labor Department reported Thursday.

Obama's meeting, just three days after his election, shows that he "understands the gravity of the situation," said Conrad DeQuadros, senior economist at RDQ Economics. Nigel Gault, chief domestic economist for Global Insight, an economic forecasting firm, said Obama's move "reassures the markets" that the president-elect "intends to hit the ground running."

Vice President-elect Joe Biden will also participate in the session with the diverse group of economists, academics and business leaders who advised Obama during his campaign. They include William Donaldson, a Republican who headed the Securities and Exchange Commission during President Bush's first term, and Robert Reich, Labor secretary for President Clinton.

Also in the group are CEOs Richard Parsons of Time-Warner and Eric Schmidt of Google, and Lawrence Summers, former president of Harvard. Summers, who was Treasury secretary under Clinton, is a candidate to return to that job in the Obama administration.

Obama's question-and-answer session with reporters is set for 2:30 p.m. ET.

Future chief of staff Emanuel is giving up a House leadership post to return to the White House with Obama. He served as a top aide to Clinton before running for Congress from Chicago.