Barack Obama will have his campaign promises put to the test on Friday as he meets with economic advisers to discuss his transition to the White House and holds his first news conference as US president-elect.
After two straight days of huge losses on Wall Street, for a decline of roughly 10% since Tuesday's election, Mr Obama will seek advice from seasoned economists, businessmen and policy experts on how to deal with the country's worst financial crisis since the Great Depression.
Mr Obama, who won a sweeping victory on Tuesday in part because of his promise to revitalise the ailing American economy, has assembled a 17-member transition economic advisory board to help him as he tries to decide who to put on his White House team and how to implement promised measures.
The board includes former Treasury secretaries Robert Rubin and Lawrence Summers, former Labor secretary Robert Reich, Google Inc chairman Eric Schmidt, former Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker and billionaire Warren Buffett.
After the meeting, Mr Obama will face the news media for the first time since his historic win, which will make him the first black American president when he is inaugurated on 20 January.
He is likely to face questions about who he plans to appoint to various Cabinet posts and other aspects of the transition.
The meeting with economic advisers comes after reports of even more of a slowdown in US productivity growth. More bad economic news was expected on Friday when analysts expect the Labor Department to announce a huge drop in jobs in October.
Mr Obama has acknowledged the pressing urgency of revitalising the economy and he is expected to quickly make choices about key appointments to his economic team.
The market is looking closely at who Mr Obama will name as Treasury Secretary. Top candidates for the job included Timothy Geithner, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, Summers and Volcker.
Whoever takes the job will guide the $US700 billion economic bailout package and the regulatory reform needed to prevent a repeat of the current crisis.
Puppy for the White House
The American Kennel Club has offered to help Mr Obama fulfill one of his campaign promises - to get a puppy for his young daughters when they move into the White House.
Mr Obama, during his victory speech in Chicago, reiterated his pledge to get, Malia 10, and Sasha, seven, a dog.
"You have earned the new puppy that's coming with us to the White House," the president-elect said.
The AKC offered to help Obama find a dog for their daughters and noted that a poll conducted by the AKC at presidentialpup.com in August determined that the right breed would be a poodle.
Barney, the incumbent canine in the White House, frequently seen playing on the South Lawn with a soccer ball, bit a TV journalist on the finger at the White House on Thursday.
