WASHINGTON // The US president-elect Barack Obama is seeking some economic advice from leaders of business, government and academia, making the struggling economy - the nation's main concern - his first order of public business.
Mr Obama and vice president-elect Joe Biden were meeting today with 17 members of their transition economic advisory board.
Members include former presidential Cabinet officials and executives from Xerox, Time Warner, Google and the Hyatt hotel company. The investor Warren Buffett was participating by telephone.
Mr Obama also was holding his first news conference as president-elect after the meeting. It was to be his first public appearance since Tuesday's election, where exit polls showed that the economy was far and away the top issue for voters.
He has been using the time for private meetings with his transition team, receiving congratulatory phone calls from US allies and intelligence briefings, and making decisions about who will help run his government.
His first choice, for White House chief of staff, was Rahm Emanuel, a fiery partisan unafraid of breaking glass and hurting feelings. The choice of Mr Emanuel is a significant departure from the soft-spoken, low-key aides that "No-Drama Obama" surrounded himself with during the campaign.
In contrast to Mr Obama's collegial style and that of his top campaign advisers, Mr Emanuel is known as a foul-mouthed practitioner of brass-knuckled politics who relishes both conflict and publicity. He once mailed a dead fish to a political foe.
With the selection of Mr Emanuel, Democrats say Mr Obama seemed to recognise that he may have his work cut out for him in taming his party's members of the House of Representatives. They say Mr Emanuel is someone who not only can stand up to Congress but also manoeuvre through it to achieve a chief executive's goals.
And the transition chief John Podesta, like Mr Emanuel, is a former top aide to president Bill Clinton and a tough partisan infighter, though less bombastic than the new chief of staff.
People close to him say the selections show he is aware of his strengths and weaknesses, and knows what he needs to be successful as he shifts from campaigning to governing.
In announcing Mr Emanuel's appointment, Mr Obama also highlighted his economic experience, touching on what will be a key issue once he takes office.
*AP
One in four Americans don't plan to retire
Nearly a quarter of Americans say they never plan to retire, according to a poll that suggests a disconnection between individuals' retirement plans and the realities of ageing in the workforce.
Experts say illness, injury, layoffs and caregiving responsibilities often force older workers to leave their jobs sooner than they'd like.
According to the poll from The Associated Press-NORC Centre for Public Affairs Research, 23 per cent of workers, including nearly two in 10 of those over 50, don't expect to stop working. Roughly another quarter of Americans say they will continue working beyond their 65th birthday.
According to government data, about one in five people 65 and older was working or actively looking for a job in June. The study surveyed 1,423 adults in February this year.
For many, money has a lot to do with the decision to keep working.
"The average retirement age that we see in the data has gone up a little bit, but it hasn't gone up that much," says Anqi Chen, assistant director of savings research at the Centre for Retirement Research at Boston College. "So people have to live in retirement much longer, and they may not have enough assets to support themselves in retirement."
When asked how financially comfortable they feel about retirement, 14 per cent of Americans under the age of 50 and 29 per cent over 50 say they feel extremely or very prepared, according to the poll. About another four in 10 older adults say they do feel somewhat prepared, while just about one-third feel unprepared.
"One of the things about thinking about never retiring is that you didn't save a whole lot of money," says Ronni Bennett, 78, who was pushed out of her job as a New York City-based website editor at 63.
She searched for work in the immediate aftermath of her layoff, a process she describes as akin to "banging my head against a wall." Finding Manhattan too expensive without a steady stream of income, she eventually moved to Portland, Maine. A few years later, she moved again, to Lake Oswego, Oregon. "Sometimes I fantasise that if I win the lottery, I'd go back to New York," says Ms Bennett.
The Breadwinner
Director: Nora Twomey
Starring: Saara Chaudry, Soma Chhaya, Laara Sadiq
Three stars
Company%20Profile
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The Bio
Name: Lynn Davison
Profession: History teacher at Al Yasmina Academy, Abu Dhabi
Children: She has one son, Casey, 28
Hometown: Pontefract, West Yorkshire in the UK
Favourite book: The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho
Favourite Author: CJ Sansom
Favourite holiday destination: Bali
Favourite food: A Sunday roast
WOMAN AND CHILD
Director: Saeed Roustaee
Starring: Parinaz Izadyar, Payman Maadi
Rating: 4/5