Obama gets down to staff business

US president-elect Barack Obama, who will inherit the worst financial crisis in decades on January 20, is expected to name his Treasury Secretary soon.

Timothy Geithner, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, former Treasury secretary Lawrence Summers and former Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker are among the likely candidates.

Two days after his election victory on Tuesday, Obama appeared to be getting close to naming his chief of staff, too.

Rahm Emanuel of Illinois, a Democratic lawmaker known for his hard-charging style, has been offered the job of leading Obama's White House staff, according to Democratic sources.

Obama has already formed a transition team that is working fast to fill the next administration's economic and homeland security teams.

Heading that team are Valerie Jarrett, a close friend of Obama, Pete Rouse, his US Senate chief of staff, and John Podesta, former chief of staff to Bill Clinton.

It is understood that he will move soon to calm the markets by appointing an emergency economic committee with household names, possibly including billionaire investor Warren Buffett.

Obama could soon announce other economic posts as well. Likely to end up in top advisory roles are University of Chicago economist Austan Goolsbee and Jason Furman, a former economic adviser to Clinton.

For secretary of state, Massachusetts Democratic Senator John Kerry, former diplomat Richard Holbrooke, outgoing Republican Senator Chuck Hagel and former Georgia Democratic Senator Sam Nunn are the names in the frame.

And James Steinberg, a former Clinton adviser, is a top contender for the national security adviser's post.