Obama Announces Economic Transition Board as Dow Plunges

Unfortunately, the stock market does not seem to be celebrating the election of Sen. Barack Obama as president of the United States.

For the second day in a row, the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped more than 400 points, providing a sobering reminder of the dire economic situation awaiting the incoming administration.

Not coincidentally, one of Obama’s first moves as president-elect was to assemble an economic transition team, which is scheduled to meet with Obama and Vice President-elect Joe Biden tomorrow in Chicago. The team will include numerous heavyweights from government, business and academia. Here they are:

· David Bonior (member House of Representatives, 1977-2003)

· Warren Buffett (chairman and CEO, Berkshire Hathaway)

· Roel Campos (former SEC commissioner)

· William Daley (chairman of the Midwest, JP Morgan Chase; former secretary, U.S. Dept of Commerce, 1997-2000)

· William Donaldson (former chairman of the SEC, 2003-2005)

· Roger Ferguson (president and CEO, TIAA-CREF and former vice chairman of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve)

· Jennifer Granholm (governor, state of Michigan)

· Anne Mulcahy (chairman and CEO, Xerox)

· Richard Parsons (chairman of the board, Time Warner)

· Penny Pritzker (CEO, Classic Residence by Hyatt)

· Robert Reich (University of California, Berkeley; former secretary, U.S. Dept of Labor, 1993-1997)

· Robert Rubin (chairman and director of the executive committee, Citigroup; former secretary, U.S. Dept of Treasury, 1995-1999)

· Eric Schmidt (chairman and CEO, Google)

· Lawrence Summers (Harvard University; managing director, D.E. Shaw; former secretary, U.S. Dept of Treasury, 1999-2001)

· Laura Tyson (Haas School of Business, University of California, Berkeley; former chairman, National Economic Council, 1995-1996; former chairman, President’s Council of Economic Advisors, 1993-1995)

· Antonio Villaraigosa (mayor, City of Los Angeles)

· Paul Volcker (former chairman, U.S. Federal Reserve 1979-1987)