Special Report: U.S. presidential election 2008

·Obama was busy planning meetings with economic advisors.

·Obama has talked with nine world leaders by telephone.

·Another priority on Obama's pre-White House agenda is the formation of his cabinet.

Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama(1st L) accompanied by his wife Michelle(2nd L), his election partner Joe Biden(1st R) and wife acknowledges the supporters at the election night rally in Chicago, the United States, on Nov. 4, 2008, after he won the presidential election.(Xinhua Photo/Zhang Yan) Photo Gallery>>>

    WASHINGTON, Nov. 6 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President-elect Barack Obama has taken no rest after a 22-month campaign and is moving onto prepare for his upcoming presidency.

    On Thursday, two days after Obama was elected the 44th president of the U.S., the Democratic senator from Illinois was busy planning meetings with economic advisors and conversing with foreign leaders by telephone.

    Obama has talked with nine world leaders since his victory over Republican Senator John McCain in the presidential election.

    The leaders included Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper, French President Nicolas Sarkozy, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, Japanese Prime Minister Aso Taro, Mexican President Felipe Calderon, South Korean President Lee Myung-bak and British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, said Obama spokeswoman Stephanie Cutter.

    On Friday, Obama was set to meet with his economic team and discuss solutions to the current financial crisis, which opinion polls have showed is the top concern of American voters this year.

    Obama, who takes office Jan. 20, was also scheduled to hold his first news conference as president-elect on Friday.

    Another priority on Obama's pre-White House agenda is the formation of his cabinet.

    Rahm Emanuel, the fourth-ranking Democrat in the House of Representatives, has accepted Obama's invitation to become his chief of staff.

    "I announce this appointment first because the chief of staff is central to the ability of a president and administration to accomplish an agenda," Obama said in a statement. "And no one I know is better at getting things done than Rahm Emanuel."

    Obama has yet to decide who will head the Treasury Department as the U.S. struggles with fallout from the global financial crisis and economic meltdown.

    Potential candidates for the post include, according U.S. media speculation, Timothy Geithner, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, former Treasury Secretary Lawrence Summers and former Federal Reserve Board Chairman Paul Volcker.

    The latter two were to meet with Obama on Friday as members of a transition economic advisory board.

    The first family-to-be on Monday will visit the White House at the invitation of President George W. Bush.

    The current and incoming presidents were scheduled to discuss the economic meltdown during the visit while their wives were to tour the presidential residence.

    "I thank him (Bush) for reaching out in the spirit of bipartisanship that will be required to meet the many challenges we face as a nation," Obama said in a statement.

    The Obamas are expected to fly to Hawaii in December to honor Obama's late grandmother who died on Sunday in Honolulu, taking a break before they begin their adventure in Washington D.C.

Bush to meet Obama in White House next week 

U.S. President George W. Bush shakes hands with staff members on the South Lawn of the White House after discussing the transition with the incoming Administration of U.S. President-elect Barack Obama, November 6, 2008.(Xinhua/Reuters Photo) Photo Gallery>>>

   WASHINGTON, Nov. 6 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President George W. Bush said Thursday that he would meet President-elected Barack Obama for the first time in the Oval Office next Monday.

    The current and future presidents will discuss daunting tasks facing the United States, including economy, the Iraq war and priorities during the transition. Full story

Peru invites Obama to APEC summit

    LIMA, Nov. 6 (Xinhua) -- The Peruvian government has invited U.S. President-elect Barack Obama to a summit of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum this month, Foreign Minister Jose Garcia Belaunde said Thursday.

    "We have invited the U.S. president-elect to Peru, but we don't know whether under the current circumstances he could come," Garcia Belaunde said. Full story

Aso, Obama talk over phone, vowing cooperation

    TOKYO, Nov. 7 (Xinhua) -- Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso and U.S. President-elect Barack Obama on Friday vowed to cooperate closely in tackling such issues as the ongoing financial crisis, Afghanistan and the Korea Peninsula, Kyodo News Agency quoted a Japanese government official as saying.

    During their telephone talks, Aso and Obama agreed to strengthen the Japan-U.S. alliance and confirmed to make arrangements for their meeting at an early date, the unnamed official was quoted as saying.Full story 

Aides: LA mayor not to seek job in Obama administration

    LOS ANGELES, Nov. 6 (Xinhua) -- Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa may not seek a job in Barack Obama's White House, although the U.S. President-elect has asked him to be part of his economic transition team, the mayor's aides said Thursday.

    Villaraigosa's "only plan is to run for re-election" as the Los Angeles mayor, according to an official of the mayor's office. Full story

Illinois House Representative accepts nomination as Obama's chief of staff

Democratic Caucus Chair Rep. Rahm Emanuel (D-IL) (R) discusses the House Democrats 100 Hours Agenda on Capitol Hill as U.S. House Majority Whip Rep. James Clyburn (D-SC) listens in Washington in this January 10, 2007 file photograph.  (Xinhua/Reuters Photo) Photo Gallery>>>

    WASHINGTON, Nov. 6 (Xinhua) -- Rahm Emanuel, a House Representative from Illinois, has accepted the nomination as the next White House chief of staff, said President-elect Barack Obama on Thursday.