US 'must act swiftly' on economic crisis, says Obama

America is “facing the greatest economic challenge of our lifetime and we must act swiftly to solve it”, president-elect Barack Obama said today.

Flanked by 17 members of his transition economic advisory board, Mr Obama said the US had lost 1.2 million jobs so far this year and he would confront the crisis “head on” immediately after becoming president on January 20 next year.