The Obama transition team, meanwhile, is reportedly working feverishly to overhaul the $700 billion bailout of Wall Street. The Washington Post reports Obama aides are focusing on setting clear restrictions on the condition for government aid. The Treasury Department will need congressional approval for the second $350 billion installment of bailout money. Obama spoke about the economy on Thursday.

President-elect Obama: “We should have an open and honest discussion about this recovery plan in the days ahead, but I urge Congress to move as quickly as possible on behalf of the American people. For every day we wait or point fingers or drag our feet, more Americans will lose their jobs, more families will lose their savings, more dreams will be deferred and denied, and our nation will sink deeper into a crisis that, at some point, we may not be able to reverse.”

A congressional oversight report expected for release today criticizes the Treasury Department’s handling of the bailout, faulting what it calls “significant gaps in Treasury’s monitoring of the use of taxpayer money.”