Washington - US President Barack Obama on Friday created a new bipartisan advisory board to develop solutions to the country's economic crisis as he warned lawmakers that immediate action was critical to pulling the US out of a serious recession.

The 17-member board, led by former Federal Reserve chairman Paul Volcker, includes conservative and left-leaning economists from academia, labour unions and business.

"This is just the beginning of a long journey back to progress and prosperity," Obama said in prepared remarks released by the White House.

Reykjavik  - The interim prime minister of Iceland Friday presented amendments to the composition of the central bank.

Prime Minister Johanna Sigurdardottir presented the bill that included that the current system of three governors would be replaced with a single governor.

The position would be advertised and the governor would be required to have "completed a master's degree in economics and have extensive experience and expertise in monetary issues," the bill said.

Paris  - French President Nicolas Sarkozy demanded late Thursday that the European Union adopt a common position to reform the capitalist system.

During a 90-minute appearance on national television to discuss the economic crisis, Sarkozy also criticized the European Union for passivity in the face of the crisis.

"It is not possible that, in such a situation, Europe does not take the initiative," Sarkozy said, indirectly criticizing the Czech presidency and the European Commission.

Tokyo - Japan's foreign reserves hit a record high in December as US Treasury bond prices increased, the Finance Ministry said Friday.

The nation's foreign exchange reserves amounted to 1.03 trillion dollars at the end of December, marking a the second monthly rise in a row.

Foreign securities came to 908.02 billion dollars and foreign currency deposits totaled 95.29 billion dollars.