Economic Advisers

WASHINGTON -- Laura D'Andrea Tyson, the first woman to head the president's Council of Economic Advisers, is a non-doctrinaire "New Democrat" very much of the Clinton school.She is a cautious supporter of economic stimulus, an advocate of investment-led growth and a campaigner for fair trade, particularly with Japan.Dr. Tyson made her mark with President-elect Bill Clinton at a series of economic briefings she joined in Little Rock, Ark., during the campaign.While she has been enlisted to serve in a Democratic administration that is fashioning a pro-business economic policy and which on Thursday appointed a strikingly conservative economic team -- her own political and economic activities have distinctly liberal roots.

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. -- Youth and change were the message yesterday as President-elect Bill Clinton showcased a second round of top appointees, including the first woman to head the president's Council of Economic Advisers.The new administration is rolling out its Cabinet members at an accelerating pace, with another round of announcements expected soon, possibly as early as today.Yesterday, Donna E. Shalala, chancellor of the University of Wisconsin, was the choice for secretary of health and human services, making her the first woman in the Clinton Cabinet.

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. -- President-elect Bill Clinton and his top advisers intend to make final selections for the incoming administration's economic team over the weekend with the expectation that Sen. Lloyd Bentsen, D-Texas, would get the first offer to become secretary of the Treasury, according to Democratic sources."

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. -- As part of an effort to lower expectations for what was once billed as an economic "summit," aides to President-elect Bill Clinton outlined plans yesterday for what they now say will be a "conference" in mid-December bringing him together with more than 100 people from business and other fields.Mr. Clinton, meanwhile, met yesterday with Senate Finance Committee Chairman Lloyd Bentsen, who is considered a top candidate for the job of Treasury secretary. But aides said the unannounced meeting was to discuss issues that fall under the jurisdiction of the Texas Democrat's committee.

WASHINGTON -- President Bush's economic advisers said yesterday that the nation's sagging economy probably will rebound in a few months, and they rebutted arguments that living standards have dropped under the Reagan and Bush administrations.In the president's Annual Economic Report, the White House said the nation's economy would grow by a sluggish 1.6 percent this year if Congress did not pass the president's package of tax cuts and other measures intended to stimulate growth. If Congress enacted the program, the report said, growth would climb to 2.2 percent.

WASHINGTON -- The U.S. economy will grow at an annual rate of about 1 percent or "somewhat below" that in the first quarter, White House chief economic adviser Michael Boskin said yesterday."

Top administration officials asked bank and thrift examiners yesterday to extend the benefit of the doubt and use common sense when working with the financial institutions that are essential for fueling an economic recovery.While gently chiding their audience for contributing to the "credit crunch," Treasury Secretary Nicholas F. Brady and others stopped short of placing full blame on the nearly 500 examiners for the tight lending that is said to be contributing to the economy's sputtering.

New York ANYONE who expected a new chief of staff to produce a fast turnaround in White House attitudes toward the slumping national economy must have been disappointed last week by testimony from President Bush's principal economic advisers.They told the Senate Finance Committee that the President might propose an investment tax credit for business -- but only for some investments.The secretary of the Treasury, the budget director and the chairman of Bush's Council of Economic Advisers called once more for a capital-gains tax reduction.