Geithner to remain as Treasury secretary

Timothy Geithner has told President Barack Obama that he will remain as Treasury secretary.

The Treasury Department released a statement yesterday saying Geithner had informed the president of his decision to remain in the administration.

Geithner is the only remaining top official on Obama's original economics team.

In late June, people close to Geithner said he was considering leaving after the debt limit was raised in August. They said he was tired of commuting to New York, where his son will be finishing up his last year in high school.

Geithner informed the president of his decision to stay in the Cabinet on Friday morning.

That discussion took place before credit rating agency Standard & Poor's informed Treasury officials Friday afternoon that they planned to downgrade the government's credit rating from AAA to AA+.

In addition, Geithner and other finance ministers from the world's largest economies have been discussing what actions need to be taken to stabilize markets following renewed worries about Europe's debt problems.

Before joining the administration, Geithner served as president of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, a job that put him on the front lines of the central bank's efforts to battle the financial crisis.