WASHINGTON--Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner Tuesday met with business executives to discuss the economy as the Obama administration works to avoid a range of expiring tax breaks and spending cuts dubbed the fiscal cliff.
According to a department official, Mr. Geithner met behind closed doors at Treasury with:
--Robert Greifeld, chief executive of NASDAQ OMX Group Inc. (NDAQ)
--Dominic Barton, managing director of McKinsey & Company
--Jeff Bewkes, chairman and chief executive of Time Warner Inc. (TWX)
--Mark Bertolini, chairman and chief executive of Aetna Inc. (AET)
--Tim Armstrong, chairman and chief executive of AOL Inc. (AOL)
--Bob McDonald, president and chief executive of Procter & Gamble Co. (PG)
Later Tuesday, Mr. Geithner was scheduled to meet privately with the board of directors of the Urban Institute, a nonprofit research group.
The Treasury secretary, who plans to leave office soon after President Barack Obama's second inauguration, is expected to increase outreach as the fiscal cliff looms.
Earlier in the day, Mr. Geithner spoke at The Wall Street Journal's CEO Council meeting in Washington, where he defended the White House's call for higher taxes on the wealthiest Americans as policy makers struggle to curb the national debt without damaging the economy.
Congressional Budget Office economists last week forecast the economy would contract by 0.5% in 2013 and the unemployment rate would jump to 9.1% by the end of next year if the U.S. dives off the fiscal cliff.
The CBO, a nonpartisan arm of Congress, said the U.S. economy would expand by about 1.7% next year if all the spending cuts and tax increases are avoided.
Write to Jeffrey Sparshott at jeffrey.sparshott@dowjones.com
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(END) Dow Jones Newswires
November 13, 2012 19:17 ET (00:17 GMT)
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