Obama meets Boeing, Ford, JPMorgan, other execs
ju4 wa4i dia4n zo1ng he2 ba4o da4o :\n  WASHINGTON, June 25 (Reuters) - Senior executives from a\nrange of businesses, including Boeing Co <BA.N>, Ford Motor Co\n<F.N>, and JPMorgan Chase & Co <JPM.N>, met on Wednesday with\nDemocratic presidential candidate Barack Obama.\nThe private meeting with auto, aerospace, technology,\nhealthcare, energy, financial services and communications\nexecutives, took place in Chicago but the campaign provided no\ndetails on what was discussed.\nAlan Mulally, Ford's chief executive, said he shared perspectives on domestic manufacturing and called the meeting\nvery productive.\n"The vitality of our economy will depend on our government\nseeking a partnership with industry," Mulally said.\nOther companies contacted by Reuters declined to comment.\nIn recent weeks, Obama, an Illinois senator, has focused\nheavily on the economy. He has pitched proposals for tax cuts\nand other ideas to workers in general election battleground\nstates such as Michigan, Ohio and Minnesota.\nExecutives at the meeting, according to the campaign,\nincluded: Ford's Mulally; James Bell, chief financial officer\nof Boeing; Jamie Dimon, CEO of JPMorgan; Mark Gallogly, founder\nof Centerbridge Partners private equity firm; Jim Rogers, CEO\nof Duke Energy Corp <DUK.N>; Ronald Williams, CEO of Aetna Inc\n<AET.N>; Brian Roberts, CEO of Comcast Corp <CMCSA.O>; and\nRobert Glaser, CEO of RealNetworks Inc <RNWK.O>.\nThe companies represented at the Obama meeting are powerful\nplayers in the U.S. economy, but some of the sectors they\nrepresent are struggling.\nMajor Wall Street firms have lost billions in a global\ncredit crunch driven by a severe slump in the U.S. housing\nmarket. Auto sales are hemorrhaging due to the softening\neconomy and $4 a gallon gasoline, and aircraft manufacturers\nface fallout from deteriorating finances of U.S. airlines.\nObama is scheduled to hold a forum on economic\ncompetitiveness on Thursday in Pittsburgh that will include\nother business leaders like General Motors Corp <GM.N> chief\nexecutive Rick Wagoner.\nBoth Obama and his Republican rival John McCain are\npressing proposals for tackling high energy prices that are\ndragging on the U.S. economy.\nAuto companies, particularly, are seeking tax credits and\nother help from Washington to retool factories and spur\nconsumer demand for energy-efficient vehicles.\nFord, GM and Chrysler, with sales of once popular sport\nutilities and pickups sliding dramatically this year, are\nmoving with new urgency to develop hybrids, battery, and fuel\ncell vehicles and those that can run on gasoline-ethanol\nblends.\nPresumptive Republican presidential nominee John McCain of\nArizona said this week, that if elected, his administration\nwould offer a $300 million cash prize to the company that\ndevelops the next generation battery technology to power cars.\n(Reporting by Caren Bohan in Chicago and John Crawley in\nWashington; Editing by Tim Dobbyn)\n((john.crawley@thomsonreuters.com; 1 202 898 8340))\nKeywords: USA POLITICS/OBAMA BUSINESS\nKeywords: USA POLITICS/OBAMA BUSINESS