New York, July 29 (IANS) Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama has met with a bipartisan group of business and economic leaders, including India-born PepsiCo chief Indra Nooyi, and he intends convening the group periodically in the run-up to the November election. Obama called the meeting Monday to discuss the “deteriorating” economic situation in the US and went on to lay out his strategy for “short-term relief and long-term growth”. He also voiced his support for “a second round of economic stimulus”, CBS News reported.

He said he would be convening the same group periodically over the next few months “because of the dynamic situation and one that the next president will need to be prepared to deal with the moment he takes office”.

The impressive list of those who attended, besides Nooyi, included Warren Buffett who participated by phone, JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon, Google CEO Eric Schmidt, New Jersey Governor Jon Corzine, former SEC chairman under President Bush, William Donaldson; former treasury secretary under Bush, Paul O’Neill; former treasury secretary under President Clinton, Robert Reich and former Federal Reserve chairman Paul Volcker.