Yesterday the President met with 20 prominent CEOs in a private session. The White House said the point of the meeting was to discuss getting the CEOs to use the money they have been holding to create more jobs.
"We focused on jobs and investment, and they [the CEOs] feel optimistic that, by working together, we can get some of that cash off the sidelines," Obama said as he walked back to the White House from the meeting.
The private discussion between the president and the leaders lasted several hours, with the White House saying issues such as trade, regulation, education and investment were covered.
Obama concluded the session "by asking the attendees to continue the dialogue with him on a shared agenda focused on moving our economy forward," the White House said in a statement.
The so-called CEO summit came at a time when corporate America is sitting on $1 trillion in cash reserves while unemployment remains stubbornly high.
The heads of some of the biggest holders of corporate cash attended the meeting. Cisco Systems has the nation's largest corporate cash reserve with a balance of $39.9 billion, according to Moody's Investors Service.
Four other companies with CEOs attending are among the top 20 in cash on hand. Google is holding $30.1 billion, followed by Intel with $18.3 billion, General Electric with $12.9 billion and Boeing with $8.7 billion.
