Monday, November 4, 2013

Your Update from the White House Business Team Friends, Last week, the President spoke with business leaders from around the world to inform them of his economic agenda and build support for his ideas in the months ahead. He delivered remarks at the SelectUSA Summit where he laid out his economic priorities and the importance of conceptualizing America as an attractive option for direct investment. Additionally, the Administration is committed to protecting companies by amping up cybersecurity infrastructure. This initiative is evidenced by the President’s Cybersecurity Framework put forth at the beginning of this year and the meeting he convened with CEOs last week to garner their support. Below please find overviews of these meetings as well as additional resources regarding the economy. As always, please feel free to contact us at business@who.eop.gov with any questions, concerns or ideas you have for partnership between your business and the White House.  The White House Business Team Ari, Marisa, and Sam  President Obama speaks at the first ever SelectUSA Investment Summit “There’s no substitute for those three proud words: ‘Made in America.’” President Obama has been emphatic that the United States remains the best place in the world to do business. At the SelectUSA Investment Summit, he reiterated that message to 1,000 business leaders from nearly 60 countries. “When you bet on America, that bet pays off,” the president said as he closed his keynote address. Your country is your product when you’re attracting foreign direct investment. At the Summit, we showed the world that the United States is the absolute best product on the market. “America is open for business,” said Commerce Secretary Penny Pritzker. “Our market has provided long-term stability and unmatched returns for investors.” Attendees began making connections as soon as the doors opened.  Representatives from 47 states, three territories, and Washington, D.C., showed off investment opportunities around the country. Read the full blog post here. President Barack Obama delivers remarks at the SelectUSA Investment Summit in Washington, D.C., Oct. 31, 2013. (Official White House Photo by Chuck Kennedy) President Obama Meets with Industry Leaders to Discuss Cybersecurity The President met with a group of CEOs from the information technology, financial services, and energy sectors to discuss our shared efforts to improve the cybersecurity of our nation's critical infrastructure on Tuesday. The conversation highlighted the importance of the voluntary Cybersecurity Framework that is being created by the Department of Commerce’s National Institute of Standards and Technology in partnership with a range of public and private stakeholders. The framework is part of Executive Order 13636 on Improving Critical Infrastructure Cybersecurity, which was introduced in the President’s 2013 State of the Union Address. On Tuesday, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) formally announced a 45-day public comment period for the Preliminary Cybersecurity Framework.   To view the President’s executive order establishing the Framework, or submit comment to NIST, visit this post from the White House blog. Five Key Points in This Month's Report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics 1. Private sector employment has risen for 43 consecutive months, with businesses adding a total of 7.6 million jobs over that period. To view this image click here. 2. Weekly employment indicators not in today’s report suggest that the labor market situation deteriorated in early October, coinciding with the shutdown and the threat of a possible default. 3. Local government educational services employment rose by 9,500 in September and is up 56,400 over the last three months – but remains well below pre-crisis levels. 4. The unemployment rate for women ticked down to 6.7 percent in September, the lowest since December 2008 but still above pre-crisis rates. 5. The economy has been adding jobs at a pace of more than 2 million per year. Read the full blog post here. Friday: President Obama heads to New Orleans On Friday, November 8, the President will travel to the New Orleans area for an event on the economy.  The President will discuss the importance of taking measures to grow the economy and create jobs by increasing our exports.