White House Wants Wall Street to Skip Russian Eco Summit

The White House is lobbying top U.S. corporate leaders to spurn Russian President Vladimir Putin by canceling attendance at an economic conference in St. Petersburg later this month.

Treasury Secretary Jacob J. Lew and President Barack Obama’s senior adviser Valerie Jarrett have been making calls to executives scheduled to participate in the conference, saying their attendance wouldn’t send a good signal, according to a person with knowledge of the matter, who asked for anonymity because the conversations were private.