The CEOs on Speed Dial at the White House

In the days after the explosions at Japan's Fukushima Dai-Ichi nuclear plant, the markets were furiously trying to process the financial fallout. The White House, too, hungered for raw data that could help clarify the economic impact of the disaster. So Austan Goolsbee, the President's top economist, contacted Chief Executive Officers Paul Otellini of Intel (INTC) and James McNerney Jr. of Boeing (BA), pumping them for information, according to a senior Administration official. Goolsbee's takeaway: The biggest economic threat was the possibility of long-term rolling blackouts. If they could be minimized, the impact on U.S. inventories would not be that significant.

When the government's indicators aren't immediate or specific enough, the Administration has been ringing up a cross section of high-level CEOs. The Rolodex consists of business leaders who have dined with the President, developed informal relationships with senior aides, or serve on one of Obama's economic advisory boards. Aside from Otellini and McNerney, regular interlocutors include Wal-Mart Stores's (WMT) Michael Duke and Berkshire Hathaway's (BRK.A) Warren Buffett.