ECONOMY

Business Leaders Support Defense Cuts: A majority of U.S. business leaders believe that defense spending should be cut to help reduce the federal budget deficit, a Conference Board survey suggested. Close to 300 company chief executives participated in the survey. About three in five business leaders surveyed supported reductions of 20% in defense spending. About one in five favored cuts of 30%. Asked about government spending preferences, business leaders gave a low priority to cutting income and capital gains taxes, the survey showed. Defense savings should be used to cut the federal deficit, 87% of those surveyed said. Sixty-one percent also placed a high priority on using defense savings for education investments, while 52% pointed to infrastructure investments.