The world’s biggest maker of consumer goods has urged Barack Obama and John McCain not to talk the US into a “worse recession” during the presidential election by being too gloomy over the state of the economy.

AG Lafley, chairman and chief executive of Procter & Gamble, told the Financial Times he was concerned by the “woe is me and ain’t it awful” rhetoric adopted by Hillary Clinton and Mr Obama during their fierce battle for the Democrat nomination.