Washington - Republican presidential candidate John McCain met with economic and business leaders on Monday, while Democrat Barack Obama was to address voters with remarks he dubbed his "closing argument" as the campaigns made their final pushes ahead of next week's elections.

The faltering US economy remained the key issue of the race with McCain arguing that voters can trust him to handle the crisis. Both were in Ohio, one of a select few hotly contested states that will decide the outcome of the election.

"I have been through tough times like this before and the American people can trust me - based on my record and results - to take strong action to end this crisis, restore jobs and bring security to Americans," he said in Cleveland, Ohio. "I will never be the one who sits on the sidelines waiting for things to get better."

He stressed his commitment to tax cuts as a means to encourage economic growth and his plans to fix the ailing housing market.

Obama at a rally in Canton, Ohio later Monday was to denounce McCain's policies as a continuation of the failed policies of President George W Bush.

"The last thing we can afford is four more years of the tired, old theory that says we should give more to billionaires and big corporations and hope that prosperity trickles down to everyone else," he said in prepared remarks released ahead of the speech. "The last thing we can afford is four more years where no one in Washington is watching anyone on Wall Street because politicians and lobbyists killed common-sense regulations."