I had a conversation earlier today in Montreal with Jeffrey Immelt, the chairman and CEO of General Electric Co. (GE), who was pretty blunt in his assessment of the so-called Buy American provision in President Barack Obama’s stimulus bill.

I'm attending the International Economic Forum of the Americas in Montreal this week (that's a mouthful). So far, not many surprises, as policymakers and think-tank thinkers gather to discuss what the heck's going on in the global economy and what should be done about it.

Calling for Jim Flaherty's head seems to be becoming something of a regional pastime up Ottawa way, and I guess you can't fault the Opposition for seizing what they see as an opportunity.

Just a heads-up for anyone following this blog that a really great issue of Canadian Business (if I do say so myself) is hitting newsstands tomorrow. The cover package is a journal of a cross-country trip staff writer Joe Castaldo took a few weeks ago, to "take the pulse" of ...

Perrin Beatty, president and CEO of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, just sent out a letter to members about the Buy American provisions of the US stimulus package. Here it is: "Dear Canadian Chamber of Commerce member:

Every morning, a pile of clippings from around the world arrives on my desk, courtesy of sagacious newsgatherer and Canadian Business research associate Miguel Rakiewicz. Selections from this morning’s pile:

For those of you who missed it, we just this week held our annual Canadian Business Outlook '09 event, which featured the prognostications of such top-notch Canadian economists as David Wolf (Merrill Lynch), Benjamin Tal (CIBC), Derek Burleton (TD) and Sherry Cooper (BMO).

Cheng Siwei, the former vice-chair of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress, has long been an influential player in China’s now-three-decade-long process of economic reform.

Re the coordinated rate 50 basis-point rate cuts by central banks this morning, including Canada's. Far be it from me to criticize central bankers, but my first response was "Holy Moley" and the second was "Oh that again..." Seems to me they have admitted that the situation is dire by ...

The new financial bailout package U.S. Congress is reportedly poised to vote on provides some good insight into how Washington works.