Wednesday-Night

T H E  R E P O R T Video and photos
John Updike has died. Although hailed worldwide as a literary giant, his appeal has escaped some Wednesday Nighters - perhaps we should try harder.
It was  indeed a dark and stormy night  and it was a small brave band (no economists) that battled the elements […]

U.S. Presidential Campaign: Candidates & Issues ; The evolving bailout plan ; The world after the (bailout) vote
The economy: what went wrong and what’s next?II John McCain: Economic Stimulus Plan     Barack Obama: The Economy

Demise of Reaganomics poses grave intellectual challenge to Republicans
The big, existential problem for Republicans – one which will consume it even if […]

Rivals’ Visions Differ on Unleashing Innovation
By WILLIAM J. BROAD and CORNELIA DEAN
(NYT) For decades, the United States dominated the technological revolution sweeping the globe. The nation’s science and engineering skills produced vast gains in productivity and wealth, powered its military and made it the de facto world leader.
Today, the dominance is eroding. In 2002, the […]

Taxing the Poor
Edward Gresser (Foreign Affairs) … most imports arrive not under FTAs but through the permanent tariff system, which receives far less attention in Congress. Rather than raising money and protecting jobs, permanent tariffs tend to increase clothing and shoe prices at home while creating especially high trade barriers that deter goods from approximately […]

February 26, 2008
Government of Canada Federal Budget

(CBC News) Flaherty delivers ‘prudence’ in 2008 budget
Budget thin on major initiatives
Finance Minister Jim Flaherty brought down a budget Tuesday that was short on big spending pledges but one he called “prudent” while facing the prospect of a slowing economy.
“Some would have us go down the path to higher […]

Margaret Lefebvre will introduce her colleague and good friend, George Kesteven, president of the Canadian Association of Income Funds (CAIF) - an organization with dwindling membership in the face of the Conservatives’ taxation policy with regard to income trusts.
Director of Investor Relations for PrimeWest Energy Trust since 2001, George is in a unique position […]

February 15, 2008
(The Economist) George Bush signed an economic stimulus package that will supply $168 billion—$152 billion of it this spring. The measure forms part of a government endeavour to stave off a recession in America. It ensures that rebates of up to $1,200 will be posted to households and also […]

Sharing the spoils
Nov 6th 2007
From Economist.com
OIL prices seem to hit a new peak each week. This is good news for governments, which take a cut of revenues. And coffers will swell further as companies explore new sources of oil that had previously been too pricey to extract, such as oil sands in Alberta, Canada. The […]

31 October 2007
Income trust investors still angry one year later
… It was one year ago that Finance Minister Jim Flaherty stunned the investment community by announcing the Conservative government would bring in a tax on income trusts by 2011 — reversing a campaign pledge made months earlier to leave them untaxed.
The wrath of the hundreds […]

More and photos
This Wednesday we have a very special guest: Andrea Mandel-Campbell, author of Why Mexicans Don’t Drink Molson: Rescuing Canadian Companies From the Suds of Global Obscurity, which has been stirring up a lot of media excitement since its appearance. In it she examines why Canadian companies have failed to compete on a […]