We could have another economic downturn. We need to maintain a reserve.

Industries important to many of our customers -- electronics, automotive, textiles and chemicals -- have been particularly affected by the economic downturn, ... This has temporarily reduced fundamental demand for our products.

When four of ten CEOs (40 per cent) believe that there could be a major economic downturn in the next two years, might be the proverbial canary in the mine. The strength of the Canadian dollar and its impact on manufacturing and exports plus the ascendancy of China and India as major global economic players may be putting a degree of caution into the air in what has been to date a robust outlook. Time will tell.

I should like to suggest to you that the cause of all the economic troubles is that we have an economic system which tries to maintain an equality of value between two things, which it would be better to recognise from the beginning as of unequal value.

The challenge is, how do you maintain viable economic development and do that in a context where people have to spend two hours to get to work and trucks can't do deliveries?

In this economic downturn we have too many managers and not enough true leaders to act as change agents and make rain!