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President Barack Obama is in Ottawa today for a private lunch with Prime Minister Stephen Harper, and the North-American economy is sure to be front and center. A softer "Buy American" provision in Obama's stimulus package that honors existing trade agreements such as NAFTA is sure to be discussed, as is the ongoing bailout of the North-American auto industry, which has deep roots in southern Ontario...
However the topic Obama might like to explore more than any other during the few hours he has with Harper - one with perhaps the most far-reaching consequences for U.S. recovery - is the Canadian prime minister's unprecedented spending to strengthen Canadian banks and keep credit flowing in the economy. (See the top 10 financial collapses...
...trouble started in 2003 after Murdoch established Sky Italia by combining two struggling television outfits. At the time, Italy's free-to-air mogul Berlusconi, who also happened to be the country's prime minister, gave Sky Italia the green light. But Berlusconi, 72, has increasingly used both his political and entrepreneurial muscle to undercut his cable competitor. Murdoch, 77, is now hitting back by going after Berlusconi's big name presenters. (See Berlusconi's worst gaffes...
...Still, Berlusconi, has some weapons that Murdoch does not. Last fall, the prime minister pushed through a government decree that doubled to 20% the Value Added Tax (VAT) on pay television subscriptions. Sky Italia responded with a series of advertisements aimed at their subscribers (who also happen to be Italian voters) outlining how the Berlusconi government's decision was unfair to consumers. Mediaset and RAI also recently joined forces to launch a digital terrestrial service called Tivù, modeled on a British free-to-air platform that has cut into the market share of BSkyB, Murdoch's U.K. satellite television...
...former lunch pals know that there is an upside in getting along. Murdoch, whose net worth Forbes tallies at $8.3 billion, has only to gain by patching up his relationship with the sitting Prime Minister of the country that is host to his fourth largest holding. Berlusconi, who comes in at $9.4 billion on the Forbes list, owns Endemol, producers of global variety and reality television programs, which sometimes run on Murdoch networks. (Read a TIME cover story on Reality...