Flaherty mum after meeting on economy (Reuters)

OTTAWA (Reuters) – Finance Minister Jim Flaherty discussed the global economy with Prime Minister Stephen Harper and the head of the Bank of Canada for 45 minutes on Tuesday but did not comment afterward.

Flaherty and Bank of Canada Governor Mark Carney were in Washington for a meeting of the Group of 20 leading and emerging nations last week. Harper was in New York on a separate trip.

"I think we're all finding that people are pretty positive about what we're doing here, but we're in a world picture that is not so positive, and that clearly is going to demand that we spend a little bit of time looking at it," Harper said in remarks before the meeting started in his office.

Speaking to legislators earlier in the day, Harper dismissed opposition calls for more stimulus measures to help the economy. The government says it will trim spending to wipe out a budget deficit by 2014-15.

"We are running a very expansionary fiscal policy right now. We are obviously undertaking good management, and some modest savings to ensure, that as the economy recovers, that we will in fact balance our budget and retain our fiscal advantage," he said.

(Reporting by David Ljunggren; editing by Rob Wilson)

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