Ravengate
Partners - Stock market, economic and political commentary by Patricia Chadwick

It is evident that banks and finance companies are doing everything in their power to rebuild their balance sheets. In an effort to lower their own borrowing costs, they are looking to the Federal Government for guarantees. They are actively engaged in the business of shrinking their own balance sheets, i.e. reducing their loan portfolios. And in the process of trying desperately to survive and eventually some day to thrive once again, they are abrogating the very rationale for their existence.

(more…)

Thank you, President Bush.

As you leave office, the polls may leave you somewhat disheartened and even a bit sad. The economic woes of the entire world seem to be blamed on you directly, and people are scared.

But those polls forget one monumentally important thing because polls don’t know how to measure the null set. The horrors of September 11, 2001 are seared in all our memories. For months after that terrifying day, we all were fearful of more attacks. After a while, when they didn’t happen, we settled down and stopped worrying so much and the fear faded and the complacency set it.

(more…)

As we all slog through this dreadful recession, it helps to keep in mind the insane Monty Python song, Always Look on the Bright Side of Life.While that may seem a bit tough to do at times, there are a number of ways in which one can be frugal while still contributing to the economy.Here are just a few:

(more…)

We all know that the economic statistics for the next few months are going to be lousy at best, but there is a bright spot in our economy right now and that is in the movie houses.

This realization came to me during the week after Christmas as I went nowhere (deliberately) and spent my time making soup, reading books I received for Christmas, venturing out for a daily three mile walk in what ranged from snow and sleet to 60° gorgeous sunshine, curling up with newspapers, and catching up on movie reviews, that after nearly a year of what seemed to me to be totally vapid movie offerings, there was suddenly an entire year’s worth of movies that appealed to me.

(more…)