It"s not exactly news to say that we read and hear about the economy on almost an hourly basis when things are not going too smoothly (as they are not currently), but what is unique about this particular period is how apparent the connection to our financial system has become. Was this not the case before or were we just not as aware? Personally, I"m of the opinion that it is the latter.

The financial system is the lifeblood of our economy. A growing economy needs credit; yes, it"s that simple. Without, it wouldn"t grow. Don"t believe me? Imagine for an instance that you are looking to grow your own portfolio, business, ...whatever; what would be the first thing that you would want to do if you didn"t have sufficient funds to do it on your own? You would borrow. Period.

Our economy is driven in much the same way. If companies cannot borrow, they cannot grow ...assuming, of course, that they lack the financial resources to self-finance. This, however, is not all that far-fetched. While everyone hears about the big boys on Wall Street, it is actually the small and medium-sized businesses that make-up our economy"s backbone. It is also these businesses that grow most rapidly, create hundreds (if not thousands) of jobs for every one that a Fortune 500 firm does and ...most importantly in this context... it is these firms that need finance to keep them growing.

In today"s economy however, the uncertainty has caused everyone to think twice about where they put their money. As your neighbor and they"ll probably tell you that the safest place may very well be under the mattress! So, what"s the solution? ...no really, I"m asking?

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3.23 Copyright (C) 2007 Alain Georgette / Copyright (C) 2006 Frantisek Hliva. All rights reserved."