We live in strange, absurd times. And everything keeps getting weirder. How else can you explain the recent release from SNL Kagan concerning their projected analysis for Hollywood movies? I mean, any press release that can keep a straight face while stating that "Overall, SNL...
There are those who are born to greatness and those who have greatness thrust upon them. Then there's Harvey Weinstein. He sort of rented greatness. Drove a hard bargain, too. With the recent news stories about Weinstein's old company, Miramax Pictures, on its deathbed and the...
The doom-saying business is getting ridiculously competitive. Oh sure, during the past year I had a decent run at spreading gloom and earning such catchy nick names as "Dr. No," "The Dark Prophet," and "Mr. Doom." But that was before I found myself competing with...
Somebody asked me recently how the cost of movie tickets is determined. I told them "Good question." Then I realized that they were serious and actually waiting for an answer. After staring blankly for a few minutes, I excused myself to go to the bathroom...
R&R Consulting's Ann Rutledge notes that the financial crisis has demonstrated the need for new fraud risk models to facilitate sound economic decisions within the capitalist framework. Paradoxically, while improper use of securitization brought on the financial crisis, properly implemented securitization models could help revive...
R&R Consulting principal Sylvain Raynes is quoted in a ground-breaking expose by McClatchy Newspapers on how Moody's compromised the integrity of its credit ratings: "As the housing market collapsed in late 2007, Moody's Investors Service, whose investment ratings were widely trusted, responded by purging analysts and...
My goodness! If one were to believe all the news reports, it would appear that the entire motion picture industry has just fallen into the Pacific and sunk slowly beneath the waves. Gee gosh golly, what's wrong with everybody? Last I heard, Variety and the...
R&R Consulting's Ann Rutledge comments on the importance of updating structured security ratings -- a service provided by R&R's patented ABSTRAK technology -- in "When Bond Ratings Get Stale" by Gretchen Morgenson, The New York Times, October 10, 2009....
If you ever find yourself cursed with running a film festival, there are two questions you must ask. The first is: "Why are we doing this festival?" The second is: "Which way is the exit?" The ideal of any film festival is to present a wide...
With healthcare reform the hot topic of the day, R&R Consulting's Sylvain Raynes was interviewed on David Webb's Grinder Show to describe how the cybernetic approach to healthcare finance reform developed by R&R and Standard Medical Acceptance Corporation (SMA) could bring healthcare costs under control. Tune...