UK Chancellor Osborne on safety of sovereign debt

While other countries struggle to command confidence in their fiscal forecasts we have created an internationally admired and respected independent office for budget responsibility. These bold steps have made Britain that safe haven in the sovereign debt storm.

~George Osborne, UK Chancellor of the Exchequer, August 11, 2011

Sigmund Freud on the age of illusion

Illusions commend themselves to us because they save us pain and allow us to enjoy pleasure instead. We must therefore accept it without complaint when they sometimes collide with a bit of reality against which they are dashed to pieces.

~Sigmund Freud

Ken Langone on stock market correction: So what?

[Tuesday's 200 point stock market drop is] a correction. It’s healthy. It’s no big thing. So what?

[I'd] buy the banks [because they've] cleaned their act up [and have low valuations.]  JPMorgan Chase [JPM  39.32    -1.08  (-2.67%)   ] has a balance sheet that's like a battleship.aid. Wells Fargo [WFC  30.105    -0.865  (-2.79%)   ] , the same thing. Bank of America [BAC  7.71    -0.26  (-3.26%)   ] is getting better, Citi's [C  32.12    -1.56  (-4.63%)   ] getting better.

~ Ken Langone, as appeared on CNBC

David Stockman on the Federal Reserve

The Fed is a patsy. It is a pathetic dependent of the big Wall Street banks, traders, and hedge funds. Everything it does is designed to keep this rickety structure from unwinding.

- David Stockman, Former Budget Director, Reagan Administration, March 4, 2012