By pouring money and goods into devastated regions, foreign aid workers sometimes compound the disruption and debauch the survivors.

If good history is dispassionate history, it must naturally wait until the passions of the period subside.

Saudi Arabia is a puritanical state that claims a monopoly of wisdom and virtue.

Financial crises are like fireworks: they illuminate the sky even as they go pop.

A century ago, petroleum - what we call oil - was just an obscure commodity; today it is almost as vital to human existence as water.

Since the attack on the United States on September 11 2001, and the US retaliation in Afghanistan and Iraq, there must be few people who have not felt a twinge of nostalgia for the cold war.

Economists, like royal children, are not punished for their errors.

Losing your capital is like losing your trousers. It is a real humiliation, and one not to be soon repeated.

Is there any purpose to translating poetry? A poem does not contain information of importance, like a signpost or a warning notice.

Because bankers measure their self-worth in money, and pay themselves a lot of it, they think they're fine fellows and don't need to explain themselves.

Profits in business always depend on the rate of interest: the higher the interest, the higher the rate of profit required.

I couldn't imagine a home without animals.

It's a character that I always found really likable. I'm fond of Zorro because he was a popular figure who worked for the people.

I'm crazy about jewelry; swimwear and jewelry.

Anything can be achieved in small, deliberate steps. But there are times you need the courage to take a great leap; you can't cross a chasm in two small jumps.

There's a degree of deception in silence.

An elected government making huge changes with the consent of its people, is being undermined by concentrated powers in unregulated markets-powers which go beyond those of any individual government.

I've never been a big fan of subtle art. I like art that gets deep into my head and starts my brain spinning with new ideas and inspiration and my whole body is full of energy.

There is no reliance to be placed on appearance.

Our assets walk out of the door each evening. We have to make sure that they come back the next morning.

Rare is the virtue that's not ruled by Fortune, That stands unshaken even when Fortune flees.