“The problem is not lack of regulation but unrealistic expectations. What we confront in reality is uncertainty, some of it frighteningly so…”

This decade is strewn with examples of bright people who thought they built a better mousetrap that could consistently extract abnormal returns from the financial markets.

History has not dealt kindly with the aftermath of protracted periods of low risk premiums.

Such caution seems especially warranted with regard to the sharp rise in equity prices during the past two years. These gains have obviously raised questions of sustainability.

Derivatives have permitted the unbundling of financial risks.

Greenspan, who knew so much more than most, knew far less than most supposed.

It has been my experience that competency in mathematics, both in numerical manipulations and in understanding its conceptual foundations.

If I’ve made myself clear, I’ve misspoken.

…our market system depends critically on trust-trust in the word of our colleagues and trust in the word of those with whom we do business.

Excessive optimism sows the seeds of its own reversal.

Deficit spending is simply a scheme for the ‘hidden’ confiscation of wealth.

Regulation – which is based on force and fear – undermines the moral base of business dealings. It becomes cheaper to bribe a building inspector than to meet his standards of construction. Protection of the consumer by regulation is thus illusory.

In the absence of the gold standard, there is no way to protect savings from confiscation through inflation.

The need for values is inbred. Their content is not.

American and British authorities were also concerned about violence in an area that harbors a resource indispensable for the functioning of the word economy.

If I seem unduly clear to you, you must have misunderstood what I said.

I made a mistake in presuming that the self-interests of organisations, specifically banks and others, were such that they were best capable of protecting their own shareholders and their equity in the firms.

But I can’t confront the doubts I have. I can’t admit that maybe the past was bad, and so, for the sake of momentum I’m condemning the future to death so it can match the past.

Truthfully, the only real and consistent disability I’ve had to confront is the world ever thinking that I could be described by those definitions.

Breaking something big into its constituent parts will help you organize your thoughts, but it can also force you to confront the depth of your ignorance and the hugeness of the task.

The only solution is to confront them – confront yourself – with the greatest fear imaginable.

He dares confront the time, And speak the truth, and give the world no rest No kingly threat can cowardize his breath, He with majestic step goes forth to meet his death.

And to empower them to confront the worst in themselves in order to discover and claim the best in themselves.

We have to confront the very scary fact that the president is a moron. He’s really dumb.

When she stopped conforming to the conventional picture of femininity she finally began to enjoy being a woman.