“Some in the media have quoted me using a four letter word to dismiss the Correspondents’ dinner as a concern. I have not sought a correction,” said former Secretary of State and presidential contender, Hillary Clinton.

“Revenues stink in the banking area. This decade will be the worst for revenue growth since the Great Depression,” said Mike Mayo, the controversial banking analyst at the Asian broker and research house, CLSA.

“Kamikaze missions are rarely successful, least of all for the pilots,” said Robert Gibbs, former White House Press Secretary.

In Italy, for 30 years under the Borgias, they had warfare, terror, murder and bloodshed, but they produced Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci and the Renaissance. In Switzerland they had brotherly love, they had 500 years of democracy and peace – and what did that produce? The cuckoo clock,” said the filmmaker, Orson Wells.

“For several decades on Wall Street, the short term sensibility has been encouraged and compensated very highly,” said Michael Lewis, author of “The Big Short.”

“Farce reigns and risk aversion rises,” Kit Juckes, global strategist at Societe Generale SA in London, wrote in a note to clients. “The U.S. is still heading towards a shutdown, the Italian government is heading for a confidence vote that probably precedes elections. Yen up, euro down.”

“The Fed is not worried about inflation in the next few years and want growth first, growth second, and growth third. With the stabilization of Europe, the apparent pick up in China, and a US economy still on a reasonable footing, the Fed’s heavy leaning to a growth policy should lead to a pretty favorable […]

“From the first, Istanbul had given him the impression of a town where, with the night, horror creeps out of the stones. It seemed to him a town the centuries had so drenched in blood and violence that, when daylight went out, the ghosts of its dead were its only population.”  said Ian Fleming in […]

“I’d much rather have the Wicked Witch of the East go away. We’d be way better off if we ended quantitative easing real fast so this scapegoat can get behind us,” said Ken Fisher of Fisher Investments.

“This is very bullish for markets. It’s bullish for markets intermediate term. Before, I thought we were in the seventh inning of a four-year bull market. Two waiters just came in and delivered another punch bowl. We’re going into extra innings, baby,” said Stanley Druckenmiller of hedge fund Duquesne Capital Management.

“The barriers to Wall Street are quite low, once you have the Ivy League credentials. If you’re a certain kind of kid who doesn’t actually know anything about anything, Wall Street is still a great place to go,” said Michael Lewis, author of “The Big Short.”

“Successful investing is about people agreeing with you….later,” said Jim Grant of Grants Interest Rate Observer.

“The economy without debt is like major league baseball without steroids,” said Jack Ablin, chief investment officer of BMO Private Bank.

There are many companies in the US that are running out of time because of leverage. There is still $1 trillion in distressed or defaulted debt. Any company that could refinance has already done so. For all those companies that couldn’t refinance, their going to be hitting a wall this year or next year,” said […]

“A big part of good investing is to buy uncertainty and sell complacency,” said Robert Luna, CEO of SureVest Capital Management.