If only it were so
"Capitalism is in the process of destroying itself with such sorts of demands." — Patrick Artus, chief economist of French bank IXIS, commenting on the announcement by Germany's biggest bank, Deutsche Bank, that it will slash thousands of jobs despite booking record profits in an attempt to raise its return on capital to 25%.
A very good year
"The rich had a very good year. The collective net worth of the 691 billionaires we could find is $2.2 trillion, up $300 billion from the combined worth of the 587 people listed last year. Every region saw gains. The world's richest moguls now hail from 47 countries, including, for the first time, Kazakhstan, Poland, Ukraine and even Iceland." — Forbes magazine, March 11.
Knows how to wage war on the poor
"He helped manage a large organisation. The World Bank's a large organisation; the Pentagon's a large organisation. He's been involved in the management of that organisation." — Emperor George Bush II, March 16, explaining why he has nominated Paul Wolfowitz, deputy US war secretary, as the next president of the World Bank.
Incredibly substantive
"Paul Wolfowitz, whose nomination as World Bank president has stirred controversy, has discussed poverty and development issues with Irish rock star Bono in two phone conversations, an adviser says... Wolfowitz adviser Kevin Kellems said the discussions 'were incredibly substantive about reducing poverty, about development, about the opportunity to help people that the World Bank presidency provides and about charitable giving and social progress around the globe'." — Reuters, March 18.
From 91×ÔÅÄÂÛ̳ Weekly, March 23, 2005.
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