I believe that there is an important kernel of truth in the idea that financial errors recur every other generation.

[C]apitalism without financial failure is not capitalism at all, but a kind of socialism for the rich.

To me the gold price takes the form of a very uncomplicated formula, and all you have to do is divide one by 'n.' And 'n', I'm glad you ask, 'n' is the world's trust in the institution of paper money and in the capacity of people like Ben Bernanke to manage it. So the smaller 'n', the bigger the price. One divided by a receding number is the definition of a bull market.

Growth at an exceptional rate is a red flag in banking. It is hard enough to manage an ordinary bank; to control a sprouting weed is well-nigh impossible. If loans are expanding too quickly, the lending officers have probably been saying 'yes' too frequently.

The 1980s are to debt what the 1960s were to sex. The 1960s left a hangover. So will the 1980s.

It is an axiom nowadays that no bank fails for lack of capital; unprofitable lending is always the underlying cause.

It's about bums on seats. If nobody wants to listen to what you are doing, it kind of defeats the purpose really, doesn't it?