I like to buy things I can understand. I do a lot of research on things.

The most important thing in terms of your circle of competence is not how large the area of it is, but how well you've defined the perimeter.

In our view, derivatives are financial weapons of mass destruction carrying dangers that, while latent, are potentially lethal.

I am quite serious when I say that I do not believe there are, on the whole earth besides, so many intensified bores as in these United States. No man can form an adequate idea of the real meaning of the word, without coming here.

Does management resist the institutional imperative?

It's going to be tough because the economy is going to be getting worse for a while. And it might fall off a cliff if this doesn't pass. But nobody will ever know that if it does.

I mean, if Pearl Harbor came along, you could have said the planning was wrong by the military ahead of time or maybe the battleships shouldn't have all been in the harbor and all that kind of thing.