“The big-picture perspective is that things have improved. The question is, how sustainable is this growth going forward?”
-- Jan Hatzius, chief US economist at Goldman Sachs (GS), on the Commerce Department reporting 3.5% GDP growth



“I accept reality and dare not question it.”
-- Walt Whitman



***

“The oversight council described in the proposal currently lacks sufficient authority to effectively address systemic risks.”
-- Sheila Bair, FDIC chairwoman, on Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner’s plan to supervise financial companies more closely



“There is no necessity to separate the monarch from the mob; all authority is equally bad.”
-- Oscar Wilde



***

“Obviously we like the price of free, because consumers like that as well.”
-- Eric Schmidt, CEO of Google (GOOG), on the company’s new, free GPS service for mobile phones


“I only ask to be free. The butterflies are free.”
-- Charles Dickens



***

“Motorola is a different place than it was a year ago. Sanjay has done a spectacular job.”
-- Paul E. Cole, T-Mobile (DT) vice president for product development, on Sanjay Jha, Motorola (MOT) co-CEO



“He that will not apply new remedies must expect new evils; for time is the greatest innovator.”
-- Francis Bacon



***

"We don't have a comment. We've never commented on this case and we're not about to start now."
-- Attorney Andrew McCutcheon Lankler, on Bernard Madoff auditor David Friehling’s plan to plead guilty to charges of securities fraud, investment adviser fraud, making false filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, and obstructing or impeding the administration of the Internal Revenue laws



“Don't you know that silence supports the accuser's charge?”
-- Sophocles