Talking about a crisis

"In this crisis, a number of times people have seen a light at the end of the tunnel and it has ended up being a train coming down the tracks," Credit Suisse Chief Executive Brady Dougan announcing a further €3.2 billion write-down.

“My general feeling is that the recession will be longer and deeper than most people think. This will not be short and shallow.” Investor Warren Buffett expressing doubts that economic fortunes are on an upswing.

"The more patience people have, the better off they're going to be at seeing the true value of this company. It's probably going to take some time." New Citigroup CEO Vikram Pandit defends his management style.

"Even if the capital markets crisis resolves, it does not mean that this country will not go into a bad recession. The recession just started. We don't know if it's going to be mild or severe." JPMorgan Chase CEO James Dimon, whose bank saw its first-quarter profit fall by half due to the recent collapse of the US mortgage market.

"The most painful decision was to reduce the dividend because it adversely affects our shareholders,"  "But we believe the long-term benefit to shareholder value outweighs the disadvantage of the dividend reduction as we fortify our balance sheet against continued instability in the housing and capital markets". Wachovia CEO Ken Thompson announcing a reduction in quarterly dividend from 64 cents to 37.5 cents a share.

“There's an overwhelming negative sentiment that still is out in the marketplace. I don't see a reason to be too optimistic about it changing, or what the real catalyst for change would be over the next several months.'' Erin Callan, Chief Financial Officer of Lehman Brothers on the continuing crisis.