John Bird and John Fortune:

Well, you know ... Ideas above their station, up to their ears in debt ... They thought that if they had a bigger mortgage they could get a bigger house. They thought if they had a bigger house, they would be happy. It's pathetic. I've got four houses and I'm not happy.

Louis CK on Conan:

Louis CK: When I read things like, "The foundations of capitalism are shattering," I'm like, "Maybe we need that." Maybe we need some time ...

Conan: You think that would just bring us back to reality?

Louis CK: Yeah, because, everything is amazing right now, and nobody's happy ...

'CNN', from earlier this year:

The Dow and S&P 500 tumbled to levels not seen in nearly 12 years Monday, as investors slowly came to the realization that they have been living well beyond their means while harboring wildly inflated expectations about the viability of their future prospects.

Nicholas A. Christakis & James Fowler:

Each additional happy friend increases a person's probability of being happy by about 9%.

Nora Johnson:

In our unending search for panaceas, we believe that happiness and "success" -- which, loosely translated, means money -- are the things to strive for. People are constantly surprised that, even though they have acquired material things, discontent still gnaws.

Previously, on Bird and Fortune:

Somehow, this package of dodgy debts stops being a package of dodgy debts and starts being what we call a structured investment vehicle.

Banking with Bird and Fortune