Giorgio Armani:

"No sale, no acquisitions!"

Giorgio Armani exclaimed after his latest fashion show when journalists were eager to know how he would tackle the economic crisis. In recent years, Mr. Armani has played with the idea of listing his company on the Italian stock exchange or selling it, but dismissed the thought some time ago.

Cochrane/Zingales:

"A system with so much power vested in so few people, with so few rules, in which crises are managed with 2 a.m. conference calls, cannot possibly do better no matter how good the people at the top."

Messrs. Cochrane and Zingales, professors of finance at the University of Cicago Booth School of Business about the one year anniversary of the Lehman bankruptcy and the events leading to it

Carlos Ghosn:

"The future will belong to those who used this crisis as an opportunity to transform themselves and adapt to the new conditions of the market."

Carlos Ghosn, CEO of Renault SA, after deciding to halt development of high-end cars and to stop a new factory project in Marocco, reworking his management team, naming a new sales boss, a new purchasing director and a new head of quality and engineering.

Harry Pearce:

"Hiring a new leader during crisis almost inevitably invites bad decisions because a newcomer must act fast before fully grasping the business."

Harry Pearce, chairman of Nortel Networks, on the fact that 6 big company CEOs have been fired last week and more are expected to fall.The Wall Street Journal found in 2008 that the shares of those companies had declined far more often than they had increased.