In a slow-growing world that is short on aggregate demand, Germany's trade surplus is a problem.

The Fed's independence is critical.

In the past, Federal Reserve chairmen have not generally gone directly to the public.

Small businesses have played an important role in fueling past economic recoveries.

I don't think you can ever completely transform yourself on film, but if you do your job well, you can make people believe that you're the character you're trying to be.

The absolute transformation of everything that we ever thought about music will take place within 10 years, and nothing is going to be able to stop it. I see absolutely no point in pretending that it's not going to happen. I'm fully confident that copyright, for instance, will no longer exist in 10 years.

An inevitable question asked of a performer who has made a modest success of his career is, 'How has success changed you?' It's a loaded question because it automatically assumes that there has been a change. And, in a sense, the assumption is a correct one. Basically, however, most people remain pretty much the same.

I was afraid that not even Merlin the Enchanter could transform me into a writer.