Financial quotes of the month

“I am afraid that the profits of the local banks will fall by 25 percent at the end of the year” Byblos Bank Chairman François Bassil “It is not collapsing, but it is on the verge of collapse. The loss of income from oil there is approaching $45-50 billion by the year’s end.” Israeli Finance Minister Yuval Steinitz on Iran’s economy “In Beirut, we are operating at 55 percent of last year’s business. I won’t even discuss the situation in [Mount Lebanon], which is simply disastrous.” Pierre Achkar, head of the Lebanon’s Hotels Association “Does anybody out there think that the big problem we had is there was too much oversight and regulation of Wall Street? Because if you do, then Governor Romney is your candidate.” United States President Barack Obama during the first US presidential debate “This is the biggest kiss that’s been given to New York banks that