(FORTUNE Magazine) – JEFF PANTAGES, 33, mutual fund manager at Prudential Insurance: ''There's still value in bonds, but buying them now is like trying to catch a falling knife; you're apt to get bloody.''

MICHAEL FRIEDMAN, 38, a Florida state representative, on trying to raise revenue while repealing the state's controversial tax on services: ''We're caught not between a rock and a hard place, but between a dog and a fire hydrant. And that's a lot messier.''

ANDREW CHANCELLOR, 24, an executive recruiter in the City of London: ''People who aren't interested in money are usually a bit boring.''