(FORTUNE Magazine) – -- BRUCE E. LAZIER, 39, financial analyst for Prescott Ball & Turben, after Texaco's settlement of $1.25 billion in Energy Department claims: ''Every time you turn over a rock there, another $1 billion goes out the door as a write-down, a tax liability, or a settlement.''

-- ISABEL V. SAWHILL, 50, economist with the Urban Institute, on Washington's decision to use more plastic: ''It is interesting to think that an Administration that has piled up the most debt of any in peacetime history is now giving federal agencies and employees credit cards.''

-- JEROME CHAZEN, 61, vice-chairman of Liz Claiborne Inc., on the garment industry's lack of consensus on skirt lengths: ''If I were a woman, I would throw up my hands and say, 'I won't buy anything until you guys make up your minds.' ''