Speak and Write like The Economist: Говори и пиши как The Eсonomist

As Bob Monks, a shareholder activist, puts it, "the American shareholder cannot nominate directors, he cannot remove them, he cannot – except at the arbitrary pleasure of the SEC – communicate advice to them. Democracy is a cruelly misleading word to describe the situation of the American shareholder in 2006."

Across a vast continent a "westering" people established the novus ordo seclorum that is on every dollar bill.

Cuba is the only country in the world where it is not necessary to work – the country can no longer afford this.

How can you spot the venture capitalists at a business conference? They're the people who are always hunting for the exits.

In George Orwell's "Animal Farm" the mighty cart-horse, Boxer, inspires the other animals with his heroic cry of "I will work harder". He gets up at the crack of dawn to do a couple of hours' extra ploughing. He even refuses to take a day off when he splits his hoof. And his reward for all this effort? As soon as he collapses on the job he is carted off to the knacker's yard to be turned into glue and bonemeal.

"The bad news is we didn't hit oil," ran the old wildcatter's joke. 'The good news is we didn't find gas."

Capitalism can make you well off. And it also leaves you free to be as unhappy as you choose. To ask any more of it would be asking too much.

Investors who believe in the beta mousetrap may find that the rodents have already escaped with the cheese.

The communist creed: From each according to his ability, to each according to his need. The capitalist creed: From each according to his gullibility, to each according to his greed.

The American dream: a big car, a big house and Big Macs far all.

No one knows what future volatility will be.

“ Food, wine, fun, joy, pleasure, luck, beauty, happiness

Asked if anything interrupted his sleep, Helmut Kohl said it was night-time forays to the fridge.

In 1755 Samuel Johnson's dictionary defined oats as "a grain, which in England is generally given to horses, but in Scotland supports the people".

They harvest the apples by cutting the tree branches.

Players of Pok'emon Go have collectively walked nearly 9bn kilometres since the smartphone game was released last year.

I want tequila and dancing and girls and democracy.