Quotes of the Day

MobilCom might have been a great company if it didn't get saved so often. Burdened by debt from its 3G venture, the firm faced insolvency after France Telecom stopped its funding. Then Gerhard Schröder, mindful of the elections and the 5,500 jobs at risk, announced a ?400 million lifeline. Such bailouts are notorious monetary black holes, and analysts quickly noted that MobilCom would soon need another infusion without big changes. But for two reasons, this rescue may be different. First, commercial banks are no longer playing along, as they did in 1999 when pressured to save doomed construction firm Philipp Holzmann. Facing troubles of their own, Germany's private-sector banks are now defiant about preserving dying companies in amber. Only state-controlled banks ponied up this time. The second thing that may make this rescue different is that MobilCom CEO Thorsten Grenz outlined a restructuring that could make it work, including slashing 3G and a third of the workforce. "The loan was put together in a panic," says Ovum chief analyst Julian Hewett, "but they've got businesses that can survive if they completely give up on the 3G idea." Of course if MobilCom does survive, the problem of overcapacity in Germany's — and Europe's — wireless sector will remain. Which means it's only a matter of time until someone else gets his chance to be saved.

OIL
A Pipe Dream Comes True
Sometimes a pipe is just a pipe. A few years ago, the planned Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline from the Caspian Sea through Azerbaijan, Georgia, Turkey and into the Mediterranean was touted by the U.S. as a way to get the Caspian's rich oil reserves without going through Russia. But there was a hitch: oil companies weren't terribly interested. With prices and demand still growing and U.S.-Russia relations improved, Cambridge Energy Research analyst Laurent Ruseckas says, commercial factors are now driving the $3 billion project. (It began construction last week, sponsored by British Petroleum, Norway's Statoil and others.) While there is still some Russian annoyance at the plan — and heightened tensions with Georgia over Chechen separatists — Ruseckas notes that "the Russians now understand that this is just a pipeline." In fact, the biggest impact today won't be on a superpower, but on Azerbaijan, which hopes to triple its production to a million barrels a day when the pipeline opens in 2005.

THE BOURSE
Not So Fabulous, Darling
Retailer Harvey Nichols — Harvey Nicks of sitcom Absolutely Fabulous fame — hasn't amused investors lately. So Dickson Poon, who floated 49.9% of the company at $4.20 a share in 1991, is taking it back for $3.87

Chocolate War Truce
Activists in Pennsylvania pulled off a surprise coup as the Hershey Trust gave in to local opposition and stopped the sale of the confectioner, despite a bid by Wrigley of $12.5 billion.

Discredited Swiss
Switzerland's bank secrecy can't hide the problems at Credit Suisse. After shares fell 50% this year, CEO Lukas Mühlemann was forced out, to be succeeded by John Mack and Oswald Grübel.

Lingering Illness
Asbestos suits continue to hit Europe's insurers, as Germany's Allianz paid out $750 million to cover U.S. claims.

INDICATORS
Notes From The Euro Zone
After years of hoarding foreign cash rather than trusting the native ruble, Russians should know about reliable currency. That bodes well for the euro, which has ousted the dollar as the country's most-imported species. Russians bought over ?700 million in July, compared to $573 million in U.S. currency.

Drop The Gameboy!
Even though two judges found it unconstitutional, Greek authorities continued enforcing a law that makes it illegal to play computer games in public. Raiding Internet cafés, arresting their owners and seizing computers, police caused havoc around the country.

Share And Share Alike
The Bank of Japan jolted markets by agreeing to buy shares owned by the country's commercial banks, which hold $200 billion in stocks and strain under $355 billion in bad loans. This may be an attempt to halt deflation, but critics dismissed it as market manipulation.

A Good Man Is Hard To Find
The U.S. accounting industry is now in safe regulatory hands. Securities and Exchange Commission chairman Harvey Pitt named Scott Taub to oversee the sector as deputy chief accountant. Taub had experience on the Professional Standards Group at his last firm — Enron's accountant Andersen.

BOTTOM LINES
"One thing I learned during my years as CEO is that perception matters."
Jack Welch, former chief executive of General Electric, announcing his decision to forgo many of his retirement perks after they drew criticism in the media

"Devaluations are not risks in Latin America, they are certainties."
Mario Giraldo, president of Colombian foodmaker Noel, on the region's monetary woes

"He was the Great Satan, the personification of evil. But after watching this film you end up just a little bit in love with him."
Alexei Kazakov, Moscow movie critic, on The Oligarch, based on the life of tycoon Boris Berezovsky

• BLAINE GRETEMAN
• German electioneering leads to new lifeline