The crisis has shown that it is a mistake to optimize company earnings in the short term at the expense of long-term growth. At Bayer we are in fact increasing our investment in research this year to 2.9 billion euros ($3.74 billion) - the highest research budget in the history of our company.

Sustainable success calls for sound business models and investment in the future. In the past, companies were too often concerned with maximizing their returns in the short term. We need to refocus on balancing the interests of all groups, including employees.

We need to stress the positive aspects of globalization. Over the past decades it has contributed to growth and to increased prosperity in many parts of the world. Now we have to find global answers to the crisis, and in particular we have to find a solution for the financial sector. We need a new and efficient framework.