His explanation: he is above exploiting a weather crisis for political ends.

ECONOMIST: Canada

When a weather crisis hits New York, you never can predict just how the Big Apple or its millions of residents are going to react.

FORBES: Come on Irene...

In the wake of the Bear Stearns blow-up, rule makers will put renewed emphasis on the cash positions of major financial institutions--a traditional gauge of a bank's ability to weather crisis.

FORBES: What We Learned From Bear

And indeed February traditionally tends to be a slow month thanks to the weather, housing crisis or no.

FORBES: New Housing Data Shows A Springtime Bounce Back, Not A Double-Dip

The result is that the quality of Mongolian cashmere has fallen, leading to a crisis in the local market which has been exacerbated by a year-long bout of harsh weather.

ECONOMIST: But promise to be very different this time