'Boom And Bust Cycle'

A capitalist economy "is the quickest way to generate wealth," LSE Chief Executive Officer Xavier Rolet said at a conference in London on Oct. 14. "What is profoundly disliked by -- I wouldn't say average citizens in the street -- is the boom and bust cycle of the capitalist economy. This is directly connected in the mind of citizens to unemployment."

In Amsterdam, protesters lined up at the entrance of the Amsterdam Stock Exchange this morning and greeted employees with slogans, broadcaster AT5 reported. Demonstrators burnt fake money and hosted an alternative exchange, bidding for "shares" titled stress, health, future and happiness.

About 50 people took over a disused hotel close to the Puerta del Sol square, the focus of demonstrations in Madrid, Efe news agency reported.

In Zurich, an estimated 1,200 protesters at the weekend occupied the Paradeplatz, home of Credit Suisse Group AG, the Swiss Social Democratic Party's youth organization said in a press release. Over 60 people stayed overnight, until police asked them to leave this morning. Protests have now moved to the nearby Lindenhof, overlooking Zurich's old town.

Chicago Arrests

In Australia, about 30 people gathered in front of the central bank in Sydney. Signs on a nearby fence included: "When I do it, it's counterfeiting. When the Reserve Bank does it, it's called Quantitative Easing." Another 70 protesters occupied Melbourne's city square in front of the Westin Hotel.

"Around the world, we're seeing people coming out in record numbers -- not just to protest and then go home," said Tim David Frank, 27, a teacher involved with the Occupy Sydney movement.

Chicago police arrested about 175 protesters in Grant Park around 1 a.m. local time yesterday after they refused to disperse, the Chicago Tribune reported.

Tokyo, Toronto and other cities also saw protests in support of the month-old movement, which organizers say represents "the 99 percent," a nod to Nobel Prize-winning economist Joseph Stiglitz's study showing the top 1 percent of Americans control 40 percent of U.S. wealth.

'Tear Down Capitalism'

In Hong Kong, protests extended for a second day yesterday after about 40 demonstrators slept overnight in a foyer beneath the Asian headquarters of HSBC Holdings Plc in the central financial district.