Greenspan found learning a 'troublesome activity'

Alan Greenspan, the world's most influential central banker, may have the ability to move markets with every word. But when younger, he was a lousy student as learning was a 'troublesome activity'.

'In high school, my interest was baseball and music, and going to class was a distraction which I tried to avoid,' said Greenspan, who has been at the helm of the Federal Reserve for 16 years.

Addressing teenagers at a Washington school, Greenspan said that when his interest in