Word: billioned
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: all
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
Also a factor in Monday's slide: plans announced by Prudential, a British insurer, to buy the Asian operations of AIG for an eye-popping $35 billion. Much of that would be paid in cash, Prudential said, which would mean swapping huge piles of sterling for dollars. Toss in the relentless pressure from speculators betting on a falling pound, as well as Britain's generally horrible fiscal position, and "sterling has sailed into a perfect storm of negativity," Nick Beecroft, a senior foreign exchange consultant at Saxo Bank, wrote in a research note earlier this week...
...sterling eventually closed 1.7% down on the dollar - an actual hung parliament might be expected to cause the venerable currency to collapse. And while it's true that speculators are adding to the pressure on sterling - the value of short positions on the pound rose to more than $6 billion in the week prior to Feb. 23 - they remain "the froth at the top," insists Simon Derrick, head of currency research at Bank of New York Mellon in London. (See pictures of London...
...Britain has had little practice at coalition government in recent years. Its last attempt - more than 30 years ago - has done nothing to help sell the idea now. A hung Parliament could see a second election called in a matter of months. And all the while, Britain's $268 billion deficit goes unchecked. (Read: "David Cameron: UK's Next Leader...
Colombia has received more than $6 billion since 2000 in mostly military aid from Washington, mainly because of U.S. concerns over security, drugs and broader regional instability. "Colombia is an important piece in that picture," says Michael Shifter of the Inter-American Dialogue, a Washington think tank. However, despite Washington's praise for the progress made under Uribe's leadership, the rejection of another re-election bid actually "helps American relations a lot," says Adam Isacson, a Colombia expert with the Washington-based Center for International Policy. "I don't think the Obama Administration was really relishing the idea...
...opted to let those bygones pass when his party won a near filibuster-proof margin in the Senate. Obama personally asked the Democratic caucus to maintain Lieberman's seniority and preserve his committee chairmanship. That proved to be wise - mostly. In early 2009, Lieberman helped rescue Obama's $787 billion stimulus bill. Maine Republican Susan Collins had walked out of talks with Senate majority leader Harry Reid over the bill's price tag. Worried that Reid was trying to trick her into agreeing to a costlier bill, she agreed to return to the talks only after Lieberman was brought...