Word: digit
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Dates: during 1980-1989
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Octophiles were transfixed last week when the second Monday of this month produced the rhythmic four-digit 8-8-88. Gamblers bet on the numeral, and some came up lucky, albeit a little bit late. Three straight eights topped the New York State lottery on -- sorry -- the ninth day of August, and 10,000 bettors who kept the faith for 24 hours will divide $6 million...
...high of $12.90 reached during a shortage in 1973. As a result, the Department of Agriculture now estimates that food prices will rise between 3% and 5% this year, but those estimates may prove optimistic. John McMillin, an analyst for the investment firm Prudential-Bache, foresees a possible double-digit increase in food prices during...
...drought drags on, it could start to harm the economy. Although food costs account for just 17% of the Consumer Price Index, double-digit increases in that component could push the overall inflation measure upwards by a percentage point or two. Some economists, like David Jones of the investment firm Aubrey Lanston, believe the food-price run-up will combine with rising wages and other commodity shortages to set off a genuine inflationary spiral. (The price of aluminum, for example, has risen more than 75% during the past year, while copper is up more than...
...face as he tries to cope with economic stagnation. During his first week as party General Secretary, Grosz vigorously repeated his support for the market-directed policies he insists are necessary to revive the Hungarian economy, which is weighted down by an $18 billion gross foreign debt and double-digit inflation. But Grosz warned Hungarians not to expect too much too soon. "Many think reform will change everything," he told a Budapest daily. "It is only work that will change our situation...
...poverty among the elderly through two programs that helped rich and poor alike. Congress created Medicare insurance in 1965. In 1972 it voted a 20% increase in Social Security benefits and linked them to the Consumer Price Index in an attempt to safeguard retirees from the double- digit inflation that was devastating young families. In 1980 alone, payments increased a record 14.3%. Now each month 91% of those 65 and over receive benefits totaling $13.6 billion. The percentage of elderly people living below the poverty line has been cut from...