Word: dollars
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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...makers to cigarette manufacturers. From 1977 to 1981, the number of civil lawsuits in state courts grew four times as fast as the population of the U.S. And in the decade between 1974 and 1984, the number of product-liability suits in federal courts expanded 680%. The first million-dollar verdict did not occur until 1962, but there were 401 in 1984, according to Jury Verdict Research Inc., a private group. The average verdict in product-liability cases now tops $1 million; preliminary figures for 1985 indicate that the average verdict in medical malpractice cases also exceeded $1 million...
...count only the initial outcomes of trials that the plaintiffs won. If defendant victories, out-of-court settlements and verdicts reduced on appeal were factored in, say the lawyers, even the average level of awards would be much lower. ATLA asserts that more than two-thirds of the million-dollar awards compensate victims or relatives for genuinely serious injuries, such as death or permanent paralysis, reflecting a laudable determination by juries to see that companies pay the price for misdeeds that once went unpunished...
...their mortgages at interest rates not seen since 1978. Economists called up clients to report that U.S. growth will be more robust than almost anyone had expected. Corporate treasurers got on the speakerphones with their investment bankers in New York City to talk about financing bold projects with multimillion-dollar bond issues...
While falling petroleum prices have grabbed most of the attention, an army of other friendly forces are at work. The decline of the U.S. dollar by about 30% since its peak in February 1985 will help beleaguered U.S. exporters boost business by making their products more competitive with foreign rivals. Meanwhile, the decline in global interest rates will ease the burden on staggering debtors, ranging from U.S. farmers to developing countries like Brazil and Argentina. And even one of the thorniest problems of them all, the U.S. budget deficit, is becoming slightly less severe...
...Volcker, who had to push up interest rates in 1980 to conquer inflation, has reason to remain vigilant. One threat that could fuel new inflation is the falling value of the dollar, which pushes up the prices of America's imports. German automakers, for example, are increasing their prices by as much as 6% to offset the dollar's decline...