Word: excessive
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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America's skylines once stood as stirring symbols of progress and prosperity. Yet in many cities the glass-and-steel monuments have now come to represent wretched excess. During the past five years, U.S. developers have constructed a breathtaking surplus of office towers, condominium complexes and hotels. In Los Angeles, a rusting, 17-story framework of steel girders on Wilshire Boulevard has stood idle for three years because of collapsed condo prices. Denver's tallest building, the 56-story Republic Plaza office tower, is only half rented despite such amenities as a concierge, an Italian-marble lobby, a car wash...
...second shock to the real estate industry was the decline of the condominium market. Until only about a year ago, the U.S. was crazy for condos. More than 2.5 million units opened in a decade. But that produced a vast excess of supply, notably in California, Texas and Florida. Speculators who had bought condos in the hope of fast price appreciation saw the shakeout coming and dumped even more of them on the market. At the same time, demand was dampened by the maturing of baby boomers, many of whom now aspire to move from condos to split-level suburban...
...among its members too. Finland, Greece and Spain are expected to enjoy growth of almost 3% this year, while Ireland is likely to see more than 4%. But Italy is in recession, and most economists have been slashing their forecasts for Germany and France to only a tad in excess of 1% growth this year. Such differences create a dilemma for Jean-Claude Trichet, president of the European central bank, the body that sets monetary policy for the entire euro zone. Economists say the bank's 2% benchmark interest rate is far too low for the strongest economies, providing them...
...made millions figuring out how to profit from other companies' excess goods, and now the CEO of Overstock.com has set his sights on making sure public schools spend their money wisely. Appalled by bloated administrative and bureaucratic expenses, Patrick Byrne is championing state initiatives that would require schools to spend 65% of their budgets on teachers' salaries and other classroom costs. The national average is 61.5%, and only four states--Maine, New York, Tennessee and Utah...
Facing a potential judgment in excess of $100 million, Harvard’s star economist Andrei Shleifer ’82 has tried in vain to limit his liability in the U.S. government’s ongoing fraud suit against...