Word: nears
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Thus began a pattern of alternating conservatism and risk-taking, success and near failure, that has marked the banking enterprise now known as Citigroup--and the American financial system--ever since. James Stillman, who became City's president in 1891, combined prudence with great ambition. City Bank cruised through the Panic of 1893, thanks in part to the huge stash of gold that Stillman had acquired--gold being the backing for credit then--because he sensed trouble. City joined J.P. Morgan in bailing out the nearly bankrupt Federal Government in 1895 and soon grew to be the country's biggest...
With that growth came near disaster, as big loans to Cuban sugar planters went bad. What saved the bank was the salesmanship of Charles E. Mitchell, head of City's securities arm, who repackaged the bad Cuban debt--and went on in the 1920s to find ever more creative ways to sell securities and lend to the burgeoning middle class. Mitchell, who became president of the bank in 1921, built City into the first financial supermarket. When everything financial turned toxic in the early 1930s, he became the most prominent scapegoat for the disaster. He was the main target...
...Baghdad A DEADLY CAMPAIGN As Iraq's Jan. 31 provincial elections near, violence against politicians has escalated. Hassan Zaidan al-Luhaibi, a Sunni leader and former member of Saddam Hussein's Baath Party, was killed by a suicide bomber on Jan. 18, just two days after Shi'ite candidate Haitham Kadhim al-Husaini was fatally shot. The murders come as influential Shi'ite cleric Ayatullah Ali Husaini Sistani has urged Iraqis to vote despite dissatisfaction with previous elections...
...Years Eve revelry, when they were stopped by Bay Area Rapid Transit Police for rowdy behavior. As documented by several amateur cell phone videos, Grant, who was unarmed, appeared to act cooperatively. Mehserle, however, threw him facedown onto the ground, and straddled his back while another officer squatted near Grant’s neck. Mehserle then drew his gun and fired into Grant’s back. The officer has resigned, but now faces murder charges to which he has pleaded not guilty...
Early presidents were often landholders and George Washington set a precedent by retiring to his Mount Vernon plantation after leaving office in 1797. John Adams went back to his Massachusetts farm, Thomas Jefferson settled at Monticello, James Madison kicked back at Montpelier, Andrew Jackson went down to his plantation near Nashville and Martin Van Buren took it easy at his farm, Lindenwald. John Tyler settled into a relaxed life at his Virginia plantation, Sherwood Forest. Then he joined the Confederate Congress, essentially becoming a traitor to the nation he once led. (See pictures of how Presidents age in office...