Word: pasts
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Dates: during 1990-1999
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...sudden diplomatic breakthrough, a major ground war is about to explode. The Russian military has clamped tight censorship on its operations, but political leaders have difficulty containing their glee at the prospect of hitting back at the unruly, predominately Islamic state that has been infuriating them for the past five years. Officially, they have been goaded past endurance by alleged Chechen acts of terrorism, including the spectacular bombings of four apartment buildings in Moscow and elsewhere last month. But Chechnya's determination to secede from Russia is equally a target. When asked about Russian incursions into Chechnya, Prime Minister Vladimir...
Tokaimura is a town that should be ready for nuclear accidents. It is home to 15 nuclear power facilities and has had three other nuclear accidents in the past four years. Yet three fire fighters who answered an emergency call at the plant misunderstood the reason. They thought someone was having an epileptic seizure and so didn't wear protective clothing. The Tokaimura town office didn't find out about the accident for almost an hour...
Getting nervous? In the past two weeks, the Dow Jones industrial average has fallen 529 points, a drop of nearly 10% since its August peak, punctuating a dismal third quarter. Investors are hoping--praying might be a better word--that Fed Chairman Alan Greenspan will decide against the third interest-rate hike of 1999 when the central bank's Open Market Committee meets this week...
Much of the trouble stems from a single concern: the weakening U.S. dollar. The greenback had been the strong, silent type for the past six years, making European vacations and Japanese electronics cheaper, while at the same time attracting foreign capital to the U.S. stock-and-bond markets by the trillions. Although the dollar's decline amounts to only 3% against major currencies like the euro, it is off nearly 15% against the Japanese yen since March...
...powerful yen are a decidedly mixed blessing. Yen strength amounts to a vote of confidence in the Japanese economy, which, after a decade-long slump, is at last beginning to show signs of life. The renewed activity has sucked in U.S. and other foreign money for 33 of the past 35 weeks, driving up the Nikkei stock market average some 25% so far this year. The problem is that Japanese corporate profits are also heavily dependent on exports, which can rapidly become too expensive for foreign consumers as the yen appreciates. Indeed, big exporters like Mitsubishi and Bridgestone have begun...