Word: poundingly
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...idea that a currency cannot be trusted unless it is backed by gold seems as durable as the metal itself. In the early 19th century, British Economist David Ricardo declared that without the gold standard the then mighty pound sterling would be at the whim of "all the fluctuations to which the ignorance or the interests of the issuers might subject...
Though pure gold coins were first minted by King Croesus of Lydia (modern day western Turkey) in the 6th century B.C., a gold-backed currency is usually traced back to 1717, when Sir Isaac Newton, then Master of the Mint, fixed the value of the pound sterling at about .24 oz. of gold. For the next 200 years, except when it was briefly suspended during the Napoleonic wars, the gold standard made the pound the world's most trusted currency and helped Britain dominate world finance and trade...
Despite this, the value of the dollar continues to climb. Since the beginning of the year, the American currency has increased by 19.2% against the French franc, 16.3% against the British pound and 17.5% against the West German mark. Last week the pound was selling for less than $2 for the first time in more than two years, while the mark was worth only 42?, its lowest level in more than four years...
...slash its imports and divert products from domestic consumption to boost exports. Those pledges will be hard to fulfill in a country where sinking living standards have generated social upheaval. Shops already stock no rice, jam or fruit, except for apples. Meat is rationed at a little over a pound per person per week. The seemingly interminable lines outside the stores are a constant source of black humor. One joke now making the rounds...
...grass into ethanol, which is used in the production of industrial chemicals. The company is also accelerating research into the mass production of vitamins and amino acids used to enrich foods. Success could cut the cost of additives in feed corn from $50 to as low as $2 a pound...