Word: spate
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Corporate executives, however, have been anything but cautious. Beginning with a spate of billion-dollar oil-company buyouts in 1981, the merger wave has rolled over virtually every industry. This year alone, acquisitions have produced the largest U.S. gas distributor (Internorth-Houston Natural Gas), a medical giant (Baxter Travenol-American Hospital Supply), a vast food-processing concern (Nestlé-Carnation) and one of the mightiest high-technology combinations (Allied-Signal). Last week even brought a proposed sports marriage between the New Jersey Generals and the Houston Gamblers of the U.S. Football League. The number of megadeals this year could wind...
...provocation. The Argentine President abruptly declared a nationwide state of siege last week, suspending for 60 days all constitutional guarantees against arbitrary arrest. As he outlined the draconian measure, Interior Minister Antonio Tróccoli stressed the "worsening and persistence" of violence in the country, a reference to a spate of minor bombings that began more than a month ago. Tróccoli knew whereof he spoke: a day before, a bomb had exploded outside his weekend home, injuring...
...spate of buyouts has raised fears that companies may be crushed by their huge debts if interest rates climb or the economy falls into a recession. Other critics call going private a waste of scarce capital. "As a financier, I regard it as an easy way to get rich," says Martin Whitman, president of M.J. Whitman & Co., a Manhattan investment firm. "But as a citizen who loves his country, I think there are better and more productive uses of the nation's money supply than to create debt to pay off stockholders...
...extent of the first-quarter slowdown was confirmed last week by a spate of key indicators. The Commerce Department said consumer spending, which accounts for two-thirds of the GNP, fell .5% in March to record its sharpest drop in 1/3 months. At least part of the recent buying weakness reflects a monumental Government snafu. The Internal Revenue Service's glitch-filled installation of new computers kept consumers from receiving $6.8 billion in tax refunds in February and March. Those refunds would probably have been quickly spent and helped the economy...
...Thaksin hasn't taken the bait. While the violence continued last week with a spate of bombings and shootings that left four people dead, the Prime Minister ruled out the idea of retaliating with force against the insurgents. At the same time he ordered a dramatic increase in security at the nation's airports, embassies, and major commercial and tourist centers. Last week, hundreds of checkpoints and surveillance cameras were set up across Bangkok, including on Khao San Road, a tourist strip popular with backpackers. "We must remain vigilant," says one senior military intelligence official. "[The militants now] have...