<HTML><FONT FACE=arial,helvetica><FONT SIZE=3 FAMILY="SERIF" FACE="Times New Roman" LANG="0">In a message dated 8/13/02 5:52:37 PM Eastern Daylight Time, michael@ecst.csuchico.edu writes:<BR>
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<BLOCKQUOTE TYPE=CITE style="BORDER-LEFT: #0000ff 2px solid; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px">Nomi, why could you not say that the rate cuts prevented a more serious<BR>
implosion?<BR>
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I suppose that's possible. But you could also say that since the cost of capital was cheapening, corporations were able to pile on even more debt while they were sinking (the past year produced the highest per-period bankruptcy toll ever), making the eventual implosion even harsher.<BR>
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Nomi</FONT></HTML>