Word: numbering
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Dates: during 2000-2000
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...rise in performing the rite of exorcism by the Roman Catholic Church may sound like a movie premise [RELIGION, Oct. 2], but the growth in the number of people who seem unable to distinguish reality from what they see in the movies and on television should be a cause for concern. Isn't it dubious to blame Satan for the lack of a moral anchor and an increased flirtation with paganism? Mightn't these be signs of growing scientific illiteracy and irrationalism? We humans should take responsibility for our actions and stop blaming God and Satan for our shortcomings...
...supply and demand. Any reduction of taxes on oil will just increase demand, and hence the price. If Western politicians do take steps to reduce the taxes on oil, then it will be a signal to OPEC that further increases can be applied to the price of oil. A number of well-known social and technological measures are available for reducing oil demand, but our governments lack the ability or will to use them. NEIL McCUBBIN Foster...
...Consumer Federation of America, hope that a government win might lead to a shake-up in interest rates, which this summer hit a six-year peak of 17.8%. Interest rates and penalty fees have shot up over the past several years, as issuers scramble to compensate for the growing number of Americans--now a majority--who clear their balances every month to avoid such charges. The fee system is at issue in several other cases involving the behemoths...
...suing Visa and MasterCard, saying they too were overcharged. The merchants will argue before a federal judge in Brooklyn that they are forced to accept and pay an artificially high fee on debit-card sales. They hope to wring $8.1 billion from the defendants in this class action--a number that would triple, if they win, under federal antitrust...
Hogg Robinson's decision is part of a surprising trend at a time when start-up companies still dream of going public. Even so, a growing number of European firms--mostly from old-economy sectors--are delisting from stock exchanges. Freed from having to please investors every quarter, many smaller companies find it easier to grow--or reinvent themselves--when they are financed by private-equity funds and banks instead. The buyout firm Kohlberg Kravis Robert recently created a $3 billion European fund and started scouting the Old World for new privatization deals. "There are lots of opportunities here," explains...