Some 74% of U.S. employers already offer employee wellness programs, but these have had only a modest effect so far, because few employees have chosen to participate.

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Dr. Michael Thase, who heads the mood and anxiety disorders program at the University of Pennsylvania's medical school, said research by others using the same unpublished studies concluded antidepressants have "a modest effect over placebo, " on average about 15 percentage points.

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"But very little had to be added in the fourth quarter - the subprime crisis has up till now, in relative terms, had a very modest effect, " he added.

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Such an armada might not, however, be necessary to produce a more modest but still useful effect.

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That began to happen during the first quarter of this year, when a rising trade imbalance proved a modest counterbalance to booming domestic demand, and its effect is intensifying as the trade deficit widens.

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But even if the effect on philanthropy and the causes it supports is a modest one, the change should serve as a wake-up call for those who want to preserve a healthy and well-funded range of non-profits, from soup kitchens to colleges.

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Royal commissions were in effect abolished during the Thatcher years, but in the 1970s members were paid a modest daily allowance.

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If a 754 election had been in effect, there would have been a lower flow-through of gain from the partnership and a modest or no gain or loss on liquidation.

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