Meanwhile on the domestic front, it listed potential threats including rising property prices, which have triggered fears that new asset bubbles could form, along with "excessive off-balance sheet financing" by banks and local governments.

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The document proposed that Chinese partner Guangdong Provincial Highway Construction Co. agree to the transfer of the extra cost from Hopewell's balance sheet to that of the project in the form of shareholder loans.

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As the Italian economy slows, as many expect it will, the ECB may be forced to expand its balance sheet again with interest rate cuts and possibly some form of sovereign bond purchasing, which we ever more ironically refer to as QE.

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By overextending the balance sheet, companies are replacing what should be risk capital in the form of equity with debt.

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The theme running through these properties is low to moderate price-earnings ratios, impeccable balance sheet strength, high free cash flow generation and the capacity to indulge in financial engineering in the form of share buybacks, dividends and deal activity.

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