With recent losses, heavy debts, and a stale concept, many analysts found the offering unappetizing.

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Dow Chemical's acquisition of Rohm and Haas in April has left it labouring under heavy debts.

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At the time, his empire was teetering on the verge of collapse weighed down by heavy debts.

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He pledged to control the government's finances and honour its heavy debts instead of reneging on them as he once proposed.

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But the heavy debts of CP's China operations and his fledgling telecommunications flagship TelecomAsia hit him hard as the regional financial crisis took hold.

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"To our mutual horror we gradually realised that the campaign had been been left with heavy debts and new invoices kept appearing unexpectedly, " writes Mr Hain.

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The same is true of Italy's Fiat, a group owned by the Agnelli family, which is also struggling with heavy debts and poor day-to-day performance, notably in its car-making business.

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Adolf Merckle, the founder of a drugs, cement and engineering conglomerate, committed suicide on January 5th after burdening his empire with heavy debts and misguided financial gambles that ultimately cost his family control.

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Rome also risks going down the same path followed by Athens, Lisbon and Dublin in recent months in losing financial credibility and having to pay higher interest rates to service its heavy debts.

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Italy, which has net foreign debt of just 21% of GDP, would probably escape the chop: even with its heavy debts and chronic lack of competitiveness, Mrs Merkel would reckon that the euro zone could not function politically without it.

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Perhaps Japan's biggest headache is that deflation makes it much harder for heavy borrowers, such as companies and the government, to outgrow their existing debts.

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Not all of these debts are from governments: Banks, nonfinancial companies and households can also carry heavy debt loads.

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This month Halla Heavy Engineering and Industries, the most troubled affiliate of the Halla Group, failed to start honouring debts and interest payments, as it had agreed to do when it received bankruptcy protection in December 1997.

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