As for the investors, who have been hit for note repayments, they allege Rothschild knew Minoco was drilling in areas where there would be a high hit ratio but never enough oil to make the deals profitable, let alone repay the loans (FORBES, Nov. 19, 1984).

FORBES: Magazine Article

That logic seemed to work in January 2001 when the ratio hit a high of 0.97, suggesting that investors thought the index was ready to take off.

FORBES: Weight the Options

And when the Great Recession hit, the ratio went through the roof, peaking at between 5:1 and 7:1 (depending on the data source used) and now still between 3:1 and 4:1.

FORBES: How to Start Up Job Creation Again

After recovering from a record low of negative 86% in December 2008, meaning that 86% of estimate changes were downgrades, the ratio hit a high of 25% in May but began to moderate in June to 22%.

FORBES: Stocks Are Cheap Enough To Absorb Earnings Downgrades

In Ireland and the Netherlands, on the other hand, warning sirens should have been blaring as the ratio has hit new highs.

ECONOMIST: House prices

But isn't there a danger, as I've mentioned here many times, that banks will hit their new capital ratio targets by shrinking lending, rather than finding new capital?

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This meant that the ratio of female to male earnings hit an all-time high of 74%.

ECONOMIST: Better off, but not much

Horton's debt-to-earnings ratio, a measure of a company's ability to shoulder debt, recently hit a daunting 25%.

FORBES: Magazine Article

Beyond that, the expenses involved with FLAT are higher than most fixed-income ETFs and ETNs. iPath U.S. Treasury Flattener has an annual expense ratio of 0.75% and also dings investors with a one-cent hit to NAV when it rolls the contracts it tracks.

FORBES: Leveraged Play On The Yield Curve

The ratio had concerned Mr. Sadis, who says he realized his product wasn't mature enough to hit the market.

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