Mechanisms on the verge of being instigated include loss of Arctic sea ice, shrinkage of the Greenland ice sheet, loss of Antarctic ice shelves, and shrinkage of the Antarctic ice sheets.

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At its peak, Hazlett says, that drug will bring in only hundreds of millions of dollars, which won't fill the giant chasm left in Lilly's balance sheet by the loss of Prozac.

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But an even bigger risk could be a loss of confidence in the American government's balance sheet, he said.

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Thus, the balance sheet looks like this: 850 of assets (after a 150 loss), 900 of liabilities in the form of borrowed money, and negative equity of 50.

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For example, swaps were created on Enron's balance sheet that would compensate the buyer of assets in the event of an unexpected loss.

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The accepted practice in bank accounting is to set up significant loan-loss reserves only when the commitment is availed of and the arrangement becomes an on-balance-sheet loan.

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The only question is whether private investors will bear the loss or European governments will, not to mention the IMF, which now has so much of its balance sheet tangled up in Greece, Portugal and Ireland.

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The company would have posted a loss for 2011 if it hadn't received a government subsidy, and the amount of debt on its balance sheet has doubled in the last two years, according to company financial statements posted on the official Web site for China's bond market.

WSJ: Faith in Bailouts Spurs China

All four of the major proxy voting services have recommended the ousting of various directors at Washington Mutual (nyse: WM - news - people ), a Seattle thrift that earlier this week announced a bigger-than-expected first-quarter loss and an infusion of capital from Texas Pacific Group as it tries to repair its battered mortgage-laden balance sheet.

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