Because so much is still unknown at this point, the main risk factor is people traveling to areas where cases have already been identified.

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Iain McMillan, director of CBI Scotland, said the recovery of the US markets would be the main factor influencing exports, adding that the risk to the Scottish economy would "increase dramatically" if there was no improvement in America next year.

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Because LDL cholesterol is a major risk factor for heart disease, it's the main focus of cholesterol-lowering treatment.

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In the study where it helped patients lose weight, the drug also raised good cholesterol, or high-density lipoprotein (HDL), by 23%, almost as much as Niaspan, the sustained-release niacin drug made by Kos Pharmaceuticals (nasdaq: KOSP - news - people ) that is the main currently available treatment for raising HDL. Rimonabont also cut triglycerides, another risk factor for heart disease, by 16%.

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And since the main macroeconomic factor which affects the comparative attractiveness of stocks and bonds is growth, equity risk premiums are largely a measure of how much risk investors think there is of poor economic growth in the future.

FORBES: The Stock Markets Are Forecasting Economic Stagnation, Not Recovery