Also pointing to a rise in P2P deals is the attraction of PE funds to the large number of public companies carrying record amounts of cash on their balance sheets.

FORBES: Private Equity Deal Supply And Range Will Increase

While the Bells are using their massive cash flows to pare down their debt loads, their balance sheets continue to be pockmarked with a number of unsightly blemishes.

FORBES: Verizon Goes It Alone

Her name and image became so synonymous with style and strong sales that she signed a number of licensing deals that saw the DVF brand stamped on everything from sheets and towels to curtains and rugs.

CNN: From wrap dress to riches

For a few years, a fair number of other companies seemed to put almost as much effort into managing their balance-sheets as into wooing their customers.

ECONOMIST: Shareholders v stakeholders

He displays sheets with details of every man in his unit, including names of family members, the number of each kind of weapon, and a thumb print.

ECONOMIST: Syria��s rebels: Who will come out on top? | The

This solution, of the ESM bypassing the balance sheets of national governments and directly recapitalising banks, was already rejected by finance ministers when a number of Spanish banks were close to collapse last year.

BBC: Cyprus and the eurozone's survival