Senegal has now been added to that programme and the company said it represented "a highly attractive addition to our existing Atlantic Margin portfolio".

BBC: Cairn Energy moves into Senegal

This suggests that the right role for government is not to shower money on a handful of putative winners but to take a portfolio approach: finding companies on the margin of exporting and helping as many as possible overcome the fixed costs of entry.

ECONOMIST: How the government can help things along

The second choice does have downside risks, but if you hold a diversified portfolio, you will at least narrow your margin for error.

FORBES: Are Stocks Cheap Or Expensive?

And of course, everyone loves Craisins, and now it's the highest margin, fastest growing product in our portfolio, with over 100 products.

FORBES

By this March, however, the Carlyle, Blackstone and other equity partnerships started marking down their holdings, and Reijtenbagh's portfolio plummeted, essentially putting Reijtenbagh at risk of a Credit Suisse margin call.

FORBES: Companies, People, Ideas

The bank's loan portfolio and margins grew during the fourth quarter, as did its net interest margin.

WSJ: Global Data Lift U.S. Stocks

Even though I knew the results of Vanguard's study, I was still mildly surprised to see the portfolio that was never rebalanced achieved the highest return of the four, albeit by a rather slim margin.

FORBES: Magazine Article

In order to meet the margin calls, a suddenly cash-strapped Harvard has been unloading most of its stock portfolio at fire-sale prices--effectively throwing good money after bad--and selling IOUs bearing interest rates of up to 6.5%, meaning that hefty debt service now makes up a growing percentage of Harvard's budget.

FORBES: How Harvard Should Handle Its Endowment