He is young enough to fight two elections, and he will probably be forgiven if he loses next time.

ECONOMIST: Don��t be vague

Though she probably won't do so well next time, she could still prevail thanks to her personal popularity and a recent spurt in GDP growth (despite some spillover from the East Asian financial crisis).

CNN: THE ROAD OF NO RETURN

In the short run, I am making no predictions but this time next year the dollar will probably have fallen dramatically against the yen.

FORBES: The Dollar Is Flying High -- But How Long Will The Rally Last?

Next time I try it, I'll probably plunge over a cliff while I'm reading co-ordinates.

BBC: How to play hide-and-seek by satellite

The fear, probably, is that if things are patched now and dealt with in time next year, the recovery may already have arrived.

FORBES: President Obama Doesn't Even Believe His Own Economic Hype

So at least, with the next general election not due until the spring of 2002, Mr Sautter probably has time on his side.

ECONOMIST: Christian Sautter, France��s wary finance minister

This time next year, then, if money in Japan is no longer free, it will probably still be absurdly cheap.

ECONOMIST: Twitchy foreign hedge funds have sold too soon