The firm has begun to buy up other nearly exhausted mines, and squeeze extra life out of them.

ECONOMIST: South African gold mining

Green Tree Financial found itself in a life-threatening credit squeeze because the market had lost faith in its mortgage-backed securities and refused to refinance its short-term debt.

FORBES: Bank of America's $40 Billion Lesson

He insisted it was fair to ask public sector workers to pay "a bit more" for their pensions - with an average rise in contributions of 3% - given that life expectancies were increasing and taxpayers were feeling the squeeze elsewhere.

BBC: Public sector workers back mass strike over pensions

"I've experienced times so difficult and felt boredom and loneliness to such a degree that it seemed to be a physical thing inside so thick it felt like it was choking me, trying to squeeze the sanity from my mind, the spirit from my soul, and the life from my body, " one New York inmate, William Blake, wrote in an essay posted by SolitaryWatch.com.

CNN: No kid should be in solitary confinement