But amid the talk of the long-term cost of default, it's worth noting that countries can pay a penalty for NOT defaulting as well, not just in terms of slower growth but also higher interest rates.

BBC: Greece: the default calculus

Holt, half of whose 14 league goals this term have come from the penalty spot, has not scored in four games.

BBC: Shrews cannot rely solely on Holt

Leeds Building Society credited some of its success on the savings front to the popularity of its fixed rate bonds, which allowed customers unlimited access to a proportion of their money without penalty during the product's term.

BBC: Leeds Building Society plans mortgage lending jump

The statutory charges authorize a penalty, upon conviction, of death or imprisonment for life or any term of years.

FORBES: Boston Bombing Suspect Charged With Use of Weapon of Mass Destruction and Destruction of Property Resulting in Death

The less charitable interpretation is that the central bank has softened the penalty for banks that have funded purchases of very illiquid assets with short-term paper.

ECONOMIST: The Fed lowers its discount rate

An analysis reveals that there is a significant relationship to the prison term given as compared to how people were situated in the case (plea, amount of assistance to government, penalty, whether they went to trial, amount of money involved, etc.).

FORBES: 6th Circuit to Michael Peppel "You Need More Prison Time"