By the late 1990s he was overseeing a team of 200 analysts who used decision-tree economics to determine the value of a case at various stages along its life cycle, from initial filing to post-verdict appeal.

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Tests running at two big sawmills, in Europe and in America, suggest that the improvement in yield can run from 2% to 18% for different kinds of tree, with an average gain of 10% in the value of the timber produced from a log.

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The fact that tree-ring records do not capture recent warming adds to the scepticism about the value of such records.

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Mr Simon believed that increased tree planting, entrepreneurial activity and cheaper substitutes would result in a decline in its value.

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That means there may not be a mountain of gifts beneath the tree this year, but, instead, a few carefully selected items that will hold or appreciate in value.

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