For one thing, it is hard to know how much companies have in fact lengthened the maturity of their debts because the interest-rate swap market allows them to swap those fixed bond payments into cheaper floating debt, a popular strategy in the investment-grade market.

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Her mother used the money to pay down a debt and for food for the fish they raise under their floating house -- their primary income source.

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Next year Mexico's economy will be much more strongly placed than it was in 1994, with less debt falling due, a smaller current-account deficit, and a floating currency instead of a fixed one.

ECONOMIST: Mexico