monetary and financial factors
121Social Protection — ▪ 2006 Introduction With medical costs skyrocketing and government programs scaled back, citizens bore more responsibility for their health care costs; irregular migration, human trafficking, and migrant smuggling posed challenges for… …
122Foreign exchange market — Forex redirects here. For the football club, see FC Forex Braşov. Foreign exchange Exchange rates Currency band Exchange rate Exchange rate regime Exchange rate flexibility Dollarization Fixed exchange rate Floating exchange rate Linked exchange… …
123Nobel Prizes — ▪ 2009 Introduction Prize for Peace The 2008 Nobel Prize for Peace was awarded to Martti Ahtisaari, former president (1994–2000) of Finland, for his work over more than 30 years in settling international disputes, many involving ethnic,… …
124Australia — /aw strayl yeuh/, n. 1. a continent SE of Asia, between the Indian and the Pacific oceans. 18,438,824; 2,948,366 sq. mi. (7,636,270 sq. km). 2. Commonwealth of, a member of the Commonwealth of Nations, consisting of the federated states and… …
125Great Depression — the economic crisis and period of low business activity in the U.S. and other countries, roughly beginning with the stock market crash in October, 1929, and continuing through most of the 1930s. * * * or Depression of 1929 Longest and most severe …
126Mexico — /mek si koh /, n. 1. a republic in S North America. 97,563,374; 761,530 sq. mi. (1,972,363 sq. km). Cap.: Mexico City. 2. a state in central Mexico. 6,245,000; 8268 sq. mi. (21,415 sq. km). Cap.: Toluca. 3. Gulf of, Mexican, Golfo de México /gawl …
127government budget — Forecast of governmental expenditures and revenues for the ensuing fiscal year. In modern industrial economies, the budget is the key instrument for the execution of government economic policies. Because government budgets may promote or retard… …
128Ireland — Irelander, n. /uyeur leuhnd/, n. 1. John, 1838 1918, U.S. Roman Catholic clergyman and social reformer, born in Ireland: archbishop of St. Paul, Minn., 1888 1918. 2. Also called Emerald Isle. Latin, Hibernia. a large western island of the British …
