For the bulk of the past six months of rising stock markets, the insurers have been charging premiums that imply that it is just as likely that S&P 500 prices could be -9% to -10% lower as it is that they could be +1% higher.
Shipyard space is limited; the expense is huge, and includes replacing a ship's engine; and the time it takes is too long to catch this cycle of rising dry bulk rates.
The rises in gas prices have been behind the bulk of the rise in energy prices for households – renewables and green policies make up a much smaller share of bill rises.
Long-run projections suggest that spending on the major entitlement programs will rise sharply over the decades ahead, but the great bulk of that rise will come from the health insurance programs, not Social Security.
Spending was higher than projected, too — but the bulk of the rise was in "income security", i.e. stuff like unemployment benefits and food stamps, which rose mainly because more people became eligible, but also because of temporary expansion.
The bulk of the rise came from energy, but food also loomed large.
Net aid spending reached a record high last year, with domestic refugee costs accounting for the bulk of the rise.
He blamed the bulk of the rise in the welfare bill on lack of jobs as opposed to skivers or fecklessness.
The ombudsman said she was disappointed that, for the second year running, complaints about continuing care assessments accounted for the bulk of the rise in complaints during 2003/04, which reached a record 4,700.
Ian Shepherdson, chief U.S. economist at High Frequency Economics, said the bulk of the rise in core inflation stems from a 13.7% spike in light truck prices.
