But as the value of Enron shares fell, the ability of the Raptors to make repayment was increasingly impaired.
One rocket crashed into the sea off its coast and another apparently fell, the ability of militants 40 miles away to fire those weapons at the city of 400,000 underscored, in the Israeli government's view, the justification for the intensive aerial assaults on hundreds of suspected rocket storage sites and other targets in Gaza.
Its prospects rise or fall on the ability of the United States to show the world that it is maturing into a true mediator willing to call the shots as it sees them and to work toward enduring mutual efforts to achieve a peace.
When all is said and done (and in the European case, that means a lot said but not much done), the euro will stand or fall on the ability of those countries that had rapidly rising costs and prices between 2000 and 2007 to get those costs and prices back in line.
Many of those lives are fragile, and rise or fall with the ability of Chicago's archbishops — George, Cupich and their successors — to sustain such a costly enterprise.
Most non-vertebral fractures are associated with falls, and this dependence on falls complicates the ability to predict fractures accurately.
Mr. Daley's premise is that success in selling a product, giving a speech or seeking a promotion rises and falls on the ability to hold the listeners' interest and, just as often, to convince them that they are holding yours.
But this time, Judge Kenneth M. Hoyt of Federal District Court in Houston sided with Mr. Bird, saying in an Aug. 18 decision that he saw "no rational basis" for finding that the restrictions at abortion clinics fell under the ability of Congress to regulate commerce.
Thanks to digital media, there is a greater premium on written language than at any time since the 18th century and for millions of users, one's online reputation rises or falls on the ability to make relatively sophisticated written-down jokes.
National frontiers are falling, and the ability to act globally is becoming a vital factor.
