And after a decade of mostly tough times, companies have trimmed payrolls and cut inefficient operations to levels where they can more easily achieve solid profits, said Toru Ohara, who manages a $3 billion Japanese stock fund as the chief investment officer for Franklin Templeton Investments Japan.
Ike stresses, however, that these old-timers are mostly tough characters who have come through a lot.
Because international accounting standards are mostly tougher than the old national ones, companies will try harder than ever to find ways around them once they come into effect.
While laws vary by state, rules in the United States are mostly tougher, with four states and the District of Columbia requiring 13 years of schooling.
It was tough wading through what were mostly bad selfies, in video form, and finding anything worth watching.
He was enrolled at the Collège Jean Monnet, a local secondary school that had four hundred or so students, mostly from tough neighborhoods, and that had a reputation for violence.
So did inviting Sergei Lavrov, Russia's foreign minister, to address an annual meeting of Polish ambassadors.Yet Poland's policy towards Russia is still, mostly, quite tough.
It is made up mostly of tough young men who carry walkie-talkies and guard the bridge, inspecting Albanians who cross from the south side to the north.
The candidates have made a fetish out of never raising taxes (even when it involves getting rid of loopholes), while mostly ignoring tough decisions about cutting spending on defence or pensions.
Calamari Lucia, glowing with a sautéed shine and speckled with white beans, arugula and cherry peppers, was the one appetizer that disappointed — the squid rings were mostly too tough and chewy.
Admittedly their assignments have mostly been tough – they've been to Liverpool, Manchester United, Chelsea and, er, Hull City – but that run is atrocious by anyone's standards, let alone the defending champions.
