1.   As states open up their utilities to competition, the combined company is betting that its nuclear plants will be the low-cost producer.

2.   At least one company is betting that consumers are willing to pay for advice, although the services offered generally do not focus on purchase decisions.

3.   But other companies are betting that the sometimes-congested Internet can still satisfy users who want live video.

4.   But some auto companies are betting the board will delay the standard or lower the required percentage.

5.   But the company is betting its future on Novell Directory Services, or NDS.

6.   But the company is betting that it can change that.

7.   But the company was betting on more love than hate in the marketplace.

8.   Companies are betting that spending will continue, too.

9.   Companies are betting that if they encourage patients to ask their doctors to prescribe a particular drug, the doctors will comply.

10.   Clark said the companies were betting that China would be able to carry out only a fraction of its new rules.