1.   The government is betting this trend will boost business confidence, and thus investment and jobs.

2.   If they do, the government is betting that the stocks will not become extinct in the six to eight years it would take to remove the dams.

3.   So far, the Hong Kong government is betting that it can maintain the dollar link, whatever the cost.

4.   The government is betting that Brazilians will accept belt-tightening and even recession so long as the inflation that a devaluation would usher in does not return.

5.   In effect, the government is betting that inflation is going to stay low enough for its target exchange rate to seem realistic.

6.   The government is betting heavily on nuclear power to achieve a measure of long-term energy self-sufficiency.