Because of the way that technology has connected the world in real time, markets are on such a hair-trigger that the tiniest vibration can set them off.

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But it is unclear if the concerns are justified or just the result of a hair-trigger tendency concerning drug safety on the part of doctors and regulators.

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Unfortunately for shareholders, a class of entrepreneurial class-action lawyers also frequent the Delaware courts, filing hair-trigger lawsuits whenever a takeover is announced, with hopes of collecting a fee to go away.

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The idea that converting a small portion of deposits into equity claims in an economy with a population of barely more than 1 million could be a source of systemic risk suggests the hair-trigger character of the current situation.

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The new campaign shows how pharmaceutical companies are trying to adapt the marketing of their products to a climate of hair-trigger concern over drug safety.

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The same Capsugel deal today, Kravis said, would have a cost of capital near 9%, a reflection of the late-summer weakness in equity markets and window closing in the high-yield market, which moves on a hair trigger in turbulent times.

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