Its high appetite for permits will also strain the existing system, risking a loosening of the overall cap.

ECONOMIST: Banning the bomb

The Exxon CEO conceded that high gasoline prices "have put a strain on Americans' household budgets, " but nonetheless defended his firm's huge profit, explaining that petroleum earnings "go up and down" from year to year.

FORBES: Senate Grills Exxon's Raymond, Other Oil CEOs

Half of the victims have been hospitalised, a high rate that may indicate an especially virulent strain of E. coli.

ECONOMIST: Those healthy green leaves cause a terrible scare

She held her head high and performed her job, never letting the strain show on air.

FORBES: Ann Curry Gets the Shaft After 15 Years of Service at Today

Even at this high altitude, the horses are physically able to handle the strain.

CNN: Cool racing: Horses battle on snow

But the high euro and slow growth on the Continent are putting extra strain on the U.S. to pull the world back from the brink of a new recession.

FORBES: The Other Problem

As companies battle with high interest charges and paralysed investment projects, businessmen are showing signs of strain.

ECONOMIST: Chile

With all due respect to our "cousins" across the Atlantic, the British diet tends to be very high in starch and this is horrible for the metabolism and puts a great strain on the pancreas, which is where insulin is produced in the body.

BBC: Are our children becoming couch potatoes?