Stock in Home Shopping Network rose sevenfold between May and December 1986, topped out around 45, and then lost two-thirds of its value in two months.

The problem is forecast to cripple NHS resources, with spending linked to obesity predicted to triple in less than a decade, and to rise sevenfold by 2050.

Safeco said that pretax income from property-and-casualty policies like home and auto coverage rose more than sevenfold, to $133.8 million, excluding investment losses.

His biggest winner in 1986 was Home Shopping Network, a new issue that rose sevenfold between May and December.

If they all decided on the day war broke out to fill their tanks immediately, demand would rise sevenfold, he said.

During the 20th century the population of Taiwan rose more than sevenfold, from 3.04 million in 1905 to 22.3 at December 31, 2000.

Qwest Communications, the biggest of the new entrants, rose sevenfold from its initial public stock sale in June 1997 to the end of 1999 from $5.50, to $43.

Mr. Verleger also noted that commodities are generally volatile; the price of coffee rose sevenfold during the last decade, for example, then fell back.

Since founding his firm in late 1979, Mr. Black's accounts have outpaced the performance of the Standard & Poor's 500, rising sevenfold while the S.&P. rose fivefold.

They charged $366 billion to general-purpose credit-cards last year, more than five times as much as in 1980; outstanding credit-card debt rose sevenfold to $177 billion over the decade.