But the prospects of success are desperately dim.

But there seems little prospect for a European revival.

There are also trace amounts of mercury in coal.

The regime seems convinced that there is only a small likelihood of a military attack on its nuclear program.

Experts argue that the probability of a terrorist attack because of the Dubai takeover is small.

I responded then (and today) that there is little prospect of such a reversal, for two reasons.

Suppose investors are worried about a small chance of catastrophe over the next five to ten years.

For outside the safety of the park were poachers, who would hunt them down only for the value of their ivory tusks.

Perhaps Cortés, blinded by his dreams of glory, was ready to sacrifice his troops even when the odds of victory were too slim.

Unless something changes, there is little chance that the MDG targets can be sustained in the long run.

At least in the near term, the chance that the US will not service its debt is vanishingly small perhaps in the same order of probability as a large meteor striking the earth.

But the prospects of that happening are slim, because such an appeal would lack the emotional pull of the desire to help immediate victims.

There are also risks that the US will get involved much more heavily in the fighting in Pakistan.

Several other currencies now have minor shares in those portfolios, and will continue to do so in the future.

The likelihood that what emerges from the coming talks will serve ordinary Americans interests is low the outlook for ordinary citizens in other countries is even bleaker.

Another 8 trillion are housing mortgages, which also carry little risk, given low loan to value ratios.

There is also a real danger that this group may expand further to include states where governments will not always be guided by rational considerations.

Only a small minority exhibit populist tendencies that, if they gained power, could lead a society from democracy to dictatorship.

Thus, large banks are likely to continue to hold too little capital and to take excessive risks, raising the prospect of renewed bouts of financial instability.

Alas, at this time of economic crisis, growing nationalism, and inward looking populism, the chances of a Muslim country becoming a member of the EU are slim, to say the least.

After the battle of the Marne (September 1914) and the failure of the Schlieffen Plan, some of Wilhelm s advisers realized that the chances for a military victory were slim, hence the need for a negotiated peace.

Taylor still faces the prospect of trial and, another former dictator, Saddam Hussein, is now on trial before a national court in Iraq.

There is even a debate and indeed some evidence concerning the question of whether involvement in the war against terrorism has actually increased the threat of terrorist acts.

But even if the commitment strategy produced beneficial incentives, it might not have been worth the risk. Perhaps Cortés, blinded by his dreams of glory, was ready to sacrifice his troops even when the odds of victory were too slim.

There are genuine prospects for changing the incentive structure in small states like Moldova, particularly if the EU can help build up long term institutional capacities.

It certainly is not attracted by the return and seemingly riskless security of US government paper both of which are much in play in an era of zero interest rates and mounting concerns about default.

The regime seems convinced that there is only a small likelihood of a military attack on its nuclear program. It does not believe that sanctions can bring about its collapse.

We have little chance of winning.

Aid flows were tiny.

But they used to be small.

In all likelihood, they will become more vociferous and vituperative before they mellow, because public opinion seems to be rewarding stances and tones such as theirs.

But the likelihood of another crisis is quite small, and its adverse impact would be far less devastating this time around, as there are no more massive credit or asset bubbles to burst.

A very small proportion (less than 0.01 ) of the total lymphocytes are able to bind to a particular antigen, which suggests that only a few cells will respond to each antigen.

Those are attractive odds.

Those who voted affirmatively were only a tiny minority.

Cristina Kirchner, however, is no small woman.

But this is a big if .

It is not that the end of European Monetary Union is on the agenda it is merely that people have begun thinking about possible low probability futures in which the end of EMU might be placed on the agenda.

CAMBRIDGE As the US economy limps toward the second anniversary of the Lehman Brothers bankruptcy, anemic growth has left unemployment mired near 10 , with little prospect of significant improvement anytime soon.

The costs appear relatively small.

Financial crises are almost comforting by comparison.

Thus, large banks are likely to continue to hold too little capital and to take excessive risks, raising the prospect of renewed bouts of financial instability. In order to overcome these shortcomings in international banking regulations, three remedies are needed.

Yet these mistakes are relatively minor and reversible.

Yet the cost would be anything but negligible.

In short, the benefits are at best small.