They were betting billions on the continued health of the "junk bond" market.

Now Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd. is betting billions of dollars in new planes that the territory will do the same for an airline.

Cathay Pacific Airways is betting billions of dollars that it will continue to show tremendous growth.

European phone companies have bet billions on new wireless networks in the hope that consumers will pay for video and other fancy multimedia services.

Each of them is betting billions of dollars on a new, high-powered game system (or "platform").

Disclosures are now appearing in quarterly reports from American public companies, showing that companies are betting billions on tax breaks that may not work out.

The assignment, which created 1,000 new jobs, hitched Sarvar's star to Microsoft just as it was betting billions of dollars on the market for video games.

That represents a turnabout from the 1980's, when companies like G.M. bet billions on a robotic future.

Each week, individuals and corporations bet billions of dollars in the commodities markets on whether prices will rise or fall.