The idea was to give investment banks the financial firepower to compete globally while returning a nice profit to corporate parents.

For corporate raiders and leveraged-buyout artists, the $92 billion junk bond market gave them financial firepower.

So there's feverish talk of raising the bailout facility's financial firepower to €1tn, €2tn - or even €4.5tn (roughly ten times what's now available).

They should have responded with an overwhelming show of financial firepower to convince the markets they were serious.

So even if one of Sony's partners dropped out, it would still have enough financial firepower to close the deal.

They also need more financial firepower to cut prices and keep up with low-cost competitors overseas.

Comcast does not have that kind of financial firepower, and America Online may not either.

The Bass group went into the talks with a great deal of in-house legal and financial firepower.

The enlarged company will retain substantial financial firepower.

The EU doesn't have the financial firepower to keep all these countries as members.