Solicitors handling debt collecting and documentation for credit control are like the rest of society.

Mr. Tysoe also supervised the handling of all the acquisition financing, the principal lenders of which were often nervous about the company's ability to handle such sizable debt.

Even in a borrower's market, though, some financial planners and credit counselors question whether the loans are a good way for homeowners to handle debt.

Under Mr. Preston, Morgan became a leader in handling third-world debt and privatizing state-owned enterprises.

You ll find links to Web sites that provide information on money management, handling credit and debt, and information on consumer protection.

But how you handle revolving debt, like credit cards, tends to carry more weight since it's seen as more predictive of future behavior.

"Russians clearly can't handle debt," Mr. Fenkner said.

Handling the economy will be all the more difficult for Mr. Paniagua because the coalition he leads has vastly different views on how to handle privatization, public spending and foreign debt.

Many schools counsel students who get into trouble with their credit cards, and some try to teach them how to handle debt even before classes start.

During his first few years, he primarily handled private debt and equity placement for insurance companies and large institutional investors, almost all of which could be done by telephone without meeting clients.