Which of the following statements is most CORRECT? Please do not guess!!! Answer The high value of the U.S. dollar relative to Japanese and European currencies in the 1980s, made U.S. companies comparatively inexpensive to foreign buyers, spurring many mergers. During the 1980s, the Reagan and Bush administrations tried to foster greater competition and they were adamant about preventing the loss of competition; thus, most large mergers were disallowed. The expansion of the junk bond market made debt more freely available for large acquisitions and LBOs in the 1980s, and thus, it resulted in an increased level of merger activity. Increased nationalization of business and a desire to scale down and focus on producing in one's home country virtually halted cross-border mergers in the 1980s. Because strategic alliances and joint ventures are easy to form and enable firms to compete better in the global economy than would mergers, merger activity has virtually come to a halt in the 21st century