11.   The house offered two rates, a lower one for buying pesos, a higher one for selling them.

12.   The Mexican central bank bought pesos to support its currency.

13.   The slide prompted the central bank to buy pesos to support the currency.

14.   To keep loans flowing, Mexico offered investors high interest rates and a stable peso -- which Mexico sustained by buying excess pesos with dollars.

15.   When the Chilean currency appreciates, the dollar buys fewer pesos.

16.   Any funds used by Mexico to buy pesos in the open market would be considered a loan from the United States to be repaid at a later time.

17.   In New York, the U.S. Federal Reserve also said it was buying pesos and selling dollars at the request of its Mexican counterpart.

18.   That possibility made market participants more hesitant to buy pesos, traders said.

19.   The U.S. Federal Reserve said it was buying pesos and selling dollars in an attempt to halt a sharp slide in the Mexican currency.

20.   To push up the Mexican currency, the Federal Reserve bought pesos and sold dollars.