11.   The fact that the merger was seen as a general vote of confidence in high-speed Internet service over cable buoyed the stocks of many cable companies Monday.

12.   The Netherlands has also seen several mergers, creating banking giants like ING Groep NV and ABN Amro Holding NV.

13.   Whether pursuing or being pursued, banks and thrifts increasingly see mergers as the easiest way to cut costs and become more efficient.

14.   Ben Shalom said that in the future he would like to see full-scale mergers.

15.   In better days, Finance One had considered taking over Thai Danu, but now sees the merger as a means for survival.

16.   In the long term, the merger is seen as good news for an ailing bank industry in dire need of streamlining and modernization.

17.   Mergers are seen as a way to become stronger and more able to survive.

18.   Possible bank mergers are seen as strengthening the system asa whole.

19.   The merger is seen as a blow to the domestic dominance of Olympic Airways, the troubled state-run airline.

20.   The merger was seen as an attempt by relatively equal players in the increasingly competitive drug industry to cut costs and jointly snatch a larger share of the market.