31.   Still, Lehman is working hard to join the ranks of leaner firms and its cost cutting efforts are showing up in its bottom line.

32.   The accord would allow U.S. firms to establish their own ship loading and unloading operations in Japan and is intended to cut the costs of ship lines operating there.

33.   The Asian economic crisis has been particularly hard on manufacturers, denying them sales abroad while cutting costs for their overseas competitors.

34.   The airline said it faces a bleak outlook for the next two quarters and may have to cut costs further.

35.   The company also said it will take costs to cut staff in the Asia Pacific region.

36.   The prospect that higher borrowing costs could cut into corporate earnings dragged down stocks.

37.   Three out of the six largest European car makers are unprofitable and are all being forced to cut operating costs, analysts said.

38.   To cut costs, companies are refraining from hiring new employees and asking middle-aged businessmen to take early retirement.

39.   To cut connection costs, some day-trading firms, like All-Tech Investments, offer their proprietary services through the Internet.

40.   Today, however, banks either reported less-than-expected loan losses, or revenue growth and cost cuts that more than offset the bad loans.