41.   Nonetheless, Gamble said, the underlying trend was for an improvement in operating profits.

42.   STPB chief executive Tan Chin Nam said the August figures were a disappointment, but stressed that underlying trends in visitor traffic to Singapore remained positive.

43.   The Bank of Japan attributed the stronger growth in January to technical reasons, rather than reflecting any basic change in the underlying weak trend in demand for funds.

44.   The EMI report warned that great attention would have to be paid to the underlying trend of deficits which could be masked by one-off moves.