71.   Three local companies have recently withdrawn IPOs or secondary offerings.

72.   Under current law, companies can withdraw excess money from pension plans without penalty only if it is used to pay for health benefits for retirees.

73.   A multi-million dollar deal for a hotel chain fell through Wednesday after an American company withdrew a bid initially accepted and then rejected by the Socialist-led government.

74.   A spokeswoman for Coca-Cola Enterprises, Laura Asman, said the company voluntarily withdrew the affected bottles months ago and that tests revealed no problems.

75.   A spokesman for Monsanto, who declined to be identified, said the company only withdrew the intellectual property application in order to make revisions.

76.   Also Wednesday, the president of NTT, Junichiro Miyazu, said his company had withdrawn from the bidding for IDC because the price had gone too high.

77.   Baroness Denton, the British minister responsible for attracting foreign investment to Northern Ireland, says one major company has already withdrawn from negotiations because of the mayhem.

78.   Even without official action, some Western companies have withdrawn from Burma under threat of boycotts.

79.   Fighting has intensified since December, when Ijaw groups demanded that all oil companies withdraw from the delta.

80.   However, no companies have withdrawn from the project yet.