1.   The government has softened its stance on public spending.

2.   If the government softens its budget measures to appease the unions, the chance that France will meet the economic criteria for European monetary union declines.

3.   Kamei said the U.S. government was softening its stance in the air cargo dispute, according to the Tokyo Broadcasting System.

4.   That comment provoked outcry from opposition lawmakers, who criticized it as a display of stubborn nationalism, and the government has since softened its stance.

5.   The news boosted the yen as traders saw this as another sign the U.S. government may be softening its strong-dollar stance.

6.   There are some signs that the government may be softening its stance in an attempt to mollify business leaders.

7.   Traders took the remark as another sign the government may be softening its strong-dollar stance.

8.   A small number of Hmong guerrillas still stage sporadic raids even though the Laotian government has softened its once-hard Marxist line with political and economic liberalization.

9.   But the government will not soften its stance, the report said.

10.   But the government has softened its positions in recent months.