1.   And, indeed, there is a movement afoot to shrink the number of stations, particularly since some of them overlap in the same markets.

2.   By shrinking the number of shares, a buyback boosts per-share profits unless profits also decline.

3.   By shrinking the number of shares, a buyback boosts per-share profits, unless profits also decline.

4.   For decades, parades had been hampered by overhead utility wires, growing suburbs and innovations like electric winches that shrank the number of roustabouts.

5.   If the proposed merger of United Airlines and US Airways shrinks that number to three, the competition will still be fierce.

6.   Lawmakers in California and Florida helped establish purchasing alliances in those states as a way to shrink the number of uninsured workers.

7.   Lucent officials hinted that further advances were imminent as they work to shrink the number of molecules in the switching layer.

8.   Mergers and acquisitions will shrink the number of contract oil drilling companies over the next few years, industry executives said at a Houston conference.

9.   Now, with layoffs shrinking the number of permanent positions and job insecurity rising, the number of temporary workers is again expected to grow.

10.   Such tactics cooled the party fervor of students and shrank their numbers over the years until they returned to more manageable levels.