1.   Almost all the banks have been steadily trimming rates over the past couple of months to boost their Margins.

2.   Analysts said the Fed may continue to trim rates in the new year, assuming economic growth remains weak and spotty and the inflation threat continues to retreat.

3.   Because it means a smaller federal deficit, trimming the rate of growth in the CPI would be welcome on Wall Street.

4.   A German rate cut would give other central banks more scope to trim their rates to bolster economic growth.

5.   A weak U.S. manufacturing report suggested the Federal Reserve, too, may trim rates further.

6.   Central banks in Austria, Belgium, the Netherlands, Denmark and Ireland also trimmed key rates.

7.   Concern has spread that if the budget impasse is not solved, the Fed will not trim rates again.

8.   Despite October sales, none of the reasons for trimming rates has gone away.

9.   Elsewhere, central banks in Canada and parts of Europe are trimming rates to bolster economic activity.

10.   Economists said the Fed was still more likely than not to trim rates again this month.