11.   Other strategies to battle a widening deficit include developing domestic financial services.

12.   Take the latest trade figures, showing a widening deficit in September.

13.   That would most likely drive down the prices of existing bonds as the government is forced to sell more debt to cover its widening deficit.

14.   The central bank attributed the widening deficit to a dearth of foreign tourists to the alpine country and an increase in Austrians traveling abroad to cheaper vacation spots.

15.   The government is expected Tuesday to release tax estimates that are expected to show a widening deficit.

16.   The trend toward widening deficits with Asian countries could increase, economists said, because of economic difficulty accompanying currency crises in several South and Southeast Asian nations.

17.   When Cardoso was elected president, he listed among his priorities trimming state spending on social security and payrolls to try to close a widening public deficit.

18.   A confrontation with Italy over the guidelines is also possible because of fears about a widening deficit under the new government of Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi.

19.   Any sign of a widening deficit could hurt the dollar.

20.   Bank officials attributed the widening deficit mainly to falling prices of such major export items as semiconductors and steel products.