21.   Also waving fistful of endorsement dollars are companies like Titleist, which is looking for an identifiable superstar client, particularly one with ethnic appeal.

22.   Although each arrangement is different, in essence companies like Bioneutrics are bartering their services in return for materials or space.

23.   Also, the fall of the Japanese yen against the dollar in the last year has bolstered the profits of export-oriented companies like NEC.

24.   Although blue-chip companies like IBM and, more recently, Monsanto, have sold these hybrids, many issuers are fledgling companies whose survival is uncertain.

25.   American, Canadian and French companies like Brown-Forman, Seagram and Remy Martin, are also in the global cantina.

26.   American-based oil companies like ExxonMobil are starting to move in the same direction.

27.   Although prices for plasma televisions manufactured by companies like NEC, Sony, Fujitsu and Pioneer have dropped somewhat, they are still very high.

28.   Alvarado does not expect to ever overtake a company like Inteplast in volume or revenue.

29.   Amec is gaining footholds in Asia and the Pacific rim region, where oil companies like Unocal Corp. are focusing more of their investments.

30.   Although the government is still the sole shareholder, the new structure allows executives to run the company more like a private business.