31.   Retailers expected shoppers to increase their purchases this year because of easier credit, Saltoun said.

32.   School districts are also increasing their purchases of supplemental materials such as workbooks.

33.   Spending fell as higher taxes, bad weather and small wage increases depressed purchases of big-ticket items, the government said.

34.   Still, the fact that the Japanese companies did not announce specific targets does not necessarily mean they will not significantly increase their purchases of U.S. parts.

35.   Still, some consumers are increasing their purchases, at least judging by sales at retail and department stores.

36.   Sumitomo Fire and Marine Insurance Co. has only slightly increased its purchases of U.S. and German bonds, said Osamu Nagase, a fund manager there.

37.   That caught the eye of bargain-hunting retailers who increased purchases of pork, traders said.

38.   That, in turn, would increase purchases of big-ticket items like cars and houses, leading to the creation of more jobs and spurring the economy forward.

39.   That makes it very hard to increase parts purchases from new foreign suppliers, especially as domestic parts companies are suffering.

40.   The agreement with NBC provides for internships, scholarship programs and a guarantee that the network will increase its purchases from minority-owned suppliers.