31.   Cornelis declined to comment on whether Petrofina might consider raising the bid.

32.   CSX Chairman John Snow also said the company had no plans to raise its bid for Conrail or otherwise alter the terms of its agreement.

33.   Declines were limited as domestic investors, looking to buy stocks at lower levels, raised their bids.

34.   Dickson Poon, chairman of Dickson Concepts, has been waiting in Hong Kong for another bidder to emerge before he raises his bid.

35.   Dolan and Johnson, who were not at the meeting, knew they still had time to raise their bids if they wanted to.

36.   Domestic institutions raised their bids to underpinned stock prices, traders said.

37.   Elsewhere, individual investors raised their bids on property shares such as Mitsui Fudosan amid optimism condominium sales will grow, traders said.

38.   First Bank officials declined to say whether they would raise their bid, other than to point to a statement released by Chairman John Grundhofer.

39.   Fokus Bank would not comment on whether it will consider raising its bid.

40.   For Broderbund to win, it must do so at the risk of raising its bid too high and diluting its earnings.