41.   First Bank will be under pressure to deliver quickly on promises to boost profits by slashing costs and generating more revenue.

42.   First Interstate long viewed Wells Fargo as an adversary ruled by an autocratic management bent on slashing costs and installing its own executives in senior positions.

43.   Furniture.com is among many online retailers that are slashing costs and laying off employees, hoping that the capital markets will exhibit renewed interest in dot-coms.

44.   Geoffrey Hazard, a legal-ethics expert at the University of Pennsylvania School of Law, said a recent futures agreement on asbestos claims will slash litigation costs.

45.   Grand Union, which has been slashing costs and focusing on higher-margin items such as prepared foods and flowers, is already showing some signs of improvement.

46.   Hawkins said the company will continue to slash costs but disagreed with criticism that its expenses are out of line with the industry.

47.   He is widely credited with slashing costs at British Airways and transforming the image of the former state airline.

48.   In a bid to fight economic weakness, the Fed has slashed interest costs five times since the beginning of the year.

49.   In anticipation of the increased competition, utility companies are cutting jobs, selling plants and reducing dividends in an attempt to slash costs.

50.   In anticipation, utility companies are cutting jobs, selling plants and reducing dividends in an attempt to slash costs.