51.   Beyond the asset sales, Colaninno was generally vague about his plans for Olivetti.

52.   Belmonte predicted an earnings recovery in the second half of the year as the company collects payments for asset sales and taps better grades of ore at Antamok.

53.   BNDES, which coordinates state asset sales, is gradually selling those blocks of shares.

54.   Bertrand Faure is expected to announce further asset sales in the coming six months, analysts said.

55.   Bonds and the French currency weakened on the resulting uncertainty, as did shares of French companies involved in government asset sales.

56.   Brazilian stocks were little changed as a decline in telecommunications shares offset optimism about electricity state asset sales.

57.   A bid for the whole company from Lagardere, a defense and publishing company, was rejected last week by an independent panel on state asset sales.

58.   A supreme court judge ruled against a suit filed by telecommunication workers who wanted to block asset sales.

59.   A poll published today in weekly Magazine Le Point suggests a majority of the French favor continuing state asset sales.

60.   A seller often prefers to receive in an asset sale over cash because the seller can defer capital gains taxes.