61.   Federal Reserve Gov. Lawrence Lindsey said today that U.S. companies appear not to be passing on price increases to consumers.

62.   Even so, analysts attributed the increase to the return of striking General Motors Corp. auto workers.

63.   Even so, he reduced his forecast for Fed rate increases to a half point between now and year-end, from his earlier projection of a full percentage point.

64.   Ford officials attributed the increase to a shift to younger, less experienced drivers of Explorers and to problems with the Firestone tires.

65.   French companies have been asked not to pass on the increase to consumers in the form of higher prices, a request that critics called a pious wish.

66.   From the State Department to the Department of Justice, Bush hopes to shrink budget increases to, in some cases, below the rate of inflation.

67.   He attributes the increases to gouging by gas companies.

68.   He attributed the increase to renewed investor anxiety about inflation.

69.   He attributed that increase to the success of new trucks models.

70.   He attributed the increase to patients with flu-like symptoms and a cough, a number of whom needed to be admitted.