61.   Factories have laid off thousands, small businesses have closed and the government has continued to slash its budget, partly because of falling tax revenues.

62.   He criticized Republican proposals to cut the capital gains tax or slash the budget for education and training because he said those actions will do little to boost wages.

63.   He added that although the government and education sector budgets have been slashed this year, most of those organisations will continue with their ATM investments.

64.   Like other EU countries, Germany has been slashing its budget to qualify for the single-currency club.

65.   Neighboring Kuwait has slashed its budget, frozen government hiring and announced it would sell more state-owned companies to raise revenues.

66.   Representatives of oil companies in Australia such as Mobil, BP and Esso said the industry had been hit hard by recent economic conditions and budgets had been slashed.

67.   State budgets have been slashed, meaning kindergartens have closed, health care and schooling have worsened and pensions are low, Mrs. Clinton noted.

68.   The bills, if enacted, would slash government budgets, force businesses to slim down and make layoffs easier.

69.   The IMF has told Russia that it needs to slash its budget, dramatically improve tax collection and make its financial workings more visible.

70.   The prime minister said the government saw the importance of children and education and had avoided slashing budgets affecting them.