1.   The resignation of Labour Minister Erick Thompson Pineres in October was seen as evidence of a rift in the Cabinet over the severity of the austerity programme.

2.   A stern economic austerity programme, imposed in August, was based on anti-inflationary monetary and fiscal policies which Fujimori had denounced during his election campaign.

3.   A special austerity programme had reduced the range of consumer goods and foodstuffs, with eggs and bread being rationed for the first time.

4.   Falls in the price of oil had provoked the government four years previously to impose an austerity programme.

5.   Economic growth next year is expected to be negative, or at best flat, due the austerity programme required by the IMF and the financial crisis.

6.   He said its management had decided to discontinue the metal stamping and machining operationsfrom last March and implemented an austerity programme to reduce expenses.

7.   Most importantly, the Malaysian austerity programme has been endorsed recently by the visiting heads of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank.

8.   The International Monetary Fund austerity programme appears to be on track.

9.   The key to recovery was winning back the confidence of foreign capital, and the key to winning that confidence was to adhere to the IMF austerity programme.