1.   Bolstering the yen were comments from a spokesman for the Japanese delegation to the Group of Seven nations summit in Lyon, France.

2.   Higher Japanese rates often bolster the yen by making yen-denominated deposits more attractive.

3.   Higher rates in Japan often bolster the yen by making it more attractive for Japanese firms to invest their money at home.

4.   Higher rates in Japan would probably bolster the yen by making Japanese deposits more attractive.

5.   Higher rates often bolster the yen by making deposits in Japan more attractive.

6.   Higher Japanese rates often bolster the yen by making yen-denominated deposits more attractive, prompting investors to buy yen.

7.   Higher rates in Japan would bolster the yen by making deposits in the currency more attractive.

8.   Investors have interpreted those comments as a license to sell the yen, without fear that the United States would join Japan in an effort to bolster the yen.

9.   It was the frailty of these vast institutions that led President Clinton and Hashimoto to order joint intervention in the currency markets last week to bolster the yen.

10.   Japanese officials have on several occasions suggested they are ready to sell dollars to bolster the yen.