11.  A drop in consumer prices in big German states pointed to slowing inflation nationwide and revived hopes of an interest-rate cut by the Bundesbank.

12.  Concern centered on the Oder River along the Polish border in the eastern German state of Brandenburg.

13.  Elections in three German states Sunday set yet another endurance test for the struggling Free Democratic Party and the ruling coalition to which it belongs.

14.  Experts say that nullification even by a single German state could create legal and economic chaos.

15.  Gilts rose with bunds after cost-of-living reports from two German states showed a decline in the rate of inflation in July.

16.  German states will start reporting August cost-of-living figures tomorrow.

17.  German government bonds rose amid increasing hopes the Bundesbank will cut interest rates early next year and favorable inflation figures released from a major German state.

18.  Hopes of slower inflation were boosted by consumer price reports from three key German states.

19.  Last year, the conservative German state of Bavaria banned Scientologists from the ranks of its civil servants.

20.  Meanwhile, reports that prices declined in two German states bolstered the dollar against the deutsche mark, by rekindling speculation the Bundesbank will cut interest rates soon.