41.  A rising mark means German companies make less profit when dollar sales are converted to marks and that their products are less competitive abroad.

42.  A report on December business confidence due next Wednesday will be watched closely for clues as to how German companies are coping with the recent slowdown in Asian economies.

43.  A spokesman in Tokyo for Bayer, the German company that owns Cutter, said the company would not comment on the lawsuit.

44.  A rival bidder, the German company Benckiser, said it would not raise its competing offer.

45.  A weaker mark means German companies earn more from sales abroad when revenue is converted into their home currency.

46.  A stronger U.S. dollar boosted shares in German companies that derive a large part of their profits from U.S. business.

47.  A weaker mark helps German companies sell more goods abroad by making them more price-competitive.

48.  Adidas is the German company that almost single-footedly kicked away the facade of amateurism.

49.  After perhaps two weeks of talking with the German company on his own, it appeared critical that Nacchio now bring US West into direct contact with Deutsche Telekom.

50.  After automaker Daimler Benz AG listed its shares on the New York Stock Exchange last year, it was widely forecast that other big German companies would follow suit.