Mr. Clinton's announcement last week that he would sign the welfare bill only solidified his support.

The announcement last week, which set a quota of 57,000, clearly envisioned the return of the large-scale operators, with vessels that can take 10,000 seals on one trip.

WorldCom's announcement last week that it had misrecorded $3.8 billion in costs has forced the company to the brink of bankruptcy.

Amazon's announcement last week of a new backlit tablet to challenge the iPad, called the Kindle Fire, has turned the market on its head.

His government's announcement last week that it would take over 3,000 farms seemed calculated more to rile white farmers than to outline an immediately feasible plan.

Israel's announcement last week that it would accelerate the construction of 2,000 settlement housing units was wrong and deeply counterproductive.

Normally, Paramount Communications Inc.'s announcement last week that it planned a fifth national network would have sent an electric shock through the broadcast business.

The same stock, after the announcement weeks later, was worth slightly more than half as much.

Finance Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto's announcement last week that he would soon resign because of the recent stock market scandals only added to the uncertainty.

The Justice Department's announcement last week that it was prepared to file a civil rights lawsuit against the Police Department was embarrassing news for this city.