The company swung the axe before revealing pre-tax losses of £129 million for the first half of this year.

The loss was initially estimated at C$70 million before a report by Ernst & Young revealed additional losses.

Costain, the building and construction group, dipped 6p after revealing massive losses last year.

Oxford has been under surveillance by state and Federal officials since it revealed big financial losses last year.

The first signs of trouble came last summer when Lasik Vision's chief executive was ousted and revised financial statements revealed much larger losses.

She said regulators had seized the company after a financial review revealed heavy debt and steady losses.

These sources reveal military losses exceeding those of Krivosheev's report by 2 - 2.5 times.

All information available constitutes little more than hearsay, in part because the Soviet Army was not inclined to reveal massive losses during wartime.

With all disbursements managed by myself," declared the supercrook, "the books that have hitherto showed gains will gradually reveal losses.

But the deal began unraveling two weeks later as Enron revealed even larger financial losses and more debt than previously reported.