INTERNATIONAL

$55 Billion Spent to Support Franc in July: In its vain bid to defend the franc against heavy selling by dealers, France may have spent nearly 3% of its annual national income in just one day in July, official data shows. Figures released by the Bank of France indicate that its official foreign reserves probably fell by $32 billion (189 billion francs) in the week ended Aug. 5. Analysts said the bulk of that was most likely depleted on July 30 as European central banks battled investors who became convinced the franc and other currencies would be devalued against the German mark after the Bundesbank had refused to cut a critical interest rate.