The press statement implies the decision is purely a financial one - by stopping its stem cell programme it will cut its workforce by more than a third and save millions of dollars.

BBC: Stem cell trial halted

Other recent victims have included bids to stem global warming, establish an international criminal court and cut down on gun-running.

ECONOMIST: A running feud

The Postal Service said Wednesday that it plans to cut back to five-day-a-week deliveries for everything except packages to stem its financial losses in a world radically re-ordered by the Internet.

WSJ: Goodbye Saturday mail? Postal Service plans cuts