Since that time, the government has tried to damp down talk that the stocks might have any worth.
Mr Laidlaw tried to damp down anger by pointing out that British Gas is only a small part of the Centrica business.
Jean-Claude Trichet, the ECB's president, tried to damp down even that concern, pointing out that banks could tap unlimited liquidity at the ECB and that they had ample collateral left to post in return.Mr Trichet is right, but only up to a point.
In the most important speech since he launched his campaign in February last year, Obama tried to damp down what he described as the "firestorm" over the pastor's sermons claiming the US brought the 9/11 attacks on itself and that African Americans should sing "God Damn America" not "God Bless America".
So let's all try to damp down the hype just a bit.
Sartaj Aziz, the Pakistani foreign minister, is due in Delhi on June 12th to try to damp down the latest flare-up in the disputed territory.
Brazil's president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, tried to damp down the dispute, suggesting that the group meet both Barack Obama and Mr Uribe to seek reassurances about the use of the bases.
"The only scenario I can see for reform is one that tries to damp down the frenzy about illegal immigration," Christopher Jencks, a Harvard sociologist who has studied the subject, said.
It's seen as such a problem in the country that the prime minister's office even launched a Twitter campaign to try to damp down speculation, built around the hashtag #Libyarumorcontrol.
It's seen as such a problem in the country that the Prime Minister's office even launched a Twitter campaign to try to damp down speculation, built around the hashtag #Libyarumourcontrol.
