1.   AOL Time Warner has promised Wall Street strong financial performance, though the national advertising market has softened.

2.   As the energy market softened, Enron stuck its debt and operating losses into the partnerships.

3.   Auto industry analysts say the luxury car market is softening, not collapsing.

4.   Before the attack, the market was softening and the vacancy rate was rising.

5.   Dealers, however, said they saw little evidence the market was softening.

6.   Earlier this year, while the job market was softening, the losses were concentrated among white-collar workers like dotcom programmers, stockbrokers and advertising executives.

7.   He said that he expected that consumer confidence and consumer spending would decline further and that the housing market would soften.

8.   However, there are indications that the market is softening.

9.   In a statement announcing the rate reduction, the bank said domestic business confidence had slipped and the labor market had softened.

10.   Initial claims for unemployment benefits rose last week, the government said, suggesting that the labor market may be softening a bit.