11.   Dr. Peter Mitchell said the highway would exacerbate the decline in the koala population, which was caused by disease, dog attacks and road kills.

12.   Severe competition from Europe exacerbated the decline, the HKTA said.

13.   Brokers said share prices were pushed to near their lows by the close, with lacklustre demand exacerbating the decline.

14.   Declines were exacerbated by light futures-linked selling once the market lost upward momentum, brokers said.

15.   Slowing buying support for international blue chips also exacerbated the declines in the main market indices, brokers said.

16.   The declines were exacerbated by the lack of buying support, with many investors out of the market due to the holiday-studded Golden Week, they said.

17.   The declines were exacerbated by a lack of dollar-buying support before the release of US employment data later in the day, dealers said.