21.   A continuing thaw and rain was the bleak prospect.

22.   With economic prospects bleak, analysts forecast a steady slump in South Korean share prices through September or at least until the bourse sees drastic market-boosting steps.

23.   Local institutions and brokerage dealers sold futures on bleak near-term prospects, sparking off arbitrage-led selling in the physical market.

24.   The Japanese currency has become the whipping boy of foreign exchange markets, as investors fret about the unremittingly bleak prospects for the Japanese economy.