21.   Shares of Soquimich Commercial SA, or Soquicom, slumped as a year-long drought slashes demand for fertilizers, reducing company sales and depressing profits.

22.   Shares in Maderas y Sinteticos SA, or Masisa, fell as competition in the particle-board industry depresses profits.

23.   Slow sales are, in turn, depressing profits and forcing the company to cut costs, but Eaton still expects to out-earn other automakers around the globe.

24.   That would cause reported expenses to increase, depressing profits even as investors were willing to pay a smaller multiple of earnings for tech companies.

25.   The lower-than-expected figure raised fears that sluggish demand for personal computers and falling prices for chips will depress profits for their makers.

26.   The news raised speculation that the industrywide slowdown, which analysts expected to end this fall, may depress profits through the second half.

27.   The premium is depressing profits further, forcing many Japanese banks to retreat to the domestic interbank market to raise funds.

28.   The recall will depress profits.

29.   The weakness is centered on fears the Asian crisis will spark deflationary pressure and depress corporate profits in America.

30.   They will depress the profits of companies that sell things to the affected Asian countries.