31.   Rexam blamed the decline on high raw material prices and a fall in demand for its products.

32.   She blamed her decline in Hollywood on executives who focused on her shapely legs and ability to fill out a sweater.

33.   The bank blamed the decline on lower income from short-term investments in Brazil.

34.   The automaker blamed the decline on United Auto Workers strikes at its plants in Pontiac, Michigan, and Oklahoma City, as well as lower demand industrywide.

35.   The carrier blamed the decline in part to higher fuel prices and a weak Japanese yen.

36.   The company blamed a decline in customer traffic and the impact of costs associated with closing three restaurants for the loss.

37.   The company blamed the decline on lower wireless handset sales because of a transition to new models.

38.   The company partly blamed the decline on the publication of a special edition of Popular Science magazine in the year-ago quarter.

39.   The company blamed the decline on technical glitches, which it said it fixed by switching to new long distance networks.

40.   The company blamed the decline on the sluggish retail climate and winter storms kept away shoppers.