These figures are even worse than the bleak economic forecasts predicted, with new records achieved for youth and female unemployment.

Their warnings came amid bleak forecasts that sterling will plunge to a new low during this week's Tory conference at Brighton.

That bleak forecast comes on top of the 495,000 jobs that have already been lost in the region over the last two years.

The Mayor stood by that bleak forecast, saying, "I'm not crying wolf, never have, never will."

It was a bleak forecast, but one that surprised few who had watched such sites search in vain for customers in 2000.

Why have some bleak forecasts cropped up?

Ms. Allen's bleak forecast is based, she said, on the fact that marketers mostly ignore such sites.

These bleak forecasts hardened my determination.

So far, I like it here, in spite of the bleak forecasts from my friends.

Ms. Luckman said that donors had been surprisingly generous given the bleak economic forecast.