Analysts agreed that it would not be difficult for Lucent to cut more costs while recovering from an altogether dismal quarter.

And in Brazil, where volume rose 1 percent in the third quarter, some analysts expect a dismal fourth quarter.

That also represented a solid rebound from Citigroup's dismal fourth quarter, when it posted operating earnings of $1.4 billion.

Still, the announcement came less than a month after Kodak reported a dismal first quarter.

"A lot of teams would have packed it in," said Larry Brown, the Philadelphia coach, referring to his team's dismal first quarter.

But he was using as a base the dismal second quarter of 1995, in which the economy contracted 10.5 percent.

Delta's dismal fourth quarter capped the worst year in its history; the annual loss was $5.2 billion, or $41.07 a share.

After a dismal first quarter, music sales showed signs of life last week, with seven new albums in the Top 10.

In what was a dismal third quarter, it lost money in its North American automotive operations for the second time in the last decade.

The Knicks had to overcome a dismal third quarter in which they made only 3 of 21 field-goal attempts.