1.   As sales soften and inventories rise, rebates are rising as well, offsetting the effect of higher interest rates.

2.   AIM spokesman Raymond Torto said companies responding to the survey reported their sales were softening somewhat.

3.   But administration and industry officials dismissed such arguments and countered that overseas sales had softened the blow for military contractors.

4.   But as retail sales have softened and consumer become more selective in their purchases, home buying has remained strong.

5.   Car makers say sales are softening.

6.   Faced with a huge rent bill when sales soften, a retailer might decide to declare bankruptcy and walk away from the deal.

7.   Home sales have already softened, consumer confidence has slipped and Wednesday the government reported the first decline in orders for long-lived factory goods in five months.

8.   The global market has become even more crucial as domestic syndication sales have softened considerably in recent years.

9.   Though the company blamed UPS for most of the shortfall, its warning that overall industry sales were softening prompting other staffing stocks to fall, analysts said.

10.   Those marketers are loath to cut ad budgets, fearing rivals will make inroads, but they need to spend less money as sales soften.