1.   Also hurting third-quarter earnings are slower sales of large outdoor play equipment from Little Tikes, which is battling competition from Fisher Price and other toy companies.

2.   Altera is seeing slower sales partly because it shipped too many products to distributors last quarter, leading them to need less this quarter, he said.

3.   Analysts say fewer starts and slower sales will lead to more moderate consumer spending in the next six months or so.

4.   Analysts agreed, saying emerging markets, especially China, are crucial for Kodak, which sees slower sales in markets like the U.S.

5.   Analysts have also cited higher gasoline and utility costs, higher interest rates and stock market uncertainty in predicting slower sales.

6.   And retail companies are being hit by anticipation of a softer economy and slower sales.

7.   As much of Asia has careered into currency crises, slower sales there have hurt the company.

8.   At the same time, automobile, machine and electronics makers boosted exports overseas to offset slower sales at home.

9.   At Tomkins, the Malta windows and doors unit based in Ohio suffered slower sales, as homebuilding in the U.S. declined.

10.   Automobile and machine makers among other exporters have kept their factories running efficiently because they offset the slower sales at home by exporting.