1.   An approaching holiday season, combined with the growing availability of consumer credit, sped up the pace of import growth, he said.

2.   Because of the approaching Christmas holiday, no date has been set yet for the board to take up the loan question.

3.   Still, no one is prepared to write off the approaching holiday sales season just yet.

4.   Williams said investigators hope that the approaching holidays will lead someone to report a missing person who can be identified as the slain man.

5.   Consumer confidence fell sharply in October to its lowest level in a year, a potentially worrisome sign for the approaching holiday retail season.

6.   The drop is a potentially worrisome sign for the approaching holiday retail season.

7.   The drop could be a potentially worrisome sign for the approaching holiday retail season, but retail stocks held their ground in early trading.

8.   The drop could be a potentially worrisome sign for the approaching holiday retail season, but retail stocks held their ground in trading.

9.   Grain prices retreated Tuesday on the Chicago futures market in light trading ahead of the approaching Thanksgiving holiday.

10.   The rise in the market was magnified by light trading ahead of the approaching Labor Day holiday, Armstrong said.