11.   Traders said many investors were cautious amid concerns that a slowdown in the United States may make it harder for Japan to recover from its deepest slump in decades.

12.   Washington-Beijing relations are in the deepest slump since China suppressed a democracy movement in Tiananmen Square six years ago.

13.   California is undergoing a vigorous economic rebirth after wallowing for five years in its deepest slump since the Great Depression.