71.   Slower sales also led companies to scale back production, and hiring and wage growth with it, further cooling consumer spending.

72.   Slower sales could cause the USDA to raise its estimate for wheat reserves for the end of the wheat marketing year.

73.   Specialty retailers Limited Inc., TJX Cos. and Woolworth Corp. posted lower fiscal third-quarter profits because of slower clothing sales and margin-eroding discounts.

74.   Some manufacturers added workers even with slower domestic sales because many exporters were able to ship overseas, where demand remained strong.

75.   Tax-exempt securities outpaced taxable bonds in the futures market amid optimism for slower sales of new munis and a resurgence of investor demand following the recent rise in yields.

76.   That could drive GEC earnings higher after it suffered higher costs for developing some contracts and slower sales in its power equipment business, Alsthom.

77.   Taiwan companies that rely mostly on the local market for growth posted generally slower sales in April from the previous year, analysts said.

78.   That came as large manufacturers boosted exports to offset slower sales at home.

79.   The Ann Arbor-based telecommunications hardware maker blamed slower sales in Japan.

80.   The company blamed the earnings decline on lower prices and slower sales.