1.   Industry executives and analysts blame the pronounced slowdown in the economy, slumping automobile production and bulging customer inventories.

2.   Prices later fell amid a pronounced slowdown in orders that lasted most of last year.

3.   The same State Department report that castigates China for human rights abuses also makes the point that the Chinese economy is suffering a pronounced slowdown.

4.   First-quarter economic data, scheduled to be released Thursday, will be closely watched for signs of a pronounced slowdown.

5.   The decline, coupled with the sharp decline in the leading index, provided the most dramatic evidence yet that the economy has entered a pronounced slowdown.

6.   Widespread layoffs in manufacturing and construction triggered the sharpest drop in American business payrolls in four years as the economy continued to give signals of a pronounced slowdown.

7.   However, the residential sector had shown a pronounced slowdown, particularly in the condominium category, it added, without giving figures.

8.   However, the residential sector had shown a pronounced slowdown, particularly in the condominium category, it added without giving figures.

9.   As consumer spending is responsible for two thirds of the gross domestic product, a sharp contraction in such purchasing could trigger a pronounced slowdown in growth.