1.   Sales have slowed to a trickle in recent weeks.

2.   Although industry sales slowed somewhat in October, they remain high by historical standards and are still expected to set another record this year.

3.   Already, corporate bond sales have slowed in recent weeks.

4.   Already, export sales are slowing.

5.   Already there are signs that domestic car sales are slowing, a shift that always translates into increased pressure on Japan.

6.   Also, music sales have slowed in recent years.

7.   Analysts said that auto sales broadly slowed in December.

8.   Analysts downgraded chipmakers in the U.S., citing concern that sales will slow next year, causing inventories to rise.

9.   Analysts said the same-store sales figures will also be helped by an easy comparison to last June, when sales slowed after several months of robust gains.

10.   And not everyone expects sales to slow much ahead of the holiday sales season.