1.   The improving default rate is a welcome sign, they say.

2.   Parish councillor and qualified stonemason Jim Wingham has been given approval by Cleveland County Council to provide a roadside welcome sign for visitors to Victorian Saltburn.

3.   A welcome sign at the transition headquarters, Thursday.

4.   A welcome sign of the success of privatization in Europe?

5.   All the hugs and tears were a welcome sign that the two Koreas are continuing to make progress towards unifying their divided peninsula.

6.   But Gov. George Pataki said that the proposal was a welcome sign that the land was up for sale, and that the state would try to buy it.

7.   But many Democrats perceived the move as a welcome sign that Gore was ready to take control of his campaign and put up a fight.

8.   Declining optimism is a welcome sign for contrarian investors, who look for opportunities to bet against the crowd, not with it.

9.   For entrepreneurs, the funds are a welcome sign that the investor community is finally taking an interest in Europe after years of being heavily weighted toward the U.S.

10.   For many investors, rising pessimism is actually a welcome sign.