21.  Area residential construction, which has been at record levels for several years, was down about 24 percent in the first quarter this year, based on permits.

22.  Domestic processing rates reached record levels in October, traders said.

23.  Earlier this week, consumer confidence hit a record level.

24.  Donations continue to flow into Beth Israel at record levels, a sign that the hospital's affluent Jewish donors approve of Rabkin's work.

25.  Elsewhere on Wall Street, stocks reached record levels.

26.  Edward M. Kerschner, chief strategist at Paine Webber, expects that record levels of merger and acquisition activity seen in 1998 will extend into 1999.

27.  Even as consumers are becoming more confident in the economy, they've held back on spending because of concerns about job security and record levels of personal debt.

28.  Even before the Fed moved to raise short-term interest rates last month, stocks fell from their record high levels on expectations of lower earnings.

29.  Even so, the outlook for manufacturing remains positive, with exports running at record levels, and the domestic economy continuing to expand.

30.  Even though stock prices fell in Mexico today, they've been rising to record levels for most of the past two weeks.