Chemicals will gain ground this year despite flat activity last year.

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The dollar amount the NRF predicts will be spent on the holiday is about the same as last year, suggesting flat consumer activity due to the struggling economy.

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Det Ch Insp Saunders said initial information revealed the last-known activity in the flat was on Thursday morning.

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Electricity usage, perhaps the best barometer of economic activity, was essentially flat this summer on a month-to-month basis.

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Economic activity in the fourth quarter was flat, as overall GDP contracted at a teeny tiny 0.1% annual rate.

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Other companies that are regarded as bell weathers for economic activity are ending the year with negative or flat returns.

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Seven districts noted commercial real estate activity improved slightly while five said the market was flat.

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The main source of the renewed weakness in economic activity seems to be related to a slowdown in international trade, as evidenced by flat export demand seen by Asia, which triggered an involuntary build-up in inventories in the manufacturing sector.

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