Those were the years of triple-digit growth numbers, a trend publishers thought would continue until ebooks were at 50% of revenue or more.

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Although that may make bosses a little more popular in Germany, the trend is not thought likely, alas, to cross the Atlantic to over-paid executives in America.

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In the 1970s, when Ms Showalter herself started writing about women's literature, many critics thought they had to counter this trend with feminist polemic.

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Lots of food for thought, particularly if this becomes a trend.

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There are also many examples of people who obviously thought they were on to a big trend and snapped up many variations on a single theme.

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And if growth falls to 1% next year, as he is now thought to expect, before returning to trend, there is no danger that he will break the rules on fiscal probity that he has set himself.

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"We thought we were invincible because the low-carb trend seemed so solid, " says Saltzman, 36.

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Do we rebound from this trend and begin to compartmentalize that incoming information which requires deeper thought or does everything get put on the high speed and never ending instant-opinion assembly line?

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Advisory boards are a growing trend for large and small businesses who want to tap into the expertise and thought leadership of professionals in specific industries or areas of focus without hiring internal headcount or outsourcing consultants.

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This would resolve all these puzzles: GDP growth of 2.5% is above, not at, trend, the output gap is closing, and it was probably smaller than we thought to begin with.

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