But last year the economy contracted by more than 7 percent.

Just in the month through Jan. 31, he said, the number of listings contracted by nearly 11 percent.

It reduces the risks of contracting the disease by 60 to 70 percent.

Japan's economy contracted sharply in the fourth quarter of 2001, by 1.2 percent, the government reported today.

Over the last three years, the economy has contracted by more than 20 percent.

The turmoil has hobbled the economy, which contracted by 7.1 percent in the first half of the year.

For 1998 as a whole, the economy contracted by 2.8 percent, the first annual decline in a quarter-century.

Until very recently, the economy was contracting by more than 10 percent a year.

The economy will contract by 4 percent this year.

Italy's economy contracted by 0.3 percent in the second quarter of 2008.