This time, however, all of the big local industries seem to be contracting at once.
"The market is contracting at an alarming rate," said John Roth, Nortel's chief executive.
In truth, the data suggest only that the economy is contracting at a slower pace than before.
Greece's economy was contracting at a 6.4 percent annual pace and was expected to continue to stagnate next year.
The air, heated by propane burners, keeps the helium from contracting at night, helping the balloon to maintain altitude.
The Senate report focuses heavily on security contracting at remote American military bases in western Afghanistan, including the air base in Shindand, near Herat.
Still, the two reports together suggested the government could revise up its reading on fourth-quarter G.D.P., which showed the economy contracting at a 0.1 percent annual rate.
Greece's economy shrank 6 percent last year and continued contracting at a 5.6 percent rate in the first quarter of 2013.
By the early aughts, the world of high-quality audio nonfiction "was sort of growing and contracting at the same time," Zorn said.
The Japanese economy shrank at its fastest rate since the 2011 earthquake and tsunami in the second quarter of this year, contracting at an annual rate of 6.8%.
My thigh muscles, relentlessly contracting at each step, were rebelling, and my right calf felt as tight as a hatchet handle.
