The decline was more than analysts had expected, but the figure was an increase from September, an indication that personal consumption might rebound in the Christmas shopping season.
The personal computer industry rebounded in the period, particularly in those areas where Hewlett-Packard does well, like sales to consumers and notebook PC's.
And there have been some positives in the numbers lately, like the substantial gains in the stock market in recent months and a rebound in personal income.
Microsoft benefited more than others from the modest recovery in the technology sector and a rebound in personal computer sales, particularly as corporations finally replaced their aging machines.
Earlier, Microsoft had said that it expected personal computer shipments to rebound somewhat in the last quarter of the year, rising perhaps 5percentt, helped by the introduction of its new Windows XP operating system, which will be introduced next Thursday.
Despite his 12 assists and 9 rebounds, his personal power outage symbolized the Nets' failures in a 94-82 loss to the 76ers.
A crowd of 2,916 at San Diego Sports Arena witnessed one of the Doctor's most legendary house calls, a four-overtime thriller that San Diego eventually won, 176-166 — a game filled with 72 personal fouls and 128 rebounds.
Meanwhile, although Mr. Gingrich's personal favorability rating has rebounded a great deal among Republican voters, he has some image problems that could come back to harm him should he rise in the polls and receive more scrutiny from voters and the media.
Larry Nance Jr. collected a career-best 14 rebounds, reaching personal highs in both offensive (six) and defensive (eight) boards.
The line on Curtis Johnson looked forlorn in comparison: no points, no shots, one rebound and four personal fouls.
