"Its volume is shrinking because of a megadrought cycle that's now facing the South-west, and some scientists predict that it could last into the next century".
The agency's cash reserves have shrunk because of a sharp rise in borrower defaults, which raised concerns late last year that the F.H.A. could require a bailout if the market deteriorated further.
Such vacancies occur when retail companies merge or shrink because of a bankruptcy, move out of a declining neighborhood or open a bigger store near an existing store, making the older outlet redundant.
According to Korn/Ferry, a headhunting firm, almost twice as many directors of Fortune 1,000 firms refused a board position in 2004 as did in 2002, before Sarbanes-Oxley took full effect.For now, though, despite plenty of grumbling, there is no sign that company boards are shrinking because of a shortage of supply of directors.
There is no relief in sight for Orange County, where subprime lenders and title companies once dominated the market but are now shedding space because their business has dried up, and big banks are now shrinking because of a wave of mergers.
In the past year print-media output has shrunk because of a decline in ad revenue, meaning that less magazine paper and newsprint is being consumed.
After a strong start around Thanksgiving, consumer spending shrank because of concerns about the fiscal crisis in Washington, comScore said.
That marked an increase of about 5% from 2011, but the value of the entire book market shrank because of heavy discounting of digital titles - with many bestsellers retailing for less than a pound.
After Ashoka's death the empire shrank because of invasions, defections by southern princes, and quarrels over ascension.
Ikea had worldwide sales of 22.7 billion euros in 2009, up slightly from 2008, when sales for many other retailers shrank because of the global economic downturn.
