Then, last year, their planned purchase of Nottingham racecourse fell through.

Domestic and foreign purchases of American meat fell by half.

Wages rose by 283 percent during the period, while purchases fell by 28 percent.

On the other hand, new- or used-car purchases from dealers fell to the 6 percent rate immediately upon the bill's signing.

Corporate purchases of transportation equipment fell $21 billion, to $170 billion.

The biggest movement was in transport, where purchases of motor vehicles fell markedly.

Spending for research and development would be cut slightly over this period, and the purchase of weapons could fall by more than 40 percent.

On the spending side, purchases of durable goods fell by $12.6 billion after an $8.5 billion gain in April.

Those purchases, adjusted for inflation, fell at an annual rate of 5.8 percent in the fourth quarter, the worst performance since early 1974.

On the other hand, whenever a potential purchase fell through, they were back at the start, having made no progress toward owning a home.