That was considerably more than analysts expected and cast new doubt on assumptions that the economy is slowing from its unsustainably fast pace of the spring.

But he said hog slaughters this month have been running higher than most analysts expected and slicer demand has been unexpectedly light.

Perhaps most surprising this month were G.M.'s results, which were stronger than analysts expected and marked the third consecutive month of sales increases.

That is 17 percent higher than the $1.56 billion a year ago, but lower than the $1.9 billion many analysts expected for the quarter.

Losses at Amazon.com narrowed as much as analysts expected in the third quarter, but its sales fell short of expectations.

Priceline also said that its revenue would be lower than analysts expected for the current quarter and that its losses would be wider.

Ford's sales rose 4.4 percent for November, less than analysts expected considering the incentive programs that the company had in place.

BellSouth added fewer high-speed data lines than analysts expected in the third quarter.

California's savings industry remained highly fragmented and analysts expected there to be further rounds of mergers as the business continued to consolidate in the state.

According to Yinka Adegoke at Reuters, "That was more than analysts expected from a company long seen as the best run video provider in the industry."