Sales are expected to fall about $50 million below forecast because of weak imprintable sales in North America and overseas and that weakness is expected to persist through the fourth quarter, GIL said in announcing that its EPS for Q3 would be about $0.51 ($103.9 mm), down 7% against last year, on sales of $740 million, off 2%. That will be short of a forecast for flat EPS and a mid-single digit increase. The stock fell by about one-third in early trading following the news, as investors interpreted the unexpected weakness as a bellwether for a weakening economy.

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