Even so, the merger of these two firms through joint bankruptcy proceedings gives the combined entity a major head start towards achieving these goals.

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Consider the facts: Since the 2005 French Open, when Nadal won the first of his record seven French Open titles, Federer, Nadal and Djokovic are a combined 443-57 at major tournaments (including Monday's wins by Djokovic and Federer).

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Tax cuts, spending on multiple wars and a major recession induced by the collapse of the housing market have combined to spike the U.S. debt burden, while sovereign debt issues have all but blown up the economies of Southern Europe (not to mention the banks, insurance companies and other investors who bought that debt).

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") Aside from cutting the dividend, the combined company is expected to cut a significant portion of its jobs -- beyond the major cuts that Pfizer has made on its own over the past three years. (See "The Incredible Shrinking Pfizer?

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The weak domestic economy, combined with inevitable voter fatigue after Labour's nine years in power, was a major contributor to the election defeat of Ms Clark's government.

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Combined with the pennant races in Major League Baseball and sundry other sports, it is a cornucopia of sports participation and television viewing designed to lift the spirits of even the most casual fan.

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