It is also operating a round-the-clock "lock door policy".

BBC: Rox in George Street in Edinburgh

Instead of Americans enjoying a bounty after the clock runs out, federal farm policy will automatically revert to a farm bill drawn up in 1949.

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While the focus has been on tax policy and companies trying to beat the clock by returning cash to shareholders before January 1, there are other trends at work that give shrewd investors an opportunity to make the most of stocks that pay dividends.

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My hope is to tell you what ministers, MPs and officials are saying about politics and policy before they reach the 10 O'Clock News - the whispers on the breeze and the mood on the benches.

BBC: Welcome to my new page

Wind the clock back to 1979, and no one, not a single pundit, policy wonk, or economist, forecast the economic boom that came from the last such cycle.

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