Allowing Greece to default and remain in the euro would create a precedent that would increase moral hazard.

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"We do not wish to create a precedent, " an official was quoted as saying by AFP news agency.

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But a Vietnamese official is quoted as saying this would "create a precedent".

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The problem is this: even partial recognition of such a debt would create a precedent that could bring untold claims in its wake.

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But the prime minister, it seems, would rather get into the nitty gritty of corporation tax after the Scottish poll, than create a precedent beforehand.

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Traditional industries such as steel and chemical makers are opposed to any action because they are afraid it will create a precedent for what they see as interference with free market dynamics that will only add costs to their balance sheets.

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But some abortion-rights activists view the potential move as a step toward trying to create a legal precedent for recognizing a fetus as a person.

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He also feared it would create a "dangerous precedent".

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He warned that dangling large sums of state aid before GM and Opel would set a horrible precedent and produce neither good market results nor create and save jobs.

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