After Katrina hit in 2005, wholesale gasoline prices jumped almost 50.0%, and Weinberg said there could be a similar divergence in prices this time around.

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It would not be the first time there was a divergence in rules on equipment.

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Adding an additional indicator, such as the moving average convergence divergence (MACD), to time market entry and exit further improves returns.

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This was similar to the divergence that was observed in February, but this time the selling was much heavier.

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"Countries could just accommodate the divergence by not putting their clocks forward in the spring, so you'd change your time zone by one hour to bring civil time back into line with the Earth's rotation, " added Dr Whibberley.

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When so much time and effort is devoted to crunching the numbers, it's a wonder there can be such divergence over a simple question about how well an economy is performing.

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