After that, if it kept buying, it would be breaching the rules that surround it.
The rules were different, sometimes it seemed there were no rules, and it all held together as long as property values kept rising.
And if it had introduced tougher rules, it asks whether it might have been criticised for being heavy-handed, while "gold-plating" regulations, when there was cross-party agreement on that light touch.
It changed the rules, and it did so after the election was over.
And last year the publication faced accusations that its message had been diluted after it changed its rules so that it could be sold by unemployed people, as well as the homeless.
It admits that it looked at its rules on regulating bank liquidity back in 2003, and concluded it wasn't good enough.
The Audit Commission - which monitors local government spending - said it did not impose inflexible rules, it merely recommended cost-effective practices.
It is also laying down rules which it implies the next president must respect if he or she is to be accepted in Moscow.
"The international community must now designate the leadership of this new international force, give it robust rules of engagement and deploy it as quickly as possible to secure the peace, " the president said.
Rival Guidant takes it on the chin when a federal judge rules it cannot develop or sell its drug-coated stent.
It might start by enforcing the many sensible international rules it has signed up for, such as the UN Convention Against Corruption.
Though the tactic didn't sit well with fans or Formula One purists, Allen wrote, "It was an obvious option, it was within the rules, necessary for Alonso's title chances and it worked!"
It is sometimes observed that it is called interference because it interferes with the rules of human experience and logic.
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Like many other data protection agencies it had requested Google hand over copies of the data it gathered to find out whether it breached privacy rules.
It serves as the gatekeeper to its App Store and it rules its mobile kingdom with an iron fist.
But it rules out devolving corporation tax unless it is also devolved to Scotland and Northern Ireland, national insurance, capital gains tax, VAT and fuel duty.
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But empowering end users is just one step in an end-to-end analytics value chain, which consists of cleaning data, storing it, preparing it for analysis, monitoring data for key events as it arrives, capturing knowledge in rules-based playbooks, delivering subsets to those who need it, and giving them the tools to analyze it.
Of course, while the rules make it clear that certain disclosures about tax information are absolutely prohibited, the rules are a bit more fuzzy when it comes to third parties.
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It creates the illusion of discretion but it is rules based.
It seems simplicity rules in our experience economy when it comes to creating new value from products and services.
Mr Cameron believes enshrining it in law will harm press freedom but Mr Clegg and Mr Miliband insist on it - they say the rules would lack impact without it.
Even if this was legally possible, which it isn't under current euro-zone rules, it was politically impossible: there is no appetite in some euro-zone countries, notably Germany, to create a transfer union, nor to bail out a country whose banking system is widely suspected to be a haven for money-laundering.
Instead, it is drawing up new rules that would allow it to intervene in its banking system and close down troubled banks, which is raising questions since the whole purpose of the bailout of its banks was so they could continue to operate.
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It is true that a government that is constantly changing the rules makes it harder for businesses and individuals to make investment decisions.
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The gap between what it can charge, under WTO rules, and what it does charge is also unusually small.
Earlier this year, it relaxed the entry rules for foreign investors, making it easier for more firms to make a foray into China.
It has established ground rules for extending credit to help it manage credit risk, and closely monitors the performance of its loan portfolio.
Sinn Fein has denied any knowledge of a deal, but said it would welcome it and stressed it has always sought a change in the rules.
If it rules for Omega, companies can protect virtually anything by slapping a tiny, copyrighted logo on it and producing it overseas.
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