Prof Davies said most of the details of the immunisation programme had still to be worked out, including negotiating a contract price for the vaccine, which is marketed by AstraZeneca.

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Yang, who was prepared for more negotiating and possibly a lower price, was dumbfounded, according to a Wall Street Journal report on Wednesday that cited sources close to Yahoo!

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They understood that there is a price for not negotiating, or for not saying the right words.

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Representative RAHM EMMANUEL (Democrat, Illinois): Democrats made a pledge that if we got to Congress we were going to take the language that the pharmaceutical companies got, strike that language, rip it out and then specifically tell the secretary to begin negotiating prices with the pharmaceutical companies so we can get a better price both for the seniors and the taxpayers.

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In response to Tuesday's announcement, Fitzgibbon argued that the lower than expected price was a result of Commerce's weak negotiating position due to the regulatory issues, coupled with the thinning out of potential buyers due to the distractions of the summer's credit crisis.

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"It should be remembered that the price a vehicle is advertised for sale as is not the same price that someone might pay - second-hand car dealers may overstate the price in a newspaper or trade magazine, but accept much less when negotiating, " the spokesman added.

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And it seems that we would be agreeable to a division of proceeds based on the list price of the book within a range of 45-55% (depending entirely on the negotiating power of the author and what they think they bring to the table that deserves more) of the list price for the author?

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