In her place, on December 4th this faction chose Emilio Chuayffet, a party veteran.

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On December 4th, Labor members of parliament changed leaders a fifth time, dumping Mr Beazley in favour of Kevin Rudd, the party's foreign-affairs spokesman.

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They agreed to meet on December 4th to reassess the situation.

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Then, on December 4th, the government said the oil price had fallen even further than it had expected, meaning even less revenue available for next year.

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The deal between GM and SAIC to set up a 50:50 joint venture to produce small cars in India, announced on December 4th, is another sign of the times.

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Reality gatecrashed the very first morning of the three-day meeting, the world's largest convention of dismal scientists, with the release of a report on January 4th showing that America's unemployment rate had spiked from 4.7% to 5% in December.

ECONOMIST: Economics focus