Over the centuries, the reasons for hunting has evolved from necessity to sport and then to status symbol.

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"All things being equal, if you've got a more memorable ticker symbol, then people will be remembering you more, " says Ryan Issakainen, ETF strategist at First Trust.

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Cardinal Angelo Sodano, dean of the College of Cardinals, then presented him with the symbol of his authority the Ring of the Fisherman.

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But as America and Russia have learned, when something goes wrong and men and women die as a result, that attention is then focused not on a national technological triumph, but on a symbol of humiliating failure.

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The cricket series is the most telling symbol of how much the two countries' relations have improved since then.

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Then there's a geekier crowd looking to flaunt the ultimate techie status symbol: brains--both their own, and those they've bought.

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Close to the western end of Margaret Bridge, find the steep, cobbled Gul Baba Street which winds upward from Leo Frankel Street, then take a sharp left at the top, and look for the new moon symbol on a small, domed roof.

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His allies then started Salam, a newspaper that, for a time, was Iran's symbol of free expression.

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Then there's the personal image: HTC suggests that a lot of people want their phones to be their symbol of success, which means the phones themselves need a professional look, so glossiness and bright colors aren't for everyone.

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