And since the financial crisis began in 2008, the divide between Britain and the EU has only grown wider and wider.
The resulting fallout and an investigation that seems to grow wider and wider by the minute has been tough for many of my friends in Pennsylvania.
Right around the country the private sector is telling us that the gap between the costs of care and the price that local authorities pay is just getting wider and wider, and there is no way it can be bridged.
Those wider pre-decimalization minimum ticks had allowed for wider spreads, and those wider spreads had paid for a professional network, which in turn did the critical work behind a successful IPO.
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About three years before the economic crisis hit, Wal-Mart began efforts to rejuvenate a tired brand and sagging stock price by quietly cutting distribution costs, cosmetically improving stores with brighter lighting and wider aisles and flexible scheduling of store workers to meet peak shopping hours.
And secondly, extending the franchise beyond those who are already entitled to vote in Scottish parliament and council elections may be questioned by the EU and wider international community and therefore undermine the validity of the vote.
"We understand that we have caused tremendous worry to the people of Fukushima and the wider public and we apologise for that, " Tepco spokesman Masayuki Ono told reporters.
Louise Bennett, chief executive of the Coventry and Warwickshire Chamber of Commerce, said that every redundancy is "extremely regrettable" for individuals and the wider economy, and she hoped for a turnaround.
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Mr Putin, addressing relations between the UK and Russia, said that bilateral trade and wider co-operation were increasing, and London and Moscow would be collaborating to develop "promising" energy projects.
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WiMax promises faster speeds than current technologies and a wider range of video and other services.
The gap between increasingly childless Los Angeles and Houston is even wider, and approaches 600, 000.
It has also translated into better housing, clothes, medical care and communication with the wider world and more know-how for further progress.
Thousands of new jobs have been created in these industries and consumers benefit from lower prices, better quality and a wider selection of products and services.
The reduced floor space requirements, lower power consumption, and the tolerance of wider temperature and humidity ranges dramatically reduce operational costs and environmental impact through an all-flash hyperscale datacenter.
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The Galaxy Player 3.6 is about 34% thicker, 8% heavier than the Touch, and is also longer and wider, but it is still comfortable in the hand and the pocket.
"The issue of bank current account charges is a matter of real concern to the banks' customers, and raises wider questions about competition and transparency of pricing, " said Mr Fingleton.
"I see it as the start of a long term, wide ranging collaboration between Wales, Medicon Village and the wider Medicon Valley region and am pleased to announce that discussions are already under way between Lund and Cardiff universities, " she said.
"Undoubtedly, these are very serious allegations and I would like to reassure the Newham community and wider public, that we are conducting a full, thorough and independent investigation to establish the facts behind these allegations, " he said.
And the FSA is also allowing banks to hold a much wider and more diverse and riskier collection of supposedly liquid investments, as a proxy for cash, which is their rainy-day money in case too many of their depositors want their cash back at the same time (it is the insurance against bank runs).
Frepaso is strong in Buenos Aires city and in the wider province, and in the big city of Rosario, north-west of the capital.
According to Fisher, there was a close relationship between monetary growth and this wider measure of inflation, and thus a rapid rise in the index signalled the need for tighter monetary policy.
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Some TV executives and analysts suggest that online video, tablet computers and wider use of digital-video recorders could be pulling prime-time viewers to other places and times that aren't counted in prime-time usage figures, although many also caution it is too early in the TV season to draw any broad conclusions.
And, as their ideas receive wider attention and publicity, they must work to defend the purity and original goals of their visions.
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In parliament and in wider debate we will be rigorous and constructive.
Sake has enjoyed increased popularity in the U.S. as more and more Japanese restaurants stock a wider variety and offer sake lists, but it still does not get the respect it deserves.
First Manhattan, a consultancy, reckons that one-third of the improvement in big American banks' earnings since 1993 comes from three non-recurring factors: lower deposit-insurance premiums, smaller provisions for loan losses and a wider gap between market interest rates and the rates banks pay depositors.
His own beliefs, whether the monetarism that won him his Nobel in 1976 or the positions on taxes, regulation and social programs that won him wider attention and acclaim, made him more influential among the business class of the world than any other contemporary thinker.
But Wiggins' winning ride, coming amid a two-day flurry of British medals on the water and in the saddle, appeared to be the moment when London and the wider nation decided to stop worrying and enjoy the party for which they were, after all, footing the bill.
The ONS includes internet-only sales and has much wider coverage of small and medium-sized businesses.
"Schools that deliver PE well recognise these challenges and offer a wider variety of sports and physical activity that make girls feel included, " said chairwoman Baroness Sue Campbell.
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