The second hold followed the same pattern but Murray pushed too hard for hold and Brown stepped right across him and cross-buttocked.

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If a similar pattern hold this year, the 3.5% rise in card spending would correlate to an overall sales bump of 1% or so.

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But Mr Obama may not hold to that pattern, given his ties to unions and a deadline to respond that falls just before the mid-term elections (extensions can be granted).

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