"We're concerned that the cycle may be on its last legs, " says Bart Mosley, co-president of Trident Municipal Research in New York.

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Best Buy meanwhile, was supposed to be on its last legs, with only a buyout led by founder Richard Schulze looming as a potential lifeline.

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That will not be a gradual process, because much of the joint weapons inventory is already on its last legs, and potential adversaries like China are not standing still.

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