At that point, it clearly would qualify for the capital-gains rate, as profit on a sale of a long-held business.

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The only smile belongs to Anglo, which has made a handsome profit on a sale it had originally declared would be a magnanimous gesture towards wealth-sharing.

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Margin is the amount of profit a company makes on a sale.

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Despite the astronomical price, rings with such pedigree could bring in a nice profit on the auction market or private sale.

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In other words, is current selling providing traders and active investors with the opportunity to buy financials on sale before the profit reports, revenues, and guidance hit the headlines in a few days?

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Woolworths' shares ended almost flat after profit dropped 17% on restructuring costs and sale of its Dick Smith electronics stores, but came in broadly in line with market expectations.

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That report will include profit numbers for the first full quarter in which the iPhone 5 was on sale.

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Sir Mervyn would also argue that so long as the Treasury kept RBS's stinkier assets long enough, and felt under no pressure to get rid of them in a fire sale, taxpayers would even end up (more than likely) making a profit on these putrid loans and investments.

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The obvious inducement for profit-seeking executives is to sell as many widgets as possible, cashing in on the margin for each sale.

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