My conviction in this regard has not been lessened by the discovery this morning that his column has already attracted more than 540 comments at nytimes.com.

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Leeds boss Dennis Wise has said not being able to sign players has been a problem and hopes the punishment can be lessened.

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The recent bounce to a two-month high in stock prices lessened the glum our survey has been indicating, but not so much that individual investors can be described as being sanguine.

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