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Obama starts bid for re-election
US President Barack Obama launched his re-election campaign yesterday, pledging to finish the job he started and asking supporters for a record $1bn (£620m) in donations to fund his push for a second term in the White House. Obama is the first candidate to throw his hat in the ring for the 2012 presidential elections. The campaign kicked off on the same day that Treasury secretary Tim Geithner warned that the United States will hit the legal limit on its ability to borrow on 16 May – slightly sooner than expected – unless Congress grants an extension.