[soleiljy]

Australian shares outlook - Higher as bargain hunters step in

SYDNEY) Australian shares are expected to open higher Wednesday as bargain hunters step into the market, taking the opportunity to buy stocks at lower prices following yesterday's steep sell-off on renewed concerns about subprime mortgage related problems in the the global financial sector....

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Be thankful for TV but not satisfied, as holiday season overwhelms audiences
... I must say I'm thankful for TV's drama and comedy writers, who are conspicuous in their absence - or soon will be, as the writers strike leaves no new scripts to shoot. I've got an urgent Christmas wish: that the networks and studios stop playing Scrooge, and work out a deal that demonstrates they're as thankful for their writers as they should be.

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Hi, guys.

I'm wondering how to understand 'as' when 'as + S + V' is used. According to the Oxford dictionary, 'as' can be understood as 'because', 'while', or 'like'.

Q1) Let's suppose 'as' is the same as 'because'. For example,
As it was getting late, I decided to book into a hotel.
In this case, what is the difference between 'because' and 'as'? is there any nuance between them? What about the cases of 'while' and 'like'?

Q2) What are the different meanings of above three 'AS's among 'because', 'while', and 'like'? Is there any good way to discover the meaning of 'AS' easily?

My questions could be somewhat vague. If you feel like this, please add some comments so that I can explain more .

Thanks. Have a nice thanksgiving day!