• HOUSE PASSES HEALTHCARE BILL AS TRUMP GETS MAJOR WIN

    HOUSE PASSES HEALTHCARE BILL AS TRUMP GETS MAJOR WIN
    The American Health Care Act passed through the House of Represenatives on Thursday, in a major win for President Donald Trump and House Speaker Paul Ryan after a series of fits and starts on the Republican plan to overhaul the US healthcare system. 
    The legislation passed by a 217-213 margin, with 20 Republicans supporting the bill and all Democrats voting against it.
    The AHCA succeeded after a last-minute amendment was added to the bill on Wednesday night to win over moderate holdouts. Th
  • Here's your full preview of Friday's jobs report

    Here's your full preview of Friday's jobs report
    Friday is jobs day in America. 
    Economists are anticipating a rebound in job growth after an unexpected dip in March capped off what we now know was the worst quarter for the US economy in three years. 
    Via Bloomberg, here's what Wall Street is expecting for April: 
    Nonfarm payrolls: +190,000
    Unemployment rate: 4.6% 
    Average hourly earnings month-on-month: +0.3%
    Average hourly earnings year-on-year: +2.7% 
    Average weekly hours worked: 34.4
    To recap, the economy
  • Critics of the Republican healthcare bill are worried about preexisting conditions — here's what that means

    The American Health Care Act, the GOP's Obamacare replacement plan, is heading for a vote in the House of Representatives.
    A big question about the bill is whether people with preexisting conditions will be able to access health insurance if it becomes law. Before the ACA went into effect, people who had these conditions could be denied health insurance coverage, or face much higher prices for their health insurance than people who did not have preexisting conditions.
    According to
  • A Wall Street bank eviscerates Tesla (TSLA)

    A Wall Street bank eviscerates Tesla (TSLA)
    Tesla's lackluster first quarter results have some folks on Wall Street doubling down on their bearish outlook for the firm.
    In a scathing note sent out to clients on Thursday, a team of equity analysts at UBS maintained its "Sell" rating and $160 price target on the stock.
    "We are lowering our 2017 estimate from -$2.90 to -$3.70 reflecting the Q1 miss and Q2 outlook (higher OpEx than forecast)," the team, led by Colin Lagan, wrote.
    Currently, Tesla shares are trading at $296.64 per sh
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  • Oil craters to its lowest level since November

    Oil prices have sunk to their lowest level since November 2016 after Russia said it hasn't yet made a decision about extending cuts.
    WTI crude, the US benchmark, is down by 4.3% at $45.77 per barrel, while Brent crude, the international benchmark, is down by 3.8% at $48.83 per barrel as of 1:01 p.m. ET.
    Below, a chart of WTI crude:Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said earlier Thursday in a conference call with reporters that "no decision has been made yet" regarding wheth
  • 'Let’s get this f----- thing done!': Republicans used 'Rocky,' Gen. Patton to pump themselves up for the healthcare vote

    'Let’s get this f----- thing done!': Republicans used 'Rocky,' Gen. Patton to pump themselves up for the healthcare vote
    Republicans got ready for the healthcare vote with the help of "Rocky" and Gen. George S. Patton.
    The Hill's Scott Wong, Peter Sullivan, and Jessie Hellmann reported that Republicans held a meeting Thursday morning to prepare for the vote on the American Health Care Act.
    House GOP leadership played the "Rocky" theme song for the Republican conference, and House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy read quotes from Patton in front of an image of the famed World War II hero, according to
  • Bitcoin tops $1,600 for the first time (BTC)

    Bitcoin cleared the $1,600 level for the first time on Thursday. The cryptocurrency has pulled back a bit and now trades up 5.5% at $1,585.71 a coin as of 12:27 p.m. ET. It's higher for the 14th time in 15 days, gaining more than 35% over that time. 
    The recent rally has lacked any real catalyst, with traders seemingly keying in on hope the US Securities and Exchange Commission will reverse its decision to the reject the Winklevoss ETF. A decision is due by May 15.
    Back in March, the SEC re
  • Here's how badly Warren Buffett has crushed the market (BRK-A)

    Here's how badly Warren Buffett has crushed the market (BRK-A)
    The Berkshire Hathaway 2017 Annual Shareholders Meeting kicks off on Saturday May 6, and to mark the occasion, we looked at how Warren Buffett has stacked up against the broader stock market since he bought the then-failing namesake textile company in 1964.
    Business Insider compared the historical performance of Berkshire Hathaway's stock price from a 2001 retrospective by Meir Statman and Jonathan Scheid and Yahoo Finance to the performance of the S&P 500.
    Berkshire Hathaway's sto
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  • Bitcoin just soared to a new $1,600 high — but the first investor in Snapchat thinks it could hit $500,000 by 2030

    Bitcoin just soared to a new $1,600 high — but the first investor in Snapchat thinks it could hit $500,000 by 2030
    Bitcoin has been the top-performing currency in the world in six of the past seven years, climbing from zero to a new high value of about $1,600.
    But the cryptocurrency isn't anywhere close to its potential, according to Jeremy Liew, the first investor in Snapchat, and Peter Smith, the CEO and cofounder of Blockchain.In a presentation sent to Business Insider, the duo laid out their case for bitcoin exploding to $500,000 by 2030.
    Their argument is based on increased interest in bitcoin, tha
  • The 25 most expensive weekend getaways in the world

    The 25 most expensive weekend getaways in the world
    When it comes time to recharge your batteries, a weekend getaway can do wonders. Taking a quick trip will cost you significantly more in certain cities around the world, however.
    As part of their annual survey of global prices, Deutsche Bank analysts just released a report on the world's most expensive weekend getaways.
    To come up with the ranking, they combined the cost of two nights at a five-star hotel, two pub meals for two, two restaurant dinners for two, car rentals for two days, two pints
  • Traders are loading up on bets Snap will hit a record high (SNAP)

    Traders are loading up on bets Snap will hit a record high (SNAP)
    Someone just made a big wager that Snap will hit a record high.
    At 10:18 a.m. ET, several bullish block trades totaling about 8,500 shares changed hands, betting that Snap will climb to $27.50 by May 26. That would beat the company's previous record of $27.09, reached on March 3, two days after its initial public offering.
    In order for the options speculator to be in the money, the company's stock has to rise 26% from Wednesday's close. It's already making good progress, clim
  • The incredible life of billionaire investing legend George Soros, the anti-Trump bogeyman of the far right

    The incredible life of billionaire investing legend George Soros, the anti-Trump bogeyman of the far right
    George Soros, the billionaire investor whose net worth is valued at $25 billion, has been one of the most vociferous critics of President Donald Trump.
    Even though Soros once invested in a company started by Trump's son-in-law, the mogul's vocal stance has made him the subject of frequent right-wing conspiracy theories about paying people to show up to marches.
    To those primarily interested in markets, he is better known for his long and prolific career as an investor who famously
  • A top Tesla analyst just warned investors to balance 'greed and fear' (TSLA)

    A top Tesla analyst just warned investors to balance 'greed and fear' (TSLA)
    Tesla reported disappointing first-quarter earnings on Wednesday, and the stock is getting clobbered in early trading on Thursday, down 6% to $293.
    Tesla has been on a massive run since the beginning of the year, busting through a $300-per-share barrier, surpassing Ford in Market cap, and at times exceeding even General Motors.
    Interesting times for CEO Elon Musk and his 13-year-old company!
    Morgan Stanley analyst Adam Jonas — a Tesla bull, for the most part — published a note on Thu
  • BIANCO: 'We're more likely to go to Mars' before the 10-year hits 4%

    BIANCO: 'We're more likely to go to Mars' before the 10-year hits 4%
    Amid all the calls for higher inflation and continued growth in the US, Treasury yields have failed to meaningfully rise. 
    Treasurys have remained attractive, keeping yields low, as investors consider a blurry growth picture in the US combined with uncertainty about geopolitics and President Donald Trump's economic agenda.  
    "I think we're more likely to go to Mars before we have a 4%-5% 10-year Treasury," David Bianco, chief investment strategist for the Americas at Deutsche Asse
  • Tesla tumbles below $300 (TSLA)

    Tesla tumbles below $300 (TSLA)
    Shares of Tesla are under pressure on Thursday after the company reported a wider than expected first quarter loss and said that it burned through hundreds of millions of dollars. Thursday's selling has pushed Tesla shares below the $300 level for the first time in three weeks. 
    Following Wednesday's closing bell, Tesla said it lost $1.33 per share during the first quarter, worse than the $0.82 loss that Wall Street analysts surveyed by Bloomberg were expecting.
    The company also said t
  • A chief strategist with insight into 7 million brokerage accounts talks Apple, autos, volatility, and more (AMTD, AAPL)

    A chief strategist with insight into 7 million brokerage accounts talks Apple, autos, volatility, and more (AMTD, AAPL)
    After a strong start to earnings season, the tempo has slowed after results from Apple failed to excite investors.
    The market also just got hit with first quarter GDP that disappointed, April auto sales numbers that whiffed, and is preparing for a major jobs report on Friday.
    Business Insider spoke with TD Ameritrade chief market strategist, JJ Kinahan, to discuss those topics and more.
    Kinahan is an expert in retail investing. As the chief market strategist at TD,
  • International round-up: Facebook tackles ‘Live’ suicide videos, Twitter lands in hot water

    International round-up: Facebook tackles ‘Live’ suicide videos, Twitter lands in hot water
    Facebook tackles ‘Live’ suicide and murder videos
    Facebook has not had an easy ride with its ‘Live’ offering. A string of disturbing videos have surfaced on the social network over recent weeks, including a Cleveland man’s murder, a teenager who accidentally shot himself while broadcasting on Instagram Live Stories and the killing of an 11-month-old girl in Thailand.
    As a result, Facebook is hiring 3,000 more people for its community operations team,
  • The GOP healthcare bill could wreak havoc on employer insurance because of an obscure provision of Obamacare

    The GOP healthcare bill could wreak havoc on employer insurance because of an obscure provision of Obamacare
    Last-minute changes to the proposed Republican overhaul of the US healthcare system may not be limited to the individual insurance market, according to a new report.
    An analysis from The Wall Street Journal's Stephanie Armour andMichelle Hackman found that a provision in a recent amendment of the American Health Care Act could allow employers to gut some of Obamacare's biggest health-insurance protections for their employees.
    The amendment would allow states to apply for waivers to rescind two
  • Here's what doctors and patient advocates think about the Republican healthcare bill

    Here's what doctors and patient advocates think about the Republican healthcare bill
    The Obamacare replacement plan is headed for a vote in the House on Thursday afternoon.
    That's after some changes have been made to the American Health Care Act, the bill that aims to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act.
    The bill now includes a new addition called the MacArthur amendment. The amendment would allow states to receive waivers to avoid some of the regulations set up under the ACA.
    And on Wednesday, Rep. Fred Upton introduced an amendment that allowed for $8 billion in fundin
  • A technology gap between the rich and poor is deepening US inequality

    A technology gap between the rich and poor is deepening US inequality
    US inequality has been rising for decades, but it gained political prominence after the Great Recession gave rise to grassroots movements like Occupy Wall Street, forcing both political parties to start openly debating the issue.
    Unfortunately, the two major US political parties appear largely unable to agree, both within themselves and between one another, on the best solution to the problem.
    Given that impasse, equal access to basic technologies seems like a fairly low-hang
  • Here are the major changes to the GOP healthcare bill

    Here are the major changes to the GOP healthcare bill
    The American Health Care Act — the GOP plan to repeal and replace Obamacare — is set to be voted on by the House of Representatives on Thursday.
    The AHCA was released in early March. But the latest iteration has undergone significant changes that could affect everything from funding for people with preexisting conditions to the millions of people with employer-based insurance.
    The changes have seemingly brought together a large enough coalition of conservative and moderate holdo
  • Oil sinks to its lowest level since November

    Oil prices have sunk to their lowest level since November 2016 after Russia said it hasn't yet made a decision about extending cuts.
    WTI crude, the US benchmark, is down by 2.1% at $46.83 per barrel, while Brent crude, the international benchmark, is down by 1.9% at $49.83 per barrel as of 9:13 a.m. ET.
    Below, a chart of WTI crude:
    Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said earlier Thursday in a conference call with reporters that "no decision has been made yet" regarding whether Russia
  • Marketoonist on bringing ideas to life

    Marketoonist on bringing ideas to life
    Tom Fishburne is founder of Marketoon Studios. Follow his work at marketoonist.com or on Twitter @tomfishburne
    See more of the Marketoonist here
    The post Marketoonist on bringing ideas to life appeared first on Marketing Week.
  • It looks like 'Trumpcare' could clear its first major hurdle today

    It looks like 'Trumpcare' could clear its first major hurdle today
    Thursday's the day.
    The House is finally set to vote on the American Health Care Act, the GOP plan to repeal and replace Obamacare, after nearly two months of stalled attempts at passage.
    The House Rules Committee cleared the AHCA late Wednesday after House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy told reporters that the bill would be brought to the floor, setting up a vote early Thursday afternoon.
    The vote is expected to be close, with a number of Republican holdouts still
  • Ferrari is on a tear (RACE)

    Ferrari is on a tear (RACE)
    Ferrari reported first-quarter earnings in Thursday. 
    The results, according to Reuters, were a "better-than-expected 36 percent rise."
    Ferrari made 242 million euros in Q1, "above a Thomson Reuters SmartEstimate consensus of 222 million euros," Reuters said.
    The topline was 821 million euros, which came in above expectations of 767 million euros.
    Reuters said that Ferrari was "helped by sales of its 12 cylinder models such as the GTC4Lusso and the newly-launched LaFerrari Aperta hybri
  • Initial claims drop more than expected

    Initial claims drop more than expected
    Initial claims dropped more than expected.
    Claims, which count the number of people who applied for unemployment insurance for the first time, fell by 19,000 to 238,000.
    Economists had forecast claims would dip to 248,000 from 257,000.
    Initial jobless claims are used as a real-time proxy for the pace of layoffs since people usually file for benefits soon after they lose their jobs.
    The four-week moving average was 243,000, an uptick of 750 from the previous week's unrevised averag
  • The ruble is tumbling as oil prices drop to their lowest level since November

    The ruble is tumbling as oil prices drop to their lowest level since November
    The Russian ruble is tumbling on Thursday.
    The petrocurrency is down by 1.1% at 58.0171 per dollar as of 8:09 a.m. ET.
    Meanwhile, oil prices are at their lowest level since November.
    Kremlin spokeman Dmitry Peskov said Thursday Russia hasn't made a decision yet about whether it will extend the agreement with OPEC and non-OPEC countries on cutting production.
    Data from the Energy Information Administration released on Wednesday showed US crude output jumped to 9.29 million barrels
  • There's an incredibly risky new way to bet on stocks (UP, DOWN)

    There's an incredibly risky new way to bet on stocks (UP, DOWN)
    A pair of new exchange-traded funds just hit the market that will allow investors to make money faster than ever before. But they can lose it just as quickly too.
    The Securities and Exchange Commission approved the two new ETFs on Tuesday.The ForceShares Daily 4X US Market Futures Long Fund (ticker: UP) is designed to deliver four times the return of the S&P 500, while the ForceShares Daily 4X US Market Futures Short Fund (DOWN) will return four times the inverse of the benchmark's
  • M&S’s marketing boss on bringing a ‘cultural point of view’ to the retailer

    M&S’s marketing boss on bringing a ‘cultural point of view’ to the retailer
    Marks & Spencer has unveiled its first work under new creative agency Grey London, with the slogan ‘Spend It Well’ replacing ‘Only M&S’ and an emotive TV ad designed to resonate across the generations.
    Its a big change for the retailer and comes a year after it appointed a new CEO in Steve Rowe and promoted marketing boss Patrick Bousquet-Chavanne to a new role as executive director of customer, marketing and M&S.com.
    M&S has struggled in recent years, wit
  • Mark Ritson to pick marketing excellence winner at Festival of Marketing

    Mark Ritson to pick marketing excellence winner at Festival of Marketing
    Marketing Week columnist, academic and brand consultant Mark Ritson is going to hand out his own award for marketing excellence as part of this year’s Marketing Week’s Masters of Marketing.
    The ‘Mark Ritson Award for Marketing Excellence’ will be Ritson’s pick of The Masters’ channel and sector category award winners. The only way to win is to enter The Masters. For more information and to enter go to www.themastersofmarketingawards.com
    The Masters awards cere
  • Bitcoin blows through $1,500 for the first time

    Bitcoin cleared the $1,500 level for the first time ever late Wednesday. The cryptocurrency trades up 2.8% at $1,544.43 a coin as of 7:07 a.m. ET. It's higher for the 14th time in 15 days, gaining more than 32% over that time. 
    The recent rally has lacked any real catalyst, with traders seemingly keying in on hope the US Securities and Exchange Commission will reverse its decision to the reject the Winklevoss ETF. A decision is due by May 15.
    Back in March, the SEC rejected the pl
  • Warren Buffett thinks the 'elite' have wasted $100 billion ignoring his best investment advice

    Warren Buffett thinks the 'elite' have wasted $100 billion ignoring his best investment advice
    Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway will host its annual meeting on Saturday May 6. 
    The event has become a huge occasion and is sometimes called Woodstock for Capitalists, or Buffettpalooza. We'll be covering it here at Business Insider, and you can check back on Saturday for a blow-by-blow account of the day. 
    Buffett and vice chairman Charlie Munger will answer five hours of questions, and the crowd is often more interested in words of investing wisdom than Berks
  • 10 things you need to know before the opening bell (SPY, SPX, QQQ, DIA, TSLA, FB, FIT)

    10 things you need to know before the opening bell (SPY, SPX, QQQ, DIA, TSLA, FB, FIT)
    Here is what you need to know. 
    The House is voting on Trumpcare. House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy told reporters on Wednesday that he plans to bring the American Health Care Act to the House floor for a vote on Thursday. "Do we have the votes? Yes. Will we pass it? Yes," McCarthy said.
    China's bond yields are surging. China's 10-year yield jumped 5 basis points to 3.58%, its highest level since the end of 2015. 
    Europe's economy is doing even better than we thought.
  • Uber admits it has ‘never really had a brand voice’

    Uber admits it has ‘never really had a brand voice’
    Uber is looking to evolve its product offering and better establish its brand voice in its marketing this year after admitting it had previously failed to communicate what it stands for and believes in.
    Speaking at the Millennial 20/20 conference yesterday (3 May), Fred Jones, general manager and head of cities at Uber, said that will now form the focus of its activities this year, with the brand also planning to run more national campaigns as opposed to local PR stunts.
    “We’ve grown
  • Amazon must lose its utilitarian image if it wants to become a credible fashion player

    Amazon must lose its utilitarian image if it wants to become a credible fashion player
    On-demand grocer, AI pioneer and Oscar winner, Amazon has now added own-brand fashion house to its growing list of achievements.
    The next stage of its world domination, the ecommerce giant quietly unveiled two brands for the UK and Europe – lingerie specialist Iris & Lily and newly-launched men’s and womenswear concept, Find. Both will be sold alongside more than 350 branded collections from the likes of Warehouse, Levi’s and Ted Baker.
    Flying large
  • Employer Brands 2017: The best places to work and why

    Employer Brands 2017: The best places to work and why
    The post Employer Brands 2017: The best places to work and why appeared first on Marketing Week.
  • A Wall Street legend explains why it 'disturbs' him when people tell him they 'play the market'

    A Wall Street legend explains why it 'disturbs' him when people tell him they 'play the market'
    "Playing the markets" is a common idiom on Wall Street.
    But Peter Lynch, a mutual fund legend, is no fan of the expression. 
    For 13 years, from 1977 to 1990, Peter Lynch headed the Magellan Fund of Fidelity, the Boston-based multinational financial services corporation. He retired in 1990 at the top of his game and is often considered one of the best stock pickers to ever run a mutual fund. 
    According to Investopedia, Lynch beat the S&P benchmark in 11 out
  • Stock pickers in the largest part of the market are crushing it

    Stock pickers in the largest part of the market are crushing it
    April was a good month for large-cap stock pickers. 
    Large-cap managers outperformed their benchmark indexes at the best rate since February 2015, according to Bank of America Merrill Lynch. The managers, tasked with singling out individual stocks that can do better than the broader market, had a 63% outperformance rate, according to a note Tuesday by Savita Subramanian, an equity and quant strategist at BAML. So far this year, 52% of managers are beating their benchmarks. That's been
  • US mall culture evolves

    US mall culture evolves
    NEW YORK: US mall owners are having to reconsider their tenant mix amid a flurry of closures of department stores, traditionally their 'anchor' tenants.A report by commercial realtor JLL,
  • UK supermarket sales recover

    UK supermarket sales recover
    LONDON: Britons spent an extra £1bn in the 12 weeks ending 23rd of April, compared to last year –thanks to a strong Easter and inflation, new figures reveal.Data from researcher Kantar Worldpanel show that the
  • The dangers of adcreep

    The dangers of adcreep
    NEW YORK: Advertising is encroaching on public and private space as never before and that, a leading academic contends, is opening up a number of dangers, from the loss of public agency to the normalization of surveillance.In a new book,
  • Print media crisis deepens in Australia and New Zealand

    Print media crisis deepens in Australia and New Zealand
    SYDNEY/WELLINGTON: A full quarter of Fairfax Media's news staff in Australia – 125 journalists in total – have been made redundant, with cost cuts also looming in New Zealand as declining print sales and advertising revenues continue to...
  • New laws could transform digital marketing

    New laws could transform digital marketing
    TORONTO: Two new pieces of legislation in the European Union could transform digital marketing in the region and beyond, and may also encourage brands to address their failings in this space, a leading executive from PageFair has argued.Johnny...
  • Local solutions boost SEA e-commerce

    Local solutions boost SEA e-commerce
    SINGAPORE:The uptake of e-commerce across Southeast Asia has been hampered by many people not having bank accounts, but Garena Group is bypassing that restriction by enabling the unbanked to make digital payments.Nick Nash, group president of...
  • Immersive formats: the next big revenue stream

    Immersive formats: the next big revenue stream
    LONDON: Advertisers and publishers believe that immersive technologies such as AR and VR will become one of the best revenue streams over the next year, contributing to the rise of digital video across the world, a new study finds.The State of...
  • China's sports boom proves attractive

    China's sports boom proves attractive
    GUANGZHOU: China's sportsboomembraces everything from running to tennis, with entrepreneurs both large and small, local and foreign exploring ways to cash in.Last week, for example, Dalian Wanda Group, controlled by the country's richest man...
  • The House will vote on the Republican Obamacare replacement bill on Thursday

    The House of Representatives will vote on the American Health Care Act on Thursday.
    Republican House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy told reporters he plans to bring the American Health Care Act to the floor of the House and is confident that the bill will pass.
    "Do we have the votes? Yes. Will we pass it? Yes," McCarthy said.
    The vote will take place just over a month after House Republicans were forced to pull the AHCA from the floor just minutes before a vote after they were unable to wrangle
  • The Republican healthcare bill still has a massive problem

    The Republican healthcare bill still has a massive problem
    Republicans have relied heavily on a key new provision of their healthcare overhaul to sell the bill, but it has a potential problem: They may have not allocated enough money to it.
    The GOP has touted high-risk pools as a way to section off people with preexisting conditions from the rest of the market, lowering costs for healthy people.
    Such pools are, in theory, supposed to be subsidized by states and the federal government in order to keep costs down for the sick people in
  • M&S launches ‘radical’ new campaign that aligns food and clothing marketing for the first time

    M&S launches ‘radical’ new campaign that aligns food and clothing marketing for the first time
    Marks & Spencer has launched a marketing campaign featuring the new brand slogan ‘Spend It Well’ in what it claims represents a “radical departure” for its brand.
    ‘Spend It Well’ is the first major work by freshly appointed agency Grey London and also the first time M&S’s food and clothing businesses have appeared under one campaign slogan. The brand campaign, which launches today (4 May), is the first in a series of ads for the brand, with bespo
  • Broadband providers face new ad crackdown on ‘misleading’ speeds

    Broadband providers face new ad crackdown on ‘misleading’ speeds
    Broadband providers are facing new ad restrictions as the ad regulator looks to crackdown on “misleading” speed claims.
    The Committees of Advertising Practice (CAP) is launching a 10-week public consultation that seeks the views on different broadband advertising options as it looks to strengthen the standards around speed claims. CAP says while speeds vary depending on a number of factors and that one-to-many campaigns such as TV or outdoor cannot be expected to provide the sam

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