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Two Cybersecurity Investments to Buy Based on CIA Insights

Two cybersecurity investments to buy based on insights shared by a typically secretive Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) leader could produce profitable trades while helping to strengthen the U.S. national defense. The two cybersecurity investments to…

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Two cybersecurity investments to buy based on insights shared by a typically secretive Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) leader could produce profitable trades while helping to strengthen the U.S. national defense.

The two cybersecurity investments to buy each allow investors to tap into the CIA’s and the Department of Defense’s growing interest in cybersecurity amid adversarial foreign governments and terrorist groups seeking to identify and to exploit U.S. weaknesses. The CIA views partnering with the private sector as “really critical,” especially as China has committed to achieve global superiority in artificial intelligence by 2030, said Jennifer Eubank, the CIA’s deputy director of digital innovation, in a recent webinar of Billington CyberSecurity.

China has emerged as America’s most important and difficult cyber challenge, said Eubank, who is responsible for speeding up the development and integration of digital and cyber capabilities across all the CIA’s mission areas.  She took the helm at the CIA’s Directorate of Innovation a couple of years ago, after the agency created its first new directorate in more than 50 years during 2015. Eubank oversees the agency’s chief information officer (CIO), chief information security officer (CISO) and its chief data officer, as well as helps to spearhead the reengineering of the entire intelligence enterprise at the CIA.

“It is a pivotal moment in the intelligence business,” Eubank said.

ETF Featured in Two Cybersecurity Investments to Buy Due to CIA Insights

Investors interested in profiting from cybersecurity stocks that benefit from rising interest at the CIA and the Department of Defense to enhance America’s national defense have several exchange-traded funds (ETFs) to choose from, said Bob Carlson, who heads the Retirement Watch investment newsletter. Unfortunately, none of those ETFs has a particularly long history, he added.

Pension fund and Retirement Watch chief Bob Carlson answers questions from columnist Paul Dykewicz.

The oldest of those funds is iShares Cybersecurity and Tech (IHAK), said Carlson, who also serves as chairman of the Board of Trustees of Virginia’s Fairfax County Employees’ Retirement System with more than $4 billion in assets. The fund has been around since mid-2019, charges the lowest fees of any of its competitors and has done quite well since inception, Carlson counseled.

The ETF seeks to track the performance of the NYSE FactSet Global Cyber Security Index. The index is global and includes companies from both developing and emerging economies, Carlson continued.

Chart courtesy of www.stockcharts.com

Two Cybersecurity Investments to Buy Based on CIA Insights: IHAK

Companies in the index can be involved in cybersecurity hardware, software, products and services. Roughly 80% of the fund is in U.S.-based companies, while its holdings on average are mid-cap growth stocks.

The fund recently held 52 stocks, with 42% of the ETF’s assets coming from its 10 largest positions. Top holdings include Citrix Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: CTXS), Fortinet Inc. (NASDAQ: FTNT), DocuSign (NASDAQ: DOCU), Juniper Networks (NYSE: JNPR) and Palo Alto Networks Inc. (NASDAQ: PANW).

IHAK is up 3.36% in the last three months, 11.50% so far this year and 10.21% in the past 12 months through Dec. 28. The fund did even better in 2020 by soaring 51.21%.

Three ETFs are Too New to Include in Cybersecurity Investments to Buy

The competing ETFs all began in very late 2019 or early 2020, Carlson commented. There is not much information with which to make a definitive decision about them, he added.

They are ProShares Ultra Nasdaq Cybersecurity (UCYB), Simplify Volt Cloud & Cybersecurity Disruption (VCLO) and WisdomTree Cybersecurity (WCBR). For the past three months through Dec. 28, UCYB jumped 15.51%, VCLO rose 17.13% and WCBR climbed 2.53%. 

As with all new funds, these ETFs need to establish a track record of positive returns and develop sufficient volume to give investors the freedom to buy or sell when desired, without facing a financial hit to do so. None of the three newest funds instilled much confidence in Carlson at this early stage in their existence.

Amazon Added into Two Security Investments to Buy Based on CIA Insights

Seattle-based online retailer Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN) gained a place among the two cybersecurity investments to buy, even though it is best known for its global online sales leadership. Amazon.com recently secured a Bank of America Global Research buy rating and an upgraded price target of $4,450 from $4,250.

However, Amazon ended up in the firing line recently when a scathing letter came from Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and other influential Democrats in Congress who claimed the company sacrificed worker safety in pursuit of profits when tornadoes tore apart its warehouse in Edwardsville, Illinois. Amazon’s prospects still appear favorable, despite a terrifying tornado on Dec. 10 killing six of its warehouse workers.

BofA rated Amazon.com as the top choice for 2022 among the FANG stocks of Meta Platforms Inc. (NASDAQ: FB), formerly Facebook; Amazon; Netflix Inc. (NASDAQ: NFLX); and Alphabet (NASDAQ: GOOGL). One reason is that Amazon underperformed in 2021 and now may be poised for a comeback.

Two Cybersecurity Investments to Buy Based on CIA Insights

As the calendar moves to the summer and fall of 2022, expect strength in e-commerce as online penetration gains renewed momentum, BofA wrote. The outlook for Amazon should improve during 2022 to allow the stock to finish much better than it starts the new year, BofA added. 

The investment firm predicted Amazon will gain a lift from supply chain improvements and infrastructure investments. Plus, Amazon Web Services is an existing partner with the CIA and its role in serving the agency may grow.

Tom Lash, the federal portfolio director of Amazon Web Services, participated in the same webinar as the CIA’s Eubank and remarked that key areas of interest for the company include cybersecurity, the cost of optimizing cloud technology and the agility and speed of proposing and testing potential solutions.  

Chart courtesy of www.stockcharts.com

Tom Lash is the director of the national security and federal delivery organization for Amazon Web Services. In that role, he has been responsible for contract distribution of its federal portfolio.

Three key priorities for the CIA include its missions on cybersecurity, enterprise ID and open-source information collection around the world. The CIA aims to harness the power of data, raise the digital acumen of its workforce and strengthen its partnership with the private sector, Eubank said.

The CIA also has set a goal to enable artificial intelligence, machine learning and recognize cybersecurity as a critical part of the CIA’s mission, Eubank said.

To try to keep up with the technology advances occurring in China, the United States is emphasizing partnerships with other agencies, allied governments and private industry.

Passage of DoD Funding Bill Moves Money Another Step Closer to Enhanced Cybersecurity

President Biden signed a new law on Monday, Dec. 27, for a national defense bill almost reaching $770 billion to strengthen America’s national security. The bill gained bipartisan support to provide the DoD with $740 billion in funding, rather than President Biden’s requested amount of $715 billion for the Pentagon.

However, the bill currently only authorized the money, without Congress yet appropriating the funds. The National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2022 is intended for the 12-month period that would start Oct. 1.  

“The national defense bill is critical to maintaining our competitiveness on the global stage — particularly as other nations, like the Chinese government, look to expand their influence,” said Sen. Gary Peters, D-Michigan, a former Lieutenant Commander in the U.S. Navy Reserve and a key member of the Senate Armed Services Committee. “I’m pleased this bipartisan bill was signed into law.”

Sen. Peters, as Chairman of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, supported strengthening national cybersecurity defenses and holding foreign adversaries and cybercriminals accountable for targeting American networks. Peters helped to secure a provision that would authorize additional staffing for the Office of the National Cyber Director — a new role intended to coordinate implementation of national cybersecurity policy and strategy. 

The bill also aims to secure critical infrastructure against cyber-attacks, such as those on oil pipelines and wastewater treatment plants that have disrupted lives and livelihoods across the nation. A provision of the legislation would require the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency to ensure it can better identify and mitigate threats to critical infrastructure like pipelines, water and electric utilities.

America Averages a Record 267,000 Cases of COVID-19 for Past Seven Days

The United States averaged a record 267,000 cases of COVID-19 for the past seven days, ending Tuesday, Dec. 28. The holiday season of 2021 marks the second straight year that COVID-19 has interfered with the travel plans of families and their friends seeking to gather. Thousands of flights have been cancelled due to rising COVID cases, especially with airline workers calling in sick.

Scientists have found that the new Omicron variant of COVID-19 is spreading even faster than other coronavirus strains, including the highly infectious Delta variant. However, the severity of the Omicron variant compared to Delta version may not be nearly as severe, according to early studies.

Omicron recently has become the dominant variant of COVID-19 in the United States. That version of the coronavirus is blamed for causing Mid-Atlantic areas such as Washington, D.C., Maryland and Virginia to break records for daily cases already this week. 

COVID-19 Risk Remains a Big Worry as Cases and Deaths Climb

The new Omicron variant of COVID-19 and the highly transmissible Delta variant are heightening concerns in the United States and other parts of the world. Public health experts and government leaders advocate increased vaccinations and booster shots, as well as indoor mask wearing.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has data that show the variants are boosting the number of people receiving COVID-19 vaccinations. But close to 62 million people in the United States remain eligible to be vaccinated but have not seized the opportunity, said Dr. Anthony Fauci, the chief White House medical adviser on COVID-19.

As of Dec. 29, 242,813,374 people, or 73.1% of the U.S. population, have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, the CDC reported. People who are fully vaccinated total 205,420,745, or 61.9% of the U.S. population, according to the CDC.

COVID-19 deaths worldwide, as of Dec. 29, topped the 5.4 million mark to hit 5,414,873, according to Johns Hopkins University. Worldwide COVID-19 cases have soared past 282 million, climbing to 282,848,767 on that date.

U.S. COVID-19 cases, as of Dec. 29, hit 53,172,397 and had caused 820,870 deaths. America has the dubious distinction as the nation with the most COVID-19 cases and deaths.

The two cybersecurity investments to buy based on the CIA’s insights could be among the market’s success stories in 2022. The CIA and DoD officials have not been shy about indicating their need to partner with private security to protect against rising cybersecurity threats.

Paul Dykewicz, www.pauldykewicz.com, is an accomplished, award-winning journalist who has written for Dow Jones, the Wall Street Journal, Investor’s Business Daily, USA Today, the Journal of Commerce, Seeking Alpha, GuruFocus and other publications and websites. Paul, who can be followed on Twitter @PaulDykewicz, is the editor of StockInvestor.com and DividendInvestor.com, a writer for both websites and a columnist. He further is editorial director of Eagle Financial Publications in Washington, D.C., where he edits monthly investment newsletters, time-sensitive trading alerts, free e-letters and other investment reports. Paul previously served as business editor of Baltimore’s Daily Record newspaper. Paul also is the author of an inspirational book, “Holy Smokes! Golden Guidance from Notre Dame’s Championship Chaplain,” with a foreword by former national championship-winning football coach Lou Holtz. The book is great as a gift and is endorsed by Joe Montana, Joe Theismann, Ara Parseghian, “Rocket” Ismail, Reggie Brooks, Dick Vitale and many others. Call 202-677-4457 for multiple-book pricing.

 

 

The post Two Cybersecurity Investments to Buy Based on CIA Insights appeared first on Stock Investor.

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Analyst reviews Apple stock price target amid challenges

Here’s what could happen to Apple shares next.

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They said it was bound to happen.

It was Jan. 11, 2024 when software giant Microsoft  (MSFT)  briefly passed Apple  (AAPL)  as the most valuable company in the world.

Microsoft's stock closed 0.5% higher, giving it a market valuation of $2.859 trillion. 

It rose as much as 2% during the session and the company was briefly worth $2.903 trillion. Apple closed 0.3% lower, giving the company a market capitalization of $2.886 trillion. 

"It was inevitable that Microsoft would overtake Apple since Microsoft is growing faster and has more to benefit from the generative AI revolution," D.A. Davidson analyst Gil Luria said at the time, according to Reuters.

The two tech titans have jostled for top spot over the years and Microsoft was ahead at last check, with a market cap of $3.085 trillion, compared with Apple's value of $2.684 trillion.

Analysts noted that Apple had been dealing with weakening demand, including for the iPhone, the company’s main source of revenue. 

Demand in China, a major market, has slumped as the country's economy makes a slow recovery from the pandemic and competition from Huawei.

Sales in China of Apple's iPhone fell by 24% in the first six weeks of 2024 compared with a year earlier, according to research firm Counterpoint, as the company contended with stiff competition from a resurgent Huawei "while getting squeezed in the middle on aggressive pricing from the likes of OPPO, vivo and Xiaomi," said senior Analyst Mengmeng Zhang.

“Although the iPhone 15 is a great device, it has no significant upgrades from the previous version, so consumers feel fine holding on to the older-generation iPhones for now," he said.

A man scrolling through Netflix on an Apple iPad Pro. Photo by Phil Barker/Future Publishing via Getty Images.

Future Publishing/Getty Images

Big plans for China

Counterpoint said that the first six weeks of 2023 saw abnormally high numbers with significant unit sales being deferred from December 2022 due to production issues.

Apple is planning to open its eighth store in Shanghai – and its 47th across China – on March 21.

Related: Tech News Now: OpenAI says Musk contract 'never existed', Xiaomi's EV, and more

The company also plans to expand its research centre in Shanghai to support all of its product lines and open a new lab in southern tech hub Shenzhen later this year, according to the South China Morning Post.

Meanwhile, over in Europe, Apple announced changes to comply with the European Union's Digital Markets Act (DMA), which went into effect last week, Reuters reported on March 12.

Beginning this spring, software developers operating in Europe will be able to distribute apps to EU customers directly from their own websites instead of through the App Store.

"To reflect the DMA’s changes, users in the EU can install apps from alternative app marketplaces in iOS 17.4 and later," Apple said on its website, referring to the software platform that runs iPhones and iPads. 

"Users will be able to download an alternative marketplace app from the marketplace developer’s website," the company said.

Apple has also said it will appeal a $2 billion EU antitrust fine for thwarting competition from Spotify  (SPOT)  and other music streaming rivals via restrictions on the App Store.

The company's shares have suffered amid all this upheaval, but some analysts still see good things in Apple's future.

Bank of America Securities confirmed its positive stance on Apple, maintaining a buy rating with a steady price target of $225, according to Investing.com

The firm's analysis highlighted Apple's pricing strategy evolution since the introduction of the first iPhone in 2007, with initial prices set at $499 for the 4GB model and $599 for the 8GB model.

BofA said that Apple has consistently launched new iPhone models, including the Pro/Pro Max versions, to target the premium market. 

Analyst says Apple selloff 'overdone'

Concurrently, prices for previous models are typically reduced by about $100 with each new release. 

This strategy, coupled with installment plans from Apple and carriers, has contributed to the iPhone's installed base reaching a record 1.2 billion in 2023, the firm said.

More Tech Stocks:

Apple has effectively shifted its sales mix toward higher-value units despite experiencing slower unit sales, BofA said.

This trend is expected to persist and could help mitigate potential unit sales weaknesses, particularly in China. 

BofA also noted Apple's dominance in the high-end market, maintaining a market share of over 90% in the $1,000 and above price band for the past three years.

The firm also cited the anticipation of a multi-year iPhone cycle propelled by next-generation AI technology, robust services growth, and the potential for margin expansion.

On Monday, Evercore ISI analysts said they believed that the sell-off in the iPhone maker’s shares may be “overdone.”

The firm said that investors' growing preference for AI-focused stocks like Nvidia  (NVDA)  has led to a reallocation of funds away from Apple. 

In addition, Evercore said concerns over weakening demand in China, where Apple may be losing market share in the smartphone segment, have affected investor sentiment.

And then ongoing regulatory issues continue to have an impact on investor confidence in the world's second-biggest company.

“We think the sell-off is rather overdone, while we suspect there is strong valuation support at current levels to down 10%, there are three distinct drivers that could unlock upside on the stock from here – a) Cap allocation, b) AI inferencing, and c) Risk-off/defensive shift," the firm said in a research note.

Related: Veteran fund manager picks favorite stocks for 2024

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Major typhoid fever surveillance study in sub-Saharan Africa indicates need for the introduction of typhoid conjugate vaccines in endemic countries

There is a high burden of typhoid fever in sub-Saharan African countries, according to a new study published today in The Lancet Global Health. This high…

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There is a high burden of typhoid fever in sub-Saharan African countries, according to a new study published today in The Lancet Global Health. This high burden combined with the threat of typhoid strains resistant to antibiotic treatment calls for stronger prevention strategies, including the use and implementation of typhoid conjugate vaccines (TCVs) in endemic settings along with improvements in access to safe water, sanitation, and hygiene.

Credit: IVI

There is a high burden of typhoid fever in sub-Saharan African countries, according to a new study published today in The Lancet Global Health. This high burden combined with the threat of typhoid strains resistant to antibiotic treatment calls for stronger prevention strategies, including the use and implementation of typhoid conjugate vaccines (TCVs) in endemic settings along with improvements in access to safe water, sanitation, and hygiene.

 

The findings from this 4-year study, the Severe Typhoid in Africa (SETA) program, offers new typhoid fever burden estimates from six countries: Burkina Faso, Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Ethiopia, Ghana, Madagascar, and Nigeria, with four countries recording more than 100 cases for every 100,000 person-years of observation, which is considered a high burden. The highest incidence of typhoid was found in DRC with 315 cases per 100,000 people while children between 2-14 years of age were shown to be at highest risk across all 25 study sites.

 

There are an estimated 12.5 to 16.3 million cases of typhoid every year with 140,000 deaths. However, with generic symptoms such as fever, fatigue, and abdominal pain, and the need for blood culture sampling to make a definitive diagnosis, it is difficult for governments to capture the true burden of typhoid in their countries.

 

“Our goal through SETA was to address these gaps in typhoid disease burden data,” said lead author Dr. Florian Marks, Deputy Director General of the International Vaccine Institute (IVI). “Our estimates indicate that introduction of TCV in endemic settings would go to lengths in protecting communities, especially school-aged children, against this potentially deadly—but preventable—disease.”

 

In addition to disease incidence, this study also showed that the emergence of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in Salmonella Typhi, the bacteria that causes typhoid fever, has led to more reliance beyond the traditional first line of antibiotic treatment. If left untreated, severe cases of the disease can lead to intestinal perforation and even death. This suggests that prevention through vaccination may play a critical role in not only protecting against typhoid fever but reducing the spread of drug-resistant strains of the bacteria.

 

There are two TCVs prequalified by the World Health Organization (WHO) and available through Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance. In February 2024, IVI and SK bioscience announced that a third TCV, SKYTyphoid™, also achieved WHO PQ, paving the way for public procurement and increasing the global supply.

 

Alongside the SETA disease burden study, IVI has been working with colleagues in three African countries to show the real-world impact of TCV vaccination. These studies include a cluster-randomized trial in Agogo, Ghana and two effectiveness studies following mass vaccination in Kisantu, DRC and Imerintsiatosika, Madagascar.

 

Dr. Birkneh Tilahun Tadesse, Associate Director General at IVI and Head of the Real-World Evidence Department, explains, “Through these vaccine effectiveness studies, we aim to show the full public health value of TCV in settings that are directly impacted by a high burden of typhoid fever.” He adds, “Our final objective of course is to eliminate typhoid or to at least reduce the burden to low incidence levels, and that’s what we are attempting in Fiji with an island-wide vaccination campaign.”

 

As more countries in typhoid endemic countries, namely in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia, consider TCV in national immunization programs, these data will help inform evidence-based policy decisions around typhoid prevention and control.

 

###

 

About the International Vaccine Institute (IVI)
The International Vaccine Institute (IVI) is a non-profit international organization established in 1997 at the initiative of the United Nations Development Programme with a mission to discover, develop, and deliver safe, effective, and affordable vaccines for global health.

IVI’s current portfolio includes vaccines at all stages of pre-clinical and clinical development for infectious diseases that disproportionately affect low- and middle-income countries, such as cholera, typhoid, chikungunya, shigella, salmonella, schistosomiasis, hepatitis E, HPV, COVID-19, and more. IVI developed the world’s first low-cost oral cholera vaccine, pre-qualified by the World Health Organization (WHO) and developed a new-generation typhoid conjugate vaccine that is recently pre-qualified by WHO.

IVI is headquartered in Seoul, Republic of Korea with a Europe Regional Office in Sweden, a Country Office in Austria, and Collaborating Centers in Ghana, Ethiopia, and Madagascar. 39 countries and the WHO are members of IVI, and the governments of the Republic of Korea, Sweden, India, Finland, and Thailand provide state funding. For more information, please visit https://www.ivi.int.

 

CONTACT

Aerie Em, Global Communications & Advocacy Manager
+82 2 881 1386 | aerie.em@ivi.int


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US Spent More Than Double What It Collected In February, As 2024 Deficit Is Second Highest Ever… And Debt Explodes

US Spent More Than Double What It Collected In February, As 2024 Deficit Is Second Highest Ever… And Debt Explodes

Earlier today, CNBC’s…

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US Spent More Than Double What It Collected In February, As 2024 Deficit Is Second Highest Ever... And Debt Explodes

Earlier today, CNBC's Brian Sullivan took a horse dose of Red Pills when, about six months after our readers, he learned that the US is issuing $1 trillion in debt every 100 days, which prompted him to rage tweet, (or rageX, not sure what the proper term is here) the following:

We’ve added 60% to national debt since 2018. Germany - a country with major economic woes - added ‘just’ 32%.   

Maybe it will never matter.   Maybe MMT is real.   Maybe we just cancel or inflate it out. Maybe career real estate borrowers or career politicians aren’t the answer.

I have no idea.  Only time will tell.   But it’s going to be fascinating to watch it play out.

He is right: it will be fascinating, and the latest budget deficit data simply confirmed that the day of reckoning will come very soon, certainly sooner than the two years that One River's Eric Peters predicted this weekend for the coming "US debt sustainability crisis."

According to the US Treasury, in February, the US collected $271 billion in various tax receipts, and spent $567 billion, more than double what it collected.

The two charts below show the divergence in US tax receipts which have flatlined (on a trailing 6M basis) since the covid pandemic in 2020 (with occasional stimmy-driven surges)...

... and spending which is about 50% higher compared to where it was in 2020.

The end result is that in February, the budget deficit rose to $296.3 billion, up 12.9% from a year prior, and the second highest February deficit on record.

And the punchline: on a cumulative basis, the budget deficit in fiscal 2024 which began on October 1, 2023 is now $828 billion, the second largest cumulative deficit through February on record, surpassed only by the peak covid year of 2021.

But wait there's more: because in a world where the US is spending more than twice what it is collecting, the endgame is clear: debt collapse, and while it won't be tomorrow, or the week after, it is coming... and it's also why the US is now selling $1 trillion in debt every 100 days just to keep operating (and absorbing all those millions of illegal immigrants who will keep voting democrat to preserve the socialist system of the US, so beloved by the Soros clan).

And it gets even worse, because we are now in the ponzi finance stage of the Minsky cycle, with total interest on the debt annualizing well above $1 trillion, and rising every day

... having already surpassed total US defense spending and soon to surpass total health spending and, finally all social security spending, the largest spending category of all, which means that US debt will now rise exponentially higher until the inevitable moment when the US dollar loses its reserve status and it all comes crashing down.

We conclude with another observation by CNBC's Brian Sullivan, who quotes an email by a DC strategist...

.. which lays out the proposed Biden budget as follows:

The budget deficit will growth another $16 TRILLION over next 10 years. Thats *with* the proposed massive tax hikes.

Without them the deficit will grow $19 trillion.

That's why you will hear the "deficit is being reduced by $3 trillion" over the decade.

No family budget or business could exist with this kind of math.

Of course, in the long run, neither can the US... and since neither party will ever cut the spending which everyone by now is so addicted to, the best anyone can do is start planning for the endgame.

Tyler Durden Tue, 03/12/2024 - 18:40

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