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Bankruptcy Backfire! Is Bankruptcy “reform” Biting The Hand That Fed It?
By Warren Graham

As anyone who follows the world of knows, as of October 17, 2005, substantial and, from the point of view of consumers, painful changes were made to the Federal Laws. At the behest, primarily, of the credit card providers and banks, who had been lobbying for years, new legislation was drafted and approved setting the stage for stricter requirements governing (primarily, though not exclusively) personal bankruptcy. This legislation came at great cost to its proponents, and it was expected that it would lead to fewer defaults and more repayment plans, all of which would redound to the benefit of the banks and credit card issuers.

While it is still too early to say, with any certainty, what the overall effect on defaults will be, it seems that, statistically, Chapter 7 filings are rising again, and the expected relative increase of Chapter 13 repayment plans may not, in fact, be materializing. Fewer debtors than one might expect have been disqualified from Chapter 7 relief by “means testing.”

In addition, at the same time that the new laws were taking effect, credit card issuers and banks were finding creative ways to avoid usury problems by domiciling themselves in creditor-friendly states, such as South Dakota, and default rates for consumers now exceed 30% in some cases. Defaults, for those consumers (virtually all of them, I daresay) who have not read the fine print in their credit card disclosures, may be caused not only by late payments, but by high debt to income ratios observed in periodic reviews by card issuers, and defaults under other credit card agreements. The consolidation of issuers, of course, means that there are only a few issuers out there now. Coupled with this have been changes to “minimum payment” rules, so that where a credit card holder carrying a balance might have been able to carry a $250 per month minimum payment, the combination of 30+% APR’s and higher minimum payment rules may have increased that to $600, or more. Multiply that by the 5 or 6 cards that a consumer might be holding, and, well, one can easily see where this is going. But that same cardholder is now facing higher obstacles to Chapter 7 filings, simply by being, statistically, in the “middle class” and exceeding his or her state’s median income.

What will the result of this be? It’s hard to tell, but one likely scenario is higher defaults with no option. For those cardholders who own a home, with equity, Chapter 13 may not be a viable option because of the sheer amount of debt they are now carrying, relative to their incomes, so the risk of losing their homes may be substantially enhanced. If this happens on a large-scale basis, there will surely be an outcry to “reform” the “reform.” The credit card issuers and banks, having paid dearly for this legislation, may well have overplayed their hand.

Furthermore, those cardholder who can, have, in large numbers, been paying off their balances, outraged as they are by being socked with APR’s exceeding 30%. This has already hurt the bottom line of credit card issuers and their bank affiliates, who make nothing on cardholders who don’t carry a balance. The pot of gold for them is in cardholders carrying balances and paying high rates, and even better, those consumers paying late fees when they get in over their heads, or overlimit fees when, as in many cases, the suddenly increased interest rates take them unexpectedly over their limits. Late fees and overlimit fees are often now in the $40-$50 range.

The result? Less income for the creditors as consumers have wised up. MBNA and Capital One, two huge credit card providers, are seeing their profits sink. Other credit card providers are reporting similar results. Highly dependent on your desire to run up debt, these companies are now seeing their profit margins drop sharply. In a nutshell: high consumer debt equals big profits; low consumer debt levels equals low profits.

During the last five to ten years, beginning in the halcyon days of the late 1990’s when,

California Title Loan Company Is Proud to Announce The Launch of 123FundMe.com - 3 Steps to Unlock The Equity in Your Car
3 steps is all it takes to free up the cash locked in your car, California. Title loans are a great vehicle to access necessary funds for auto repair, medical emergencies and other short-term cash needs. In 3 quick steps, consumers can gain access to critical cashflow without needing to take the bus. (PRWeb Dec 2, 2008)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2008/12/prweb1693514.htm

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New Business Opportunity Made Possible by Foreclosed Homes
Millions of vacant homes and a boom in foreclosed homes nationwide have created a lucrative new business opportunity for people looking to break into the foreclosure cleanout industry, says author of "Make Money Cleaning Out and Maintaining Foreclosures" and president of J T Stewart Enterprises, Inc. (PRWeb Dec 2, 2008)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/foreclosed_homes/business_opportunity/prweb1630474.htm

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International Real Estate Portal LoftyVistas.com Re-launched with New Look and Feel and Housing Over 40,000 Property Listings from 56 Countries
"Loftyvistas.com wants to be the online source for international investment properties and real estate investments, properties for a second or third home, or vacation properties in countries including Turkey, Egypt, UAE (Dubai, Abu Dhabi), Thailand, Spain, India, Malta, Panama, Singapore, Caribbean, USA (Florida) and others", said CEO Chandra Rajaraman. (PRWeb Dec 2, 2008)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/international-real-estate/Dubai-real-estate/prweb1674794.htm

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Linde North America License Exari to Automate Sales Contracts
Exari Group Inc. www.exari.com, a leading automated document assembly and contract management software company announced today that Linde, Inc., a member of The Linde Group, has licensed Exari to automate North American sales contracts for three of its business units. The Linde Group is one of the world’s leading gases and engineering companies. (PRWeb Dec 2, 2008)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2008/12/prweb1689034.htm

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Federal Reserve 401(k) Dodges Stock Market Meltdown With Stable-Value Products, Author Finds
Barry J. Dyke, author of The Pirates of Manhattan found that the majority of employee assets in the huge $4.5 billion Federal Reserve System 401(k) dodged most of the stock market meltdown by having a majority of its assets invested in stable-value life insurance products. (PRWeb Dec 2, 2008)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2008/12/prweb1689414.htm

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Business Growth Specialist Helps Companies Grow During a Recession
Executive Business Advisers is providing a unique business growth service called, The CEO Business Growth Assessment and Action Plan, which helps companies quickly improve their business performance during a bad economy or recession. (PRWeb Dec 2, 2008)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/business_growth/strategy/prweb1690324.htm

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Coso Project 2008 Update: Guidance On Internal Controls - A Softrax Executive Webcast
Leading industry expert will discuss how improved internal controls can help lower risk (PRWeb Dec 2, 2008)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/Softrax/Billing_Solutions/prweb1691274.htm

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Special Delivery to bring $5,000 to One Lucky December Baby
TurboTax Kicks Off Second Annual Search for America's Cutest Last-Minute Tax Deduction (PRWeb Dec 2, 2008)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/Intuit/TurboTax/prweb1692404.htm

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DeSilva+Phillips Announces New Operational Restructuring Group
DeSilva+Phillips, media investment bankers, has launched an Operational Restructuring practice. The practice will advise media companies, private equity funds and commercial lenders who seek assistance with financial performance issues in the current economy and debt markets. (PRWeb Dec 2, 2008)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2008/12/prweb1690854.htm

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US Top Ten Bank Selects Silanis Electronic Signatures for Consumer and Small Business Loans Processing
Silanis Technology, the leader in electronic signatures, announced today that a top ten bank in the United States has selected the Silanis ApproveIt Web Server to enable the electronic completion of consumer and small business loan transactions. The adoption of electronic signatures will significantly lower risk to the bank related to incomplete loan documentation and cut millions off the bottom line in associated transaction processing costs. (PRWeb Dec 2, 2008)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2008/12/prweb1674224.htm

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North Carolina Company Places Cure to Housing Industry Woes in the Palm of Your Hand
Getta Jumpr, LLC introduces its on-demand, mobile, software-suite for the real estate and housing industry. Jumpr allows individuals and professionals alike to simply, quickly and accurately estimate property conditions, make property transaction decisions, plan home improvement and remodeling projects and provide easy team collaboration and project management solutions. (PRWeb Dec 2, 2008)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2008/12/prweb1652154.htm

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Auto Finance Market Profits from Pricing and Profitability Management Suite from Nomis Solutions
The Suite Leverages Strategic Pricing and Offer Optimization Capabilities to Improve Financial Performance (PRWeb Dec 2, 2008)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/nomissolutions/autofinancemarket/prweb1674574.htm

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Nomis Solutions Announces Pricing and Profitability Management Suite for Retail Banks
Retail Banking Suite Leverages Strategic Pricing to Optimize the Customer Acquisition and Portfolio Management Process for Consumer Lending and Deposits (PRWeb Dec 2, 2008)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/nomissolutions/retailbanks/prweb1675264.htm

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SurePayroll Revolutionizes Payroll Processing with 1-Click™ Payroll Technology
New technology reduces time spent on small business payroll processing from minutes to seconds. (PRWeb Dec 2, 2008)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2008/12/prweb1675284.htm

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Consumers Even More Vulnerable to Over-Priced Loans
As credit from many respected providers dries up, many borrowers are being lured into the hands of less scrupulous players, charging exorbitant interest rates.Sara-Ann Burgess, director at payment protection insurance (PPI) specialist Burgesses, said many firms were preying on consumers looking for credit and making it very difficult for them to meet repayments because of the huge interest rates they were charging. (PRWeb Dec 2, 2008)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/payment/protection/prweb1688304.htm

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Offshore Library Offers Whopping 50-Percent Discount to Celebrate its Re-Launch Campaign
Offshore Library, the provider of innovative marketing and B2B networking opportunities, kick-starts its re-launch campaign with a great offer to the following offshore businesses: Offshore Hedge and Mutual Funds, Offshore Banks, Offshore Advisors, Offshore Business and Financial Service Providers. (PRWeb Dec 2, 2008)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/hedge/funds/prweb1688724.htm

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Forex Trading Pal Launches Rebate Program to Strengthen its Introducing Broker Status
(PRWeb Dec 2, 2008)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2008/12/prweb1688774.htm

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Are You Ready for Year-End Compliance Deadlines?
To provide an update on compliance issues facing broker/dealers and investment advisors as we approach year end, MGL Consulting will sponsor a unique one-hour “Compliance Chat” teleconference on December 9, 2008 at 3:15 p.m. CST. (PRWeb Dec 2, 2008)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/MGL_Consulting/Compliance_Chat/prweb1688914.htm

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BizBash Toronto Names Lisa Jansen Associate Publisher
David Adler, founder and C.E.O. of BizBash, the media company serving the meeting and event industry, announced today that Lisa Jansen has been named Associate Publisher of BizBash Toronto. (PRWeb Dec 2, 2008)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/BizBash/Toronto/prweb1689154.htm

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Centrix Announces Payee Match for Check Positive Pay
Centrix Solutions, Inc., has announced the addition of Payee Match functionality to Exact/TMS™, the comprehensive check positive pay, ACH positive pay and check reconcilement system developed by Centrix and used by banks across the United States. Payee Match electronically compares the payee name from the check image to the original payee name that was on the check at the time the check was issued. This enhancement allows financial institutions to take the fight against fraud to a new level, while also providing a marketable competitive advantage. (PRWeb Dec 2, 2008)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/Centrix_PositivePay/PayeeMatch/prweb1689564.htm

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Marathon Health Joins Forces with New Balance for Employee Health - Associate Health Services Provided at Three Maine Locations
Marathon Health, a leading provider of onsite health services and technology solutions, has announced that New Balance, the athletic products company, has selected Marathon Health to develop, implement and manage onsite health clinics and to provide health services to workers at New Balance facilities in Maine (PRWeb Dec 2, 2008)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2008/12/prweb1690864.htm

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Retirement Experts Urge Plan Sponsors to Shift Focus from Accumulation to Generating Lifetime Income
Generating secure lifetime retirement income should become an urgent priority for plan sponsors and participants, according to the Institutional Retirement Income Research Council (IRIRC). In its first white paper, Institutional Retirement Income Solutions: A Call to Action, available through the organization's website, wwww.irirc.com, the IRIRC discusses why defined contribution plan sponsors should consider adding retirement income solutions to their plans. (PRWeb Dec 2, 2008)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2008/12/prweb1691514.htm

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E-Renter USA Experiences Significant Growth Despite Struggling Economy
Whatcom County success story E-Renter USA continues its phenomenal growth. (PRWeb Dec 2, 2008)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/real_estate/E-renter/prweb1692654.htm

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Metropolitan Streamlines The Recruiting Process with Talent Technology’s CV Extraction Software for PeopleSoft Enterprise HCM
Multi-national financial services company automates candidate CV capture to improve hiring efficiency in a tight economy. (PRWeb Dec 2, 2008)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2008/12/prweb1692894.htm

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The Albany Group Responds to UK Tax Rules Confirming Temporary Worker Travel Deductions
Albany’s expertise in contract and temporary worker management sheds light on Pre-Budget statement (PRWeb Dec 2, 2008)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2008/12/prweb1694324.htm

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New York Area Health Systems Invest in Automated Privacy Auditing : Weill Cornell Medical College to Deploy FairWarning® Privacy Surveillance Software to Enhance Existing Privacy Auditing and Security Information Management Processes
FairWarning, Inc., the world’s leading supplier of cross-platform healthcare privacy surveillance solutions, today announced they have been selected by Weill Cornell Medical College to further automate patient privacy auditing. (PRWeb Dec 2, 2008)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/privacy_auditing/weill_cornell/prweb1694714.htm

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2009 International Deadlines CFOs Don't Want to Miss : Nair & Co.'s Vyoma Nair Presents a Checklist of Key Regulatory Dates for U.S. Companies Operating Overseas
With the U.S. economy slumping, increasing numbers of companies are tapping into emerging markets overseas. Foreign markets offer lucrative paybacks but they often come with a knotty mix of compliance, tax, and regulatory challenges too. If you are setting up or have existing operations in an overseas market, it is time to start preparing for the 2009 deadlines. (PRWeb Dec 2, 2008)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/nair_co/tax_returns/prweb1695054.htm

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Want to Show Employees You Care? Globoforce Recommends Giving Recognition Year Round, Not Just During the Holidays
Recognition Strategist Globoforce Offers Five Tips to Energize and Engage Employees Throughout the Year (PRWeb Dec 2, 2008)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/globoforce/employee_engagement/prweb1695734.htm

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Energy Hedge Fund Center Now Tracking 700 Energy and Energy-Related Hedge Funds
The Energy Hedge Fund Center, LLC (www.energyhedgfunds.com) is now tracking more than 700 energy and energy-related hedge funds in its Directory of Energy Hedge Funds. The vast majority of energy focused hedge funds remain based in North America but Europe has been the focus for many recent new energy hedge funds. (PRWeb Dec 2, 2008)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2008/12/prweb1686864.htm

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New White Paper From Marketing Management Analytics Lays Out Success Factors In Creating A Marketing Accountability Program
Paper shows how marketing can partner with finance and management to drive sales, profit. (PRWeb Dec 2, 2008)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2008/12/prweb1618774.htm

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PayCycle Survey Finds 34% of Small Business Owners Want a Stimulus Package as "First" Action
58% Are Canceling Year-End Bonuses (PRWeb Dec 2, 2008)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2008/12/prweb1676014.htm

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Visible World and Ensequence Expand Advanced Advertising Solutions
Addressability, Measurement and Interactivity now available through a single platform using ETV/EBIF Standard (PRWeb Dec 1, 2008)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/Visible_World/Ensequence/prweb1236004.htm

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Military Money Magazine Shows Families How to Detect - and Avoid - Financial Scams
Winter 2008-09 Issue Shows How Servicemembers Can Protect ThemselvesFrom Shady Sales Practices and Financial Scammers (PRWeb Dec 1, 2008)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2008/12/prweb1664404.htm

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Conclusive Marketing Appoints Jan Rivenbark as Chief Executive Officer to Lead Next Growth Phase
New CEO Brings over 30 Years Experience as Senior Executive (PRWeb Dec 1, 2008)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/trigger/marketing/prweb1674514.htm

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Top 100 U.S. Home-Based Businesses Revealed
Second annual StartupNation Home-Based 100, sponsored by Microsoft Office Live Small Business and FedEx Office, ranks top performers among the 16.5 million home-based businesses. Recession Busters category reveals top strategies of successful home-based businesses. (PRWeb Dec 1, 2008)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2008/12/prweb1675554.htm

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Americas Watchdog Wants to Talk to the Employees of Major U.S. Homebuilders About Undocumented Construction Workers and a Possible Reward
Americas Watchdog and its Wall Street Fraud Watchdog have been investigating the employment practices of the largest homebuilders in the US for five years, with the conclusion that millions of undocumented workers did most of the building. The problem: while most of the undocumented workers were classified as "sub-contractors", they were in fact full time employees, and they did not receive overtime, or other benefits afforded to US full time employees. According to the Wall Street Fraud Watchdog & the Homeowners Consumer Center, "if big US homebuilders think they are about to get a windfall from the US taxpayers, think again, its show & tell time. Start thinking about prison, if you are a large US residential homebuilder CEO, COO or CFO." Large US homebuilder superintendents or executives with substantial proof may be eligible for a significant reward. Large US homebuilder superintendents or executives can call the Wall Street Fraud Watchdog anytime at 866-714-6466 or visit their web site at http://WallStreetFraudWatchdog.com. (PRWeb Dec 1, 2008)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2008/12/prweb1684104.htm

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Radio's Roy Gray Claims His Music Impacts Stock Market
Popular Gospel radio personality Roy Gray officially returns to The International Christian (radio) Network on New Years Day convinced that the jazzy music on his play list holds the key to the stock market's success (PRWeb Dec 1, 2008)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2008/12/prweb1684664.htm

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Shaikh Holdings Wins Best International Golf Development Award For Sanctuary Falls
Shaikh Holdings, a leading Dubai based real estate investment and development company, has won the 2008 'Best International Golf Development' award for their Sanctuary Falls development at the International Property Awards held at the Ritz-Carlton in Orlando, Florida on 7th November, 2008. (PRWeb Dec 1, 2008)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/Shaikh_Holdings/Best_Golf/prweb1685664.htm

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My Bank Tracker Sponsors "Keep A Child Alive"
My Bank Tracker assists in the launch of the KCA College 2008 Dreams Come True event. (PRWeb Dec 1, 2008)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/mybanktracker/kcacollege2008-11/prweb1687274.htm

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Silanis to Present Webcast on how Lenders are Reducing Loan Risks and Costs with Straight-Through Processing
Silanis Technology, the leader in electronic signatures, today announced that it will co-present a free Web seminar with IBM on Thursday, December 4th to discuss the top technology strategies lenders are adopting to reduce the risk and cost of processing loans. A panel of financial services e-commerce experts from both companies will illustrate how e-signatures can be integrated with a financial institution's enterprise content management (ECM) system to achieve straight-through loan processing. (PRWeb Dec 1, 2008)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/electronicsignature/e-signature/prweb1674754.htm

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it seems, everyone was an internet or high tech millionaire on paper, Congress was amenable to reform to address real or perceived abuses. The banks had the will and the cash to finance legislation and, after years of almost getting there, finally got to the “Promised Land” in 2005. By contrast, consumers, many of them unsophisticated, who had been given credit cards as if they were candy, with low “teaser” rates, just couldn’t resist the lure of easy credit, big screen TV’s. Predictably, they acted irresponsibly. But while the lobbyists worked their magic for MBNA and Chase, the consumer had no lobby with which to oppose reform. I’m sure that for the most part, they had no clue as to what was in store for them. Those consumers in the lower economic strata still have no lobby, but they will still be eligible for Chapter 7 relief. The challenge for the banks is the pain is moving up the ladder to the middle class homeowner. The howling is bound to be heard, and soon.

Warren R. Graham
Copyright 2006

 
 
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