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It's 'difficult to ignore the magnitude' of Walmart's e-commerce slowdown (WMT)

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Walmart

  • Shares of Walmart lost 10% Tuesday after posting disappointing online sales growth.
  • E-commerce growth slowed to about half what it had been the previous quarter.
  • The results triggered a slew of downgrades from Wall Street analysts. 


Walmart saw its worst day on Wall Street in more than 30 years Tuesday after reporting earnings that fell short of expectations and spooked investors.

Shares lost more than 10% in trading, resulting in a $31.6 billion decline in market cap, after e-commerce sales growth slowed to 23% — down from 50% in the previous quarter.

"The majority of this slowdown was expected as we fully lapped the Jet acquisition as well as creating a healthier long-term foundation for holiday,” CEO Doug McMillan said in a press release. "A smaller portion of the slowdown was unexpected, as we experienced some operational challenges that negatively impacted growth."

The results triggered a number of downgrades across Wall Street, as analysts grappled with the slowdown and lowered guidance for 2018.

"It is difficult to ignore the magnitude of the slowdown in e-commerce," RBC analyst Scot Ciccarelli said in a note. “Management expects the growth rate to ramp back up to the 40%+ range after 1Q, but we suspect this target will be met with more skepticism following 4Q17 results than when it was first laid out to investors several months ago.”

Walmart has been beefing up efforts to compete with Amazon — which entered the grocery game with its $13.7 billion buyout of Whole Foods last year — through steep discounts on its Jet.com platform, curbside pickup, and a partnership with Google to compete with Amazon’s Alexa-powered devices.

Company executives downplayed the e-commerce slowdown, pointing instead to unplanned expenditures.

"During the quarter, we had additional EPS headwind related to some smaller unplanned items and expenses we incurred as we pulled forward initiatives in order to take advantage of a higher tax deduction," CFO Brett Biggs said through a spokesperson

Walmart still has some bulls on its side, though. 

“There were some opportunities to better manage the business in Q4, but management is still making good long-term decisions about its asset base, capital allocation, price investment and building capabilities that allow it to offer more options to customers, reduce friction and build a bigger e-commerce business – this has not changed,” Jefferies analyst Daniel Binder said in a note to clients Tuesday.

"It sounds like this end of the investment cycle is more about maintaining momentum and advancing its lead rather than playing catch-up,"

Binder’s $119 price target is well above the Wall Street consensus of $106 for the stock — and 21% above the stock’s closing price Tuesday.

Shares of Walmart are up 33% in the past year. 

SEE ALSO: Walmart tumbles after online sales growth slows

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NOW WATCH: Microsoft President Brad Smith says the US shouldn't get 'too isolationist'


YouTube is promoting conspiracy theory videos that the far-right has used to claim one of the Florida school shooting survivors is a paid actor (GOOG)

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  • YouTube promoted a conspiracy theory video that claims one of the Florida school shooting survivors is a paid actor.
  • The video was first in the site's list of trending videos Wednesday morning.
  • YouTube continues to struggle with people gaming the site to promote fake news.


A video that claims to show evidence that one of the survivors of the school shooting in Florida last week is a paid actor was promoted by YouTube as the top video in the site's trending section on Wednesday.

youtube trending florida shooting conspiracy

The video shows a local news clip featuring David Hogg, one of the shooting survivors who has made several news appearances over the last few days calling for gun control. The segment comes from a CBS Los Angeles local newscast from last summer that shows Hogg telling a reporter how he got into an argument with a lifeguard. Conspiracy theorists say the clip is proof that Hogg shows up in media appearances as a paid actor.

Searching for Hogg's name on YouTube brings up a large number of conspiracy videos as the top results too.

david hogg youtube search results conspiracy theories

Hogg has become a central figure in a the far-right's effort to discredit the survivors of last week's shooting as they call for tighter gun control laws.

YouTube has failed to weed out fake news and conspiracy theories from its trending sections, search results, and other corners of the site that are promoted through algorithms in the wake of several major news events over the last several months. It happened with the mass shooting in Las Vegas last fall. It happened with the Amtrak crash involving Republican members of Congress. It happened too many times to count.

YouTube has said it made changes to its search algorithms to make sure it promotes news videos from "trusted" sources. The company has also said it plans to hire thousands of human content moderators to make sure videos comply with its policies. So far, those efforts haven't solved the problem.

It's possible the video squeaked by YouTube's algorithm because its title frames the clip as going "viral" as the far-right hoax spreads. That tactic has been used in the past to skirt YouTube's content moderation rules, like when several people reposted YouTube star Logan Paul's video that showed a suicide victim last month. But watching the video provides no further context. It's just the local news segment. The subtitle for the video is "DAVID HOGG THE ACTOR...."

The video had more than 200,000 views Wednesday morning. A YouTube representative was not immediately available to comment.

SEE ALSO: Insiders say Google never answered a key question about its Alphabet gamble and now it's coming back to haunt them

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Meet the American Olympic bobsledder who switched teams to compete for Jamaica to bring diversity to the sport

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Jazmine Fenlator Victorian Jamaica Bobseld 2018 Winter Olympics

  • Jazmine Fenlator-Victorian is an Olympic bobsled pilot.
  • In the Sochi Olympics, she represented the United States, but is now representing Jamaica.
  • She didn't get into bobsledding until after she graduated college.
  • She is striving to bring diversity and increased awareness to the sport.


This isn't Jazmine Fenlator-Victorian's first Olympics, but this time, she's on a different team.

Fenlator-Victorian's first Olympics was in 2014 in Sochi. She competed as part of the U.S. Olympic Bobsled team, but this year, in PyeongChang, she's representing Jamaica.

Here's everything you need to know about Jazmine Fenlator-Victorian, and how she's breaking barriers in the sport of bobsled.

Fenlator-Victorian switched from the US team to the Jamaican team in order to increase the level of diversity in bobsledding.

In 2010, the Jamaica Bobsleigh Federation asked Fenlator-Victorian about competing on behalf of the country, but because she was already participating in a US bobsled development program, she refused the offer.

Fast forward to 2015, Fenlator-Victorian switched teams, hoping that the move would help attract more females and those with diverse backgrounds to bobsledding.

It's critical that "little girls and little boys see someone that looks like them, talks like them, has the same culture as them, has crazy, curly hair and wears a natural, has brown skin, included in different things in this world," Fenlator-Victorian said at the Winter Olympics press conference. "When you grow up and you don't see that, you feel that you can't do it. And that is not right."



Jamaica's women's bobsled team pays homage to Usain Bolt and the first men's bobsled team the country sent to the Olympics.

Thirty years ago, Jamaica sent the country's first men's bobsled team — which became the inspiration for the 1993 Disney Movie, "Cool Runnings" — to the 1988 Calgary Olympics.

This year, the country sent an all-women's bobsled team for the first time. Their sled, "Mr. Cool Bolt," is named in honor of the movie,as well as the fastest man of all time, Usain Bolt.

"It's important for us as a women's team to show people that women can do dangerous, speedy, strong, fast sports as well as," Fenlator-Victorian said. "It's important for us to show that Jamaica can do it."



Fenlator-Victorian didn't get into bobsledding until after college.

Fenlator-Victorian got involved in bobsled in 2007 after graduating from Rider University in Lawrenceville, New Jersey. Her former track and field coach recommended that she go to a bobsled camp.

As a track and field athlete, she broke Rider University records in shot put, weight throw, and discus. She’s also in the Rider University Hall of Fame.

She began as a brakeman for her a few years, due to her track and field background, but gradually made the switch to the pilot seat, where she is today.



See the rest of the story at Business Insider

11 photos that prove downhill skiing is the most insane Winter Olympic sport

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Nadia Fanchini

Downhill skiing is outright insane.

On Tuesday, the best and bravest athletes from around the world came together to compete in the Ladies' Downhill Skiing event at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang.

The fastest sport on the mountain, downhill skiers fly between through gates at speeds reaching 80 miles per hour, attempting to find the bravest line down to the bottom to make it onto the podium.

Of 39 entrants that left the starting gate on Tuesday, almost 20% of the them didn't make it to the end of their runs, whether due to crashes, missed gates, or any other number of problems that can arise when you're flying down a sheet of ice at speeds foreign to the average human experience.

Below are just a few of the photos that show just how insane downhill skiing is in action.

Michelle Gisin of Switzerland had the four stages of her fall during the downhill competition captured in sequence, starting with when she first lost control.



From there comes contact with the ground, and the long slide to a stop — thankfully, her spill happened at the very end of her run, sending her through the finish line.



Once still, she took a moment to get her bearings.



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A complete guide to the Amazon Echo family, the smart speakers that will change your home forever (AMZN)

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amazon echo

These days, it's hard to keep all the Amazon Echo devices straight.

Amazon offers six Echo devices total, and they're available from $50 all the way up to $230. With so many different options and price points, it's hard to tell which device might be right for you. 

So whether you're looking to buy your first Echo, upgrade to a new device, or add to your smart speaker collection, here is a comprehensive guide to Amazon's Echo family to help you find the device that's right for you:

SEE ALSO: I spent a week wearing Bose's $350 noise-canceling headphones nonstop — and they're 100% worth their high price tag

If you just want to dip a toe in the smart-speaker game: Echo Dot.

The Echo Dot is Amazon's gateway smart speaker. It's tiny, easy to use, and only costs $50 (and it's often on sale for even less than that).

The Dot can do many standard smart speaker tasks, like play music, make calls, order products from Amazon, and control your smart home devices. 

But the Dot doesn't have a very powerful speaker, so it's not a great solution if you're just looking for a solid Bluetooth speaker.

And while it can easily be a standalone device, it also works great when combined with a full-size Amazon Echo — you can have your Echo live in one room, and place Echo Dots in other rooms throughout your house. 



If you want the device that does it all: Amazon Echo.

The Echo is the first mainstream — and arguably most successful — smart speaker you can buy. The device launched in 2014, and has since helped Amazon dominate the smart-speaker game — as of September 2017, analysts estimated that Amazon owned 76% of the smart-home market

Three years after launch, the Echo was due for an upgrade. So in September, Amazon revamped the original Echo, introducing a second-generation version with new finishes and a reduced price tag of $100

The new Echo has dual speakers, so it's a good option for playing music. With the new device, Amazon introduced multi-room audio, so you can play music from several Echo devices at once across rooms. The new Echo also has a powerful built-in Alexa, so it can also make calls, check the weather and traffic, request an Uber, or turn down the heat.

The original Echo does it all, and it's likely the best option for most people. 



If you're ready to start a smart home: Amazon Echo Plus

With more and more smart-home products coming online, it can be overwhelming to try to control them all. Enter the Amazon Echo Plus, which acts as a smart-home hub.

The Echo Plus, as its name denotes, is taller than the standard Echo, and costs $50 more at $150. But it can do many of the same things, like play music, send messages, and give you a daily news briefing. 

What sets the Plus apart is its ability to control other "smart" devices. You can say, "Alexa, discover my devices," and it will find anything else online, like smart light bulbs or locks, and set them up for you. Plus, you'll be able to give the device a single voice command to control multiple actions from multiple devices at once.  

Other Echo devices control your smart home, too, but the Echo Plus lets you integrate everything into one place with no need to download any of the "skills" you'd need to operate those features on the standard Echo. 



See the rest of the story at Business Insider

'Black Panther' villain Erik Killmonger is so compelling that #KillmongerWasRight was trending on Twitter

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Black Panther

  • The "Black Panther" character Erik Killmonger is such a compelling villain that #KillmongerWasRight was trending on Twitter after the film's release.
  • Many Twitter users expressed sympathy with Killmonger's argument.

 

Michael B. Jordan's turn as the "Black Panther" villain Erik Killmonger has earned praise from critics and fans alike as one of the most compelling supervillain performances in movie history since the film's release last week.

What makes the plight of Killmonger so compelling for both critics and fans is the strength of his argument despite his violent methods. And the strength of Michael B. Jordan's sympathetic performance as the character is also a major factor, as Business Insider's Jason Guerrasio noted in his review of the film.

Many fans of the film have thus taken to Twitter after seeing "Black Panther" to voice their agreement with Killmonger's argument against the seclusion of the film's fictional African nation Wakanda, which is rich with resources and the precious metal Vibranium.

Here are some of the best #KillmongerWasRight tweets:

 

Many Twitter users that tweeted #KillmongerWasRight also disagreed with the character's approach.

 

However, Jordan's performance is just one factor in an exceptional film that has taken the country and world by storm. "Black Panther" scored the second-highest four-day opening in US history with $242 million earned domestically, and it stands at a 97% "Fresh" rating on the reviews aggregator Rotten Tomatoes. 

SEE ALSO: The 25 best movie supervillains of all time, ranked

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NOW WATCH: You can connect all 9 Best Picture Oscar nominees with actors they have in common — here's how

A former Googler who left after 2 years to build her own startup explains how to know it's time to quit your job

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Liz Wessel WayUp

• Sometimes, it can be tricky to determine when to leave your job and pursue another opportunity.

WayUp CEO and cofounder Liz Wessel, who quit Google after two years, has some insight on timing your move.

• If the prospect of your next step is actually distracting you from your work, that's a sign it's time to move on.


WayUp CEO and cofounder Liz Wessel knew exactly when she needed to leave Google.

After all, she'd gone into the company with the intention of departing after two years to found her own business. She'd even told the recruiters at Google of her plans when she joined the tech giant full-time in 2012.

The recruiters approved of her ambitions. After two years, she left and launched WayUp — a job platform for college students and early-stage professionals — with cofounder JJ Fliegelman.

But, if you haven't planned as far ahead as Wessel, how can you tell when it's the right time to move on? How can you avoid jumping the gun or staying too long?

The answer to those questions really depends on the specific opportunity — and your personal circumstances. But if you can't stop thinking of your next step, that's a pretty good indicator that you should make your move, Wessel told Business Insider. That goes for whether it's a new role, company, or a whole new industry.

"If you can't do a good job at your job anymore because you're spending all of your time thinking about another job opportunity, that's probably a good sign," she said.

Wessel said this applies whether or not you plan on starting your own business. She said she saw plenty of friends go through a similar period of distraction.

"The one thing we had in common was we couldn't stop thinking about something else," she said. "Like, 'I just really want to work at this one tech startup that I'm just so passionate about' or 'I'm in finance but I just love this one fintech company.'"

Either way, one thing that shouldn't affect your plans is worrying about how job-hopping might be perceived.

"It's not about how often you switch jobs," Wessel said. "As long as you're doing things that you're passionate about and that you're learning from, I promise you, you will be able to tell that narrative in the next interview very well."

SEE ALSO: WayUp CEO and cofounder Liz Wessel always knew she wanted to be an entrepreneur.

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NOW WATCH: A CEO and former Googler shares 2 tricks for cold emailing anyone

Costco is selling more cars than ever before by offering one key perk (COST)

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costco cars

  • Costco's auto program sold more than 520,000 cars in 2017. 
  • The budget retailer grew car sales by 6% in a year when the industry's sales slumped. 
  • Costco's biggest advantage over competitors is that it has fixed prices, meaning customers don't have to bargain when making their car purchase.

 

Costco's car business is thriving thanks to a perk that sets it apart from the competition. 

On Tuesday, Costco announced that its auto program sold more than 520,000 vehicles in 2017. That's a 6% increase over 2016 sales figures, during a year when total sales dropped across the wider auto industry. 

Costco membership shopping cart

Costco's auto business has quietly skyrocketed over the last decade. In 2008, Costco sold roughly 200,000 cars a year — a figure that the retailer has more than doubled since then. 

Despite the growing business, Costco doesn't make any money on the auto sales.

The vehicles are sold through partnerships with auto dealers, meaning that, technically, Costco itself does not sell the cars. Instead, the retailer uses the program as a way to attract new members and maintain existing members' interest.

Costco has one major perk that traditional car dealerships lack: fixed prices. That means customers can skip the bargaining and upselling that is expected at traditional auto dealers.

"Costco members are at the forefront of everything we do,” Beth Chaponis, a Costco representative, said in a statement explaining the company's "exceptional and transparent car-buying experience."

The streamlined process means greater customer satisfaction. Costco surveys every member who buys a car though the program. According to the company, more than 96% of members who responded to the survey gave the program high marks for value, service, and overall experience.

Costco launched its auto program in 1989. Today, the retailer sells cars through more than 3,000 dealerships to Costco members across the US.

SEE ALSO: Millennials are dragging down beer sales — but Gen Z marks a 'turning point' that will cause an even bigger problem for the industry

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DIGITAL HEALTH BRIEFING: Google AI can predict heart attacks from eye scans — Lyft, Hitch Health partner for medical transport — Nokia executive sees no path for Digital Health

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Welcome to Digital Health Briefing, a new email providing the latest news, data, and insight on how digital technology is disrupting the healthcare ecosystem, produced by Business Insider Intelligence.

Sign up and receive Digital Health Briefing free to your inbox.

Have feedback? We'd like to hear from you. Write me at: lbeaver@businessinsider.com 


GOOGLE'S AI HELPS TO PREDICT CARDIOVASCULAR CONDITIONS BY ANALYZING EYE SCANS: Google and Verily — Google-parent Alphabet's life sciences unit — are exploring new ways that artificial intelligence (AI) can be used to identify patients' risk of suffering from a cardiovascular event, such as a heart attack or stroke, according to a newly published study by the two Alphabet subsidiaries. The report describes how Google's AI analyzes noninvasive retinal fundus scans — scans of the back of the eye — to deduce the individual's age, sex, blood pressure, and whether they're a smoker. That data can then be used to predict that individual's risk of suffering a cardiovascular event with comparable accuracy to current leading methods.

Why is this important?

The technology could potentially make it faster, cheaper, and simpler for healthcare providers to accurately predict a patient’s cardiovascular risk, which could save millions of lives and billions of dollars. Google’s algorithm showed it could identify the likelihood that a patient would suffer from a cardiovascular event in the next five years with 70% accuracy. This was only slightly lower than the 72% accuracy seen in commonly-used, more invasive, methods, such as SCORE, which requires a blood test to be taken and analyzed. With Google planning to further develop and test its algorithm on larger and more comprehensive datasets, it's reasonable to assume that the accuracy of this test will improve over time. Eventually, the technology could help providers identify more individuals who are at risk of developing cardiovascular conditions — cardiovascular disease not only affects over 100 million people in the US, it is also the costliest disease in the nation, with associated costs reaching $555 billion in 2016, according to American Heart Association. 

How does this impact the healthcare industry?

Google's study shows how AI-technology can be used to create new diagnostic tests to predict medical conditions by using data from existing tools. For example, Google's technology can be used to show what parts of the retinal fundus image actually lead to the most successful predictions, essentially giving researchers new information into what causes cardiovascular disease. This information could lead to significant advances in how doctors determine who may be at risk of a cardiovascular condition and how to best treat them to lower their risk just by analyzing their history. As more companies prove how AI can be used to transform how the healthcare industry diagnoses and treats major conditions the technology will only further move towards becoming a part of a new standard of care for patients.

HITCH HEALTH AND LYFT PARTNER TO HELP GET PATIENTS TO THEIR APPOINTMENTS: Hitch Health, the Minnesota-based healthcare technology company, announced the launch of its partnership with ridesharing company Lyft to give patients non-emergency medical transportation, according to HIT Consultant. Hitch Health's proprietary technology securely connects to a healthcare provider's electronic health record (EHR) to identify the patients who would be most likely to benefit from a ride to and from a clinic, hospital, or doctor's office. These patients are then sent an SMS text with a free ride offer via Lyft for their next visit. If the patient accepts the offer, Hitch Health will send another notification the morning of their appointment. Patients aren't required to have a smartphone, an app, or a credit card, which can be barriers in underserved populations. Partnerships between ridesharing services and healthcare systems are becoming increasingly popular, as healthcare systems realize the benefits of offering non-emergency medical transportation to patients to reduce the number of missed appointments. About 3.6 million patients miss medical appointments each year because of transportation barriers, according to the National Academy of Sciences. These missed appointments can lead to poor health outcomes, increased emergency department visits and hospitalizations, and lost revenue for health systems — as much as $150 billion in the US every year, according to Health Management Technology. 

NOKIA EXECUTIVE CONFIRMS COMPANYS DIGITAL HEALTH WOES: Nokia chief strategy officer Kathrin Buvac sees no path forward for its digital health business after the segment “struggled to scale and meet its growth expectations,“ according to an internal memo sent by Buvac to Nokia employees that was seen by The Verge. The memo was sent the same day the company announced a strategic review of its digital health business alongside preparations to lay off as many as 425 employees in Finland. The email sheds further light on the dire state of Nokia’s Digital Health business — a part of Nokia Technologies — that includes its line of wearables and connected thermometers and scales, and its health app.

The memo doesn’t necessarily mean Nokia will remove itself from the digital health market. The company’s foray into healthcare wearables opened the door to multiple relationships with healthcare companies, and provided Nokia with a “new perspective” on the healthcare space, Buvac said. As we reported last week, if Nokia stays in health care, it’s likely that the company's way forward will be as a business-to-business and licensing company, something it’s found massive success within the telecom and mobile tech market — the company reported around $28 billion in revenue in 2017. This could include offering healthcare-focused IoT and wireless solutions for hospitals and healthcare systems.

bii nokia digital health quarterly revenue

INFLUENZA OUTBREAK DRIVES UPTICK IN US TELEMEDICINE VISITS: Healthcare systems are showing an increasing reliance on telemedicine providers to alleviate emergency rooms during illness outbreaks, according to virtual care delivery service Teladoc. The company announced Tuesday that it has provided more than 300,000 virtual patient visits since mid-January, a record for the company. The spike in patient volume was likely due to a combination of an overburdened health care system further taxed by the start of the flu season, and shows how telehealth solutions can help address staff and bedding shortages in hospitals. Telemedicine services, such as Teladoc, can streamline the treatment process because it connects patients remotely to certified physicians around the US, via phone, video-conferencing, and online, rather than relying on local access to physicians. This allows the company to treat far more patients — the company says it often treats more than 1,000 patients suffering from the flu each day and reported that influenza cases represented nearly one in five visits in January, compared to the 1 in 15 in-person visits reported for the US by Modern Healthcare.

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Mark Carney: People are earning 3.5% less than we estimated before the EU referendum

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Bank of England Governor Mark Carney speaks at the Future Forum in Birmingham Town Hall, in Britain, October 14, 2016.

  • Mark Carney says Brexit has hit wages and pushed up inflation, meaning people are earning less than the Bank of England had forecast prior to Brexit referendum.
  • Pressure is expected to ease later this year.


LONDON — Bank of England Governor Mark Carney said on Wednesday that real incomes are set to be 5% below pre-referendum forecasts by the end of this year.

Appearing before the Treasury Select Committee on Wednesday, Carney said that British incomes are currently 3.5% below where the central bank had forecast them to be prior to the June 2016 vote to leave the European Union.

Economists' forecasts have been ridiculed for their inaccuracy in many pro-Brexit circles but Carney said the figures were "to be expected" given the effects of the Brexit vote on the economy.

"We're in a transition period or a pre-transition period is perhaps a better way to put it," Carney told the Treasury Select Committee.

The pound sank to multi-year lows against both the euro and dollar in the wake of the vote, which has led to high inflation. Inflation rose rapidly after the vote and currently sits at 3%, well above the Bank of England's target of 2%.

Meanwhile, investment and wage growth have failed to keep pace. Wage data also out on Wednesday shows pay packets increased by 2.5% in January— meaning people are effectively seeing real wage declines of 0.5%.

The cumulative effect is British people have less money in their pockets than the Bank had expected them to have at this point in time.

Carney said the 5% lag at the end of the year is expected to be the peak in divergence from the Bank's pre-referendum forecasts. Inflation is predicted to ease and wage growth is expected to overtake inflation later this year.

Andy Haldane, the Bank of England's chief economist, told the Treasury Select Committee: "It is very likely average weekly earnings growth will nudge up to have a 3 in front of it [from next month]."

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NOW WATCH: We asked Jamie Dimon why JPMorgan is forming a new healthcare company with Amazon and Berkshire Hathaway — here's what he said

I drove a $40,000 Buick Regal TourX station wagon for a week — and it was just as good as most family SUVs (GM)

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Buick Regal TourX

  • Buick has expanded its lineup with a wagon.
  • The Regal TourX is a capable family hauler that has way more style than an SUV.
  • Performance and tech are also strong points.


I grew up in a Buick station wagon — an Estate wagon, to be precise. It was the large-and-in-charge suburban family hauler before SUV sent wagons into near-extinction, leaving surviving examples to be gently nurtured by car writers with a thing for sedan handling and decent cargo capacity.

One can still find wagons for sale, even as full-size SUVs and compact crossovers dominate the US markets. The Subaru Outback will probably never vanish from this realm, and Volvo's V90 is a nice, big wagon that we enjoyed when we tested it last year. The Volvo V60 Cross Country and Audi Allroad are also in the fight.

Buick Estate Wagon

Enter the Buick Regal TourX, an unlikely new combatant in the, um, wagon wars. Buick is certainly well known for its popular crossovers. The Enclave, Envision, and Encore saved the brand, and the Regal GS sedan is a great sleeper sporty four-door. 

And now, a wagon joins the party. It's actually a proper European estate (that's what they call wagons across the pond — they call sedans "saloons," too, those nutty Euros), sharing a platform with the Opel Insignia. Buick let us borrow a 2018 TourX with all-wheel-drive in the "Essence" upmarket trim level, tipping the price scales with numerous options at just north of $40,000.

I drove it around the Manhattan island and through the 'burbs of New Jersey for a week. And a good week it was. 

Buick Regal TourX

Normally, I'd start with the Buick tri-shield badge and work my way back, but this time around, we'll begin with the almost comically capacious cargo area. Drop the rear seats and you have a small pickup truck, with over 70 cubic feet of space. With the rear seats up, the area is still vast, at over 30 cubic feet. I have the hauling needs that three children, one wife, and one dog create, and I couldn't come up with anything the TourX couldn't handle. 

Buick argues that the low-slung wagon will be superior for sporting-lifestyle duty than a higher-riding crossover. Mount a roof rack and you'll be better able to hoist bikes, skis, etc. on and off. Makes sense, but the TourX isn't exactly a rugged-looking ride. Truthfully, its elegance and chic evoke Buicks of yore, with sleek surfaces and pleasing curves here and there. Our tester was stunning in a Smoked Peal Metallic paint job, with a Shale leather interior.

Buick Regal TourX

The 250-horsepower, turbocharged four-banger can propel the Buick wagon from o-60 mph in about 6.5 seconds, while the eight-speed automatic helps post 24 mpg combined (21 city/29 highway). An auto shutdown/restart at idle might annoy some drivers, as it can't be deactivated. But it bumps up fuel economy and reduces emissions. For a vehicle of decent size, the TourX offers moderately crisp handling and some pep off the line, as well as steady and quiet freeway cruising with ample passing power. 

You could give the TourX a push and it would probably respond happily, but its natural desire is to be smoothly piloted with one-hand on the wheel, just like it's 1978 again.

Buick Regal TourX

Tech-wise, the TourX is like almost every other vehicle in the General Motors fleet. The Intellilink skinning of GM's excellent infotainment system runs off responsive touchscreen that while not large isn't dinky, either. Bluetooth connections are a snap, and with OnStar 4G LTE wifi connectivity on board, you can run seven devices without sucking any wireless data from your plan. You have AUX and USB ports for devices, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, and in the case of my tester, a tasty Bose audio system with SiriusXM satellite radio. 

My final impression of the TourX is that it's a great option for stylish suburbanites who will like the cargo capacity and the big back seat for kids. This demographic is suppose to buy SUVs, but if you don't like to ride high and truck-like, then wagons continue to be a dandy alternative. And with the Buick Regal TourX, you have a handsome newcomer that's as suited to a night on the town as it is for runs to the beach or the lake. 

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NOW WATCH: The best and worst things about the Tesla Model 3

Bella Thorne dyed her hair a neon shade of red — and it's her boldest look yet

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bella thorne

  • Bella Thorne just dyed her hair a bright shade of neon red.
  • She debuted the new look to her Instagram followers on Tuesday.
  • There are also a few orange highlights in the front for an extra pop of color.
  • It's one of her best looks yet.


While it's no secret that Bella Thorne is one of the ultimate hair chameleons, it's still exciting when the 20-year-old actress debuts a new look. She usually turns to a fun wig when she's looking for a quick change [cut "up" as you don't really need it, , but it looks like she's taken the plunge and dyed her locks a beautiful shade of neon red.

Thorne teased her Instagram followers about the possibility of a new hair color on Sunday by posting a photo of her light auburn strands with the caption, "This s--- about to be so changed."

A post shared by BELLA (@bellathorne) on

She quickly delivered on her promise on Tuesday by debuting her newly neon red hair.

It’s a change up 😍

A post shared by BELLA (@bellathorne) on Feb 20, 2018 at 12:08pm PST on

Though we've previously seen Thorne experiment with a fire-engine red wig before, this particular hue is one of the brightest we've seen from the "Shake It Up" star so far. She even threw in a few bright orange highlights in the front for an extra pop of color.

Performance night 💔

A post shared by BELLA (@bellathorne) on Feb 20, 2018 at 11:49am PST on

The end result is certainly eye-catching and eccentric, but somehow still looks like a natural fit for the ever-evolving actress.

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Why Republicans have little incentive to support gun-control legislation

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House Speaker Paul Ryan and President Donald Trump surrounded by Republican lawmakers.

  • The vast majority of Republican lawmakers are staunchly opposed to any form of gun regulation, and many push to roll back gun control laws. 
  • In the aftermath of yet another mass shooting, the country has resumed its debate about how to keep guns out of the hands of would-be perpetrators.
  • But there are a host of reasons why GOP lawmakers have little incentive to support any form of gun regulation. 


Following the slaughter of 17 people by a 19 year old gunman in Parkland, Florida last week, the nation has resumed its debate on gun control.

But Republicans, as ever, remain largely unwilling to consider any serious forms of control. 

In its Wednesday morning newsletter, "Playbook," Politico considered why Republican lawmakers have little incentive to support gun-control measures. They outlined the reasons: 

  • Many Republican voters read and consume media and promotional materials created and distributed by the National Rifle Association (NRA), which pushes for fewer regulations on guns and promotes anxiety about the government taking citizens' guns away, and vote according to grades the NRA gives to politicians. 
  • Most GOP lawmakers fear primary challenges from the right — 36 House members represent districts that vote Republican by huge margins, on average 20 points or more, Politico reported. Moving away from extremely pro-gun positions would thus put their jobs in jeopardy.
  • At the same time, very few Republicans in Congress believe they'll lose votes for failing to support gun regulations. 
  • Many Republican lawmakers and voters believe new gun regulations wouldn't necessarily be effective. They argue that the laws already in place aren't consistently enforced and that new laws — for example, those banning assault weapons — would leave would-be criminals to simply use another type of readily available weapon. 

President Donald Trump announced on Tuesday that he would direct the Department of Justice to design a ban on "bump stocks," an accessory used to transform a semi-automatic weapon into a fully automatic one, which was used by the mass shooter in Las Vegas last year to kill 58 and injure hundreds. The White House also indicated on Tuesday that the president may be open to a ban on assault weapons. 

SEE ALSO: A Columbine survivor turned lawmaker is pushing the opposite of what many people think is the solution to end school shootings

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Devin Nunes asked Russian bots to help make an article discrediting the Russia investigation 'go viral'

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  • Rep. Devin Nunes, the author of a controversial memo on alleged misconduct at the FBI and Department of Justice, sent a tweet asking Russian bots to help him get a tweet to go viral.
  • In his tweet he linked to an article from The Federalist that claimed to debunk a number of alleged conspiracy theories about the Russia investigation.
  • Russian bots tied to the Russian Internet Research Agency had previously helped boost the Twitter hashtag #ReleaseTheMemo, which called on the House Intelligence Committee to release Nunes memo.


Rep. Devin Nunes, who chairs the House Intelligence Committee, sent a tweet on Wednesday in which he sarcastically called on Russian bots to help an article he had linked to go viral.

"Catch up on mainstream media Russian conspiracy theories in this piece by @FDRLST PS-If you are a Russian Bot please make this go viral PSS-If you’re not a Russian Bot you will become one if you retweet," Nunes tweeted.

The Russian bots Nunes is referring to are Twitter accounts linked to the Internet Research Agency (IRA), a Russian organization that stood at the center of the multifaceted effort by groups close to the Russian state and President Vladimir Putin to interfere in the 2016 US election. Special counsel Robert Mueller handed down a detailed indictment of 13 Russian nationals and three Russian entities last week, including the IRA, for "violating US criminal laws in order to interfere with US elections and political processes."

Multiple US intelligence agencies that investigated Russian meddling in the US election have concluded that the interference did take place. Mueller's indictment casts further light on this interference operation, and points specifically to the IRA as a hub from which hundreds of fake accounts were used to divide the American public and sow political discord online. 

Twitter deactivated hundreds of accounts that were likely linked to the operation last year, taking hundreds of thousands of tweets with them. 

Downplaying Russian influence online

The article in Nunes's tweet ridiculed alleged conspiracy theories about the Russia investigation and took aim at Rep. Adam Schiff, Nunes's Democratic colleague and the ranking member on the House Intelligence Committee.

Adam Schiff (D-CA) speaks with reporters about the Committee's Russia investigation on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., March 30, 2017. REUTERS/Yuri Gripas

Among the alleged conspiracy theories the article mentioned was the claim that Russian bots were responsible for the popularization of the #ReleaseTheMemo hashtag on Twitter.

The hashtag had urged the Intelligence Committee to release a controversial memo Nunes had authored on alleged misconduct at the FBI and Justice Department with respect to the Russia investigation. The memo was authorized for release by President Donald Trump earlier this month despite claims that it omitted key details and exposed sensitive classified intelligence proceedings. The president later blocked the release of a rebuttal memo to Nunes's document authored by Schiff.

Although the article argues that #ReleaseTheMemo was not pushed by IRA-linked Russian bots, data from Hamilton 68, a website launched last year that says it tracks Russian propaganda in near-real time, seems to suggest otherwise — during a two-day period in January, the frequency with which these bots tweeted the hashtag skyrocketed by 233,000%. The article though also casts doubt on Hamilton 68's methodology, and points to the fact that the site does not disclose which specific accounts it is tracking.

SEE ALSO: A bizarre theory has emerged on right-wing Twitter about why the FBI supposedly failed to look into the Florida shooter

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Spotify is taking a big risk using a direct public offering

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FILE PHOTO - Headphones are seen in front of a logo of online music streaming service Spotify in this  February 18, 2014 illustration picture. REUTERS/Christian Hartmann/File Photo

  • Spotify's planned direct public offering comes with a notable risk, according to an expert on large-cap privately traded companies.
  • Spotify can manage that risk by making an agreement with investors for a share lock-up period.


Spotify's planned direct public offering could backfire for its investors.

The benefit of using a direct public offering, in which the company takes its shares directly to market rather than using an investment bank to set a price as in a traditional initial public offering, is that a company can get its shares to the market quickly, and pay less in fees in the process. In a traditional IPO, the issuing company hires an investment bank to market their shares, and ultimately raise capital for the company.

Spotify is skipping those steps, in part because it's not looking to raise capital. Instead, its shareholders are looking to sell their existing shares. But that strategy also has its risks, as it's not clear how much Spotify's shares are going to be worth.

The risk "lies in the unknown," according to Rohit Kulkarni, head of private investment research at Sharespost, a platform that connects buyers and sellers of privately traded shares. Kulkarni said that the uncertainty about how Spotify should be valued and how the shares will trade may very well "translate into a greater discount to the shares."

But there are ways to reduce that risk, according to Kulkarni. 

"If the company is able to approach existing investors and negotiate share lock-ups, that would be one way for the company to mitigate volatility in the first few months," Kulkarni said.

In that scenario, some investors would not be able to sell an agreed-upon number of shares for an agreed-upon amount of time, which would effectively restrict the supply of shares on the market. 

And according to the WSJ, the company is expected to use private market trading to guide investors towards a public market stock price. Spotify's latest valuation in December was at $19 billion. That could help give take some of the "unknown" from the valuation process.

Still, "if investors believe there is volatility, they tend to discount the value of the shares," Kulkarni said. 

SEE ALSO: Some Fed officials worry inflation will stay below their target

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The viral story of a serial squatter who forced a dozen people from their homes holds a sobering lesson for anyone in need of a roommate

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scary house

  • New York Magazine published a story that's being billed one of the worst roommate horror stories ever.
  • The story centers on Jamison Bachman, a serial squatter who duped several people into letting him in and lost their homes as a result.
  • The story quickly went viral.


If you've ever lived in an apartment or a college dorm, you probably have at least one roommate horror story.

But it's likely that none of them top the one published by New York Magazine on Wednesday.

The report, now going viral, starts innocently enough: A 31-year-old woman named Alex Miller was desperate for a roommate to help her afford her house in a wealthy Philadelphia neighborhood. An older man named Jed Creek comes over to see the place, they hit it off, and Creek agrees to move in on the spot.

Of course, things quickly go south. Because as it turns out, Creek is not actually Jed Creek, but Jamison Bachman, a serial squatter who, according to the New York Mag report, duped a dozen tenants into letting him live with them, only to force them out of their homes on arcane legal technicalities.

The accounts from Bachman's previous victims are harrowing. According to New York, Bachman would steal belongings from his victims, fill their toilets with cat litter, and knock down doors, all the while keeping himself in the clear legally. It wasn't about the free rent, New York Mag reported — it seemed Bachman took pleasure in watching his victims suffer through his misbehavior and lose the will to fight for their homes.

"Nothing they did could satisfy or appease him, because the objective was not material gain but, seemingly, the sadistic pleasure of watching them squirm as he displaced them," the report says.

The story doesn't end there. It's worth reading the New York Mag piece in its entirety, but suffice to say it takes a tragic, grisly turn as the author discovers more and more details about Bachman's past.

Soon after the story was published Wednesday morning, it began making the rounds on the internet.

Several people noted on social media that, yes, this was the worst roommate story they'd ever heard.

Others simply were left speechless:

The story holds a sobering lesson to anyone in search of a roommate: Protect yourself from the start, no matter your situation.

It's impossible to predict every outcome, and you can't fault Bachman's victims for not anticipating how their situation turned out.

But at the very least, there are a few steps you can take before inviting a stranger into your home. Do some research on your prospective roommate — even a quick Google search can shed a lot of light — and make sure you have firm rules established in writing before they move in. Nolo.com provides a template for a roommate agreement, as well as information on evicting a roommate who isn't on the lease.

There are plenty of Craigslist roommates out there who are presumably decent, respectful roommates and people ... but after reading this story, you'll want to think twice.

SEE ALSO: 20 celebrities who used to be roommates

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Photo shows Trump's personal notes reminding him to say 'I hear you' during a listening session with shooting survivors

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  • Survivors and parents of school shootings including last week's massacre at a Parkland, Florida, high school attended a listening session at the White House on Wednesday.
  • A photo shows that President Donald Trump was using a crib sheet of questions to ask the group.
  • One of the points isn't a question but the statement, "I hear you."


Several students and parents affected by school shootings including last week's massacre at a high school in Parkland, Florida, attended a listening session with President Donald Trump at the White House on Wednesday.

But during the meeting an Associated Press photographer managed to capture the crib notes Trump was holding to guide him through the session.

From the photograph, it appears there were at least five points, including:

1.) "What would you most want me to know about your experience?"

2.) "What can we do to help you feel safe?"

3.) "Do you see [unclear] something effective?"

4.) "Resources? Ideas?"

And the last visible point on the sheet was not a question, but seemingly a reminder to be empathetic: "5.) I hear you."

The notes were likely useful to Trump as the students and adults attending didn't hold back.

Andrew Pollack, the father of 18-year-old Meadow Pollack who was killed after being shot nine times by the 19-year-old gunman Nikolas Cruz,said he was "pissed" that little is being done to protect students.

SEE ALSO: These are the victims of the Florida high school shooting

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NHL player shared a gruesome photo of a gash he suffered when his visor broke during a fight

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NHL Hockey fight

  • Tampa Bay Lightning defenceman Andrej Sustr suffered a gruesome gash to his face when he was involved in a fight and his visor broke.
  • Sustr needed 15 stitches to the wound on his face and later shared photos from before and after the team doctor's needlework.
  • He is a hockey player so he returned to the game in the third period, of course.


During the Tampa Bay Lightning's recent game against the New Jersey Devils, Bolts defenceman Andrej Sustr came to the defense of a teammate and left with a broken visor and the end to any hopes of a modeling career.

The incident came in the second period when the Lightning's Yanni Gourde was checked into the boards by Miles Wood of the Devils.

During the ensuing fight, Sustr's visor cracked in half, leaving him with blood streaming down his face. He left the game and needed 15 stitches in his face.

Sustr shared photos showing before and after the team doctor's needlework. He also found humor in the injury as he joked about the end to his modeling career.

 

WARNING: Some may find the following images disturbing.

 

Sustr is a hockey player, so of course he returned to the game in the third period after getting stitched up.

Here is video of the fight.

 

SEE ALSO: The best photos of the Winter Olympics so far

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Trump administration says it's 'concerned' about opioid crisis that 'exploded' under Obamacare

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Donald Trump and barack Obama

  • President Donald Trump's Council of Economic Advisers released a report Wednesday on the administration's healthcare policies.
  • In the report, the CEA noted that the increase in opioid-related deaths exploded around the same time as the implementation of the Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare.
  • Republicans have suggested that Obamacare's expansion of Medicaid may have contributed to the opioid crisis, though research disputes the assertion.


President Donald Trump's Council of Economic Advisers released a report Wednesday detailing the administration's work to roll back the Affordable Care Act, and at one point in the report noted that the law's passage came around the same time as the opioid crisis worsened.

The post criticized the law known as Obamacare for its focus on bringing down the number of uninsured Americans, which the CEA said did not necessarily translate to a healthier population.

"Determinants of health other than insurance and medical care — such as drug abuse, diet and physical activity leading to obesity, and smoking — have a tremendous impact and have exacerbated recent declines in life expectancy, despite the ACA’s increased coverage," the post said.

As part of the post, the CEA authors also discussed the growing number of overdose deaths from opioids.

"This Administration is focused on reversing the harm caused by the ACA by fostering competition, choice, and innovation while also addressing the many factors beyond insurance that influence health," the post reads. "The Administration is particularly concerned about the opioid crisis that exploded during the ACA expansion."

While the CEA did not directly tie the ACA to the growing opioid crisis, other Republicans have recently been more explicit about a possible link between the law's implementation and the opioid crisis.

Sen. Ron Johnson, chair of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, released a report in January linking Medicaid generally and the law's expansion of Medicaid specifically to the increase in overdose deaths.

"This report is not meant to suggest that Medicaid, or any other federal program, is the only factor contributing to the opioid epidemic," Johnson's report said. "But if Medicaid is helping to drive the epidemic, it stands to reason that expanding the program — particularly to people most susceptible to abuse — could worsen the problem. The epidemic has indeed spiraled into a national crisis since the Obamacare Medicaid expansion took effect in 2014."

DJ Norquist, chief of staff for the CEA, told Business Insider that Johnson's report resembles their offices thinking on the issue.

"We agree with Senator Johnson that government policies are an overlooked part of the problem," Norquist said in an email.

In a 2017 study in Health Affairs, health policy researchers Andrew Goodman-Bacon and Emma Sandoe found that the evidence linking the ACA's Medicaid expansion and the opioid crisis was tenuous at best.

"While we do not reject the possibility that public policy has played a role in our current prescription abuse crisis, on balance we find little evidence to support the idea that Medicaid caused or worsened the epidemic," the study said.

SEE ALSO: The Trump administration just made another big move to reshape the healthcare system

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Joakim Noah and the Knicks are in an awkward standoff over the $54 million left on his contract

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joakim noah

  • Joakim Noah has been away from the New York Knicks since January after he got into a heated exchange with head coach Jeff Hornacek.
  • The two sides are in a standoff over how to end the remaining $54 million on his contract.
  • Noah is reportedly unwilling to accept a buyout and the Knicks don't want to waive Noah.


Joakim Noah and the New York Knicks are in an awkward standoff that doesn't show any signs of ending soon.

Noah has not been with the team since late January after getting into a heated exchange with head coach Jeff Hornacek. The team initially said he would be away from the team for "personal reasons" but it was later revealed that it was over the dispute.

Nearly a month later, Noah is still not with the team, and Hornacek told reporters on Tuesday that the two sides have "moved on."

"We've moved on," Hornacek said. "He's ready to move on and maybe have an opportunity somewhere else."

The problem for both sides is figuring out what happens next. According to ESPN's Ian Begley, the Knicks tried to trade Noah at the deadline, but could not find a team to take his the remaining $54 million on his contract. According to Begley, Noah has not been willing to discuss a buyout, and the Knicks do not want to waive him.

When the Knicks signed Noah to a four-year, $72 million deal in free agency, many in the NBA world suspected that it might be an overpay. Less than two years later, it's become a mess— Noah has played only 53 games with the Knicks and has struggled when on the court. At 33, with an ugly injury history and little recent production, it's unlikely he could make anywhere close to his current contract if he were to hit the open market, hence why he may not want to accept a buyout.

The Knicks could use the "stretch" provision on Noah, in which they would take the remaining money on his contract and stretch it out over five years. However, that may not be appealing to the team, as he'd carry a $7.5 million cap hit through 2022 and would cut into future cap space.

The Knicks could also find themselves having to do damage control as a result of the standoff. The Knicks were reportedly considered a "last resort" for free agents last summer as a result of inner turmoil during Phil Jackson's tenure. Though the team has begun a modest rebuild this season, the optics of signing a player to a $72 million contract, keeping him away from the team, and trying to get out of the contract, may not be great to other players.

It's unclear what's next for both sides, but someone will have to budge or else the standoff will remain — something that can't be appealing for anyone.

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