Category: 3. Business

  • Shoppers are trading down to private-label store brands without even realizing it

    Shoppers are trading down to private-label store brands without even realizing it

    That marks a shift from decades ago, when supermarkets would use inexpensive packaging and stripped-down branding to send the message that they were “passing the savings on to you,” Myers explained.

    It has long been common for some name brands and private-label operators to share manufacturers for certain goods, meaning that many of their competing packages contain the same products. The difference is that while Nabisco or General Mills, for example, have to spend on marketing and store placement fees for their items, Aldi or Costco don’t.

    But the bare-bones packaging associated with private-label goods is increasingly a thing of the past — sometimes replaced by approaches that name-brand competitors criticize. Last month, Mondelēz International sued Aldi, alleging trademark infringement. The snack-maker accused the discount supermarket of “blatantly” copying the packaging of Oreos, Wheat Thins, Nilla Wafers and Ritz crackers for its private-label alternatives.

    But in other instances, even store brands that don’t resemble well-known rivals have enough shelf appeal to attract shoppers on their own merit. The result is eroding brand loyalty for major incumbents. In First Insight’s survey, 47% of shoppers said they tried a store brand specifically because it was a “dupe” of a name-brand product, and 84% said they now trust private labels’ quality at least as much as national brands’.

    Price, of course, remains a key factor in private labels’ appeal.

    During the worst of the post-pandemic run-up in inflation, consumer goods giants such as Procter & Gamble raised prices on customers. Faced with steeper costs from supply-chain snarls and labor shortages, many companies bet that shoppers would shell out more to stick with products they knew and liked. And for a few years, many of their better-heeled customers did just that. But the winds have shifted, and in recent years shoppers have been reprioritizing value.

    “They’re saying, ‘What I’m paying for what I’m getting is not worth it,’” Petro said.

    After an earlier series of price hikes on cereals, snack bars and pet food, General Mills said last week that its main focus now is on juicing sales volume. “To do that, we’ll invest further in consumer value,” its CEO assured investors.

    Michael Swanson, chief agriculture economist at Wells Fargo’s Agri-Food Institute, said the grocery wars largely hinge on what shoppers pay attention to.

    When you look at the raw sticker prices on store shelves, it’s easy to notice how sharply they’ve climbed. Grocery prices have risen more than 23% over the last five years — but households’ average spending power has outpaced it, he pointed out. In “real,” or inflation-adjusted, terms, groceries are broadly cheaper than they’ve been in years. (While it surely didn’t feel that way for many families, 2024’s Thanksgiving dinner was its most affordable in nearly 40 years, farm data showed.)

    “Whenever you get a pay raise, that’s a good thing. Whenever you see your favorite food go up, that’s a bad thing,” Swanson said. “But we really are very bad at tracking the relative change of those two things.”

    Still, Swanson doesn’t expect shoppers’ diminishing brand loyalty or hunt for low prices to push name-brand products off supermarket shelves anytime soon. In fact, grocery stores typically rely on branded products to set price points for customers, he said.

    “The only reason you know that private label is a value is because you glance right next to it in the refrigerator section and that something else is 25 or 40% more expensive,” Swanson said.

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  • Executive Vice-President Virkkunen hosts dialogue on EU data policy

    Today, Executive Vice-President for Technological Sovereignty, Security and Democracy, Henna Virkkunen, is hosting an implementation dialogue focusing on EU data policy including the Data Act, Data Governance Act, and Open Data Directive, to gather insights on where current policies can be simplified or streamlined.

    Executive Vice-President for Technological Sovereignty, Security and Democracy, Henna Virkkunen said:

    “Today’s dialogue represents the first step in simplifying our digital rules for all citizens and businesses. I look forward to hearing the views of EU consumers and businesses and reflecting together on how we can create an even more cohesive and simple approach to data policy.”

    The Commission has invited stakeholders to participate in this dialogue, including public sector bodies, companies using public sector information, data intermediation service providers, small and medium enterprise representatives, European consumer associations, and companies manufacturing connected products.

    This dialogue will help prepare work on the Digital Simplification Omnibus, set to be presented later this year. It will also feed into the EU’s Data Union Strategy, aimed at strengthening Europe’s data ecosystem.

    Read more information on the implementation dialogues. 

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  • China Bans Some Portable Batteries From Flights as Safety Concerns Grow – The New York Times

    1. China Bans Some Portable Batteries From Flights as Safety Concerns Grow  The New York Times
    2. Power banks manufactured before 2024 now banned from air travel in China  Notebookcheck
    3. electronic devices on flights  Travel And Tour World
    4. China’s New Rules on Power Banks Take Effect Amid Safety Concerns and Recalls  iChongqing
    5. China bans uncertified and recalled power banks on planes  Reuters

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  • Switzerland: IMF Staff Concluding Statement—2025 Article IV Consultation Mission – International Monetary Fund (IMF)

    1. Switzerland: IMF Staff Concluding Statement—2025 Article IV Consultation Mission  International Monetary Fund (IMF)
    2. Swiss Economic Outlook Dims: KOF Indicator Drops  TipRanks
    3. Swiss economy growth forecast cut by IMF to 1.3% for 2025  Investing.com
    4. IMF cuts growth economic forecast for Switzerland, highlights trade risks  MSN

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  • Eurozone inflation picks up to ECB’s 2% target

    Eurozone inflation picks up to ECB’s 2% target

    Eurozone inflation edged up last month to the European Central Bank’s 2% target, confirming that the era of runaway prices is over and shifting policymaker focus to trade war-induced economic volatility.

    Inflation in the 20 nations sharing the euro currency crept up to 2.0% in June from 1.9% a month earlier, in line with expectations in a Reuters poll of economists, as energy and industrial goods continued to pull down prices, offsetting quick services inflation.

    Underlying inflation, a closely watched measure that excludes volatile food and fuel prices, meanwhile held steady at 2.3%, in line with expectations.

    Anticipating this fall, the ECB has lowered interest rates from record highs by two full percentage points over the last year, and debate has turned to whether it needs to ease policy further to prevent inflation becoming too low given weak growth.

    The development in services costs, which have been stubbornly high for years, is pivotal as it has raised fears that domestic inflation could get stuck above 2%.

    Last month, services inflation edged up to 3.3% from 3.2%, as prices rose 0.7% on the month, supporting the argument of policy hawks that domestic inflation remains uncomfortably high, reducing the risk of undershooting.

    Financial investors expect one more ECB rate cut to 1.75% towards the end of the year, then anticipate a period of steady rates before possible increases towards the end of 2026.

    The outlook, however, is complicated by the fact that it depends on the outcome of a trade dispute between the EU and US President Donald Trump’s administration.

    Indeed, the eurozone’s economy is barely growing, with full-year expansion expected at less than 1%, as industry struggles after a multi-year recession, with private consumption weak and investment low.

    If US trade barriers stay, the EU is likely to retaliate and that is bound to be inflationary. Firms will then start rearranging value chains, which would add to increased production expenses.

    Despite roiling financial markets and global supply chains, Donald Trump’s tariffs have also contributed to an easing of price pressures across the euro area.

    The volatility of Trump’s policy-making has caused the euro to strengthen significantly against the dollar since the start of the year, thus lowering the price of imports into the single currency area.

    Expectations that US duties could trigger a global recession have caused oil prices to fall. Cheap Chinese exports being redirected to Europe are also likely to aid the disinflationary process, according to analysts.

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  • Five key takeaways from London Climate Action Week 2025

    Five key takeaways from London Climate Action Week 2025

    A team of more than 50 ERM leaders and experts were on the ground at London Climate Action Week (LCAW) 2025. The 2025 iteration was by far the largest in the gathering’s seven-year history, with over 45,000 participants. ERM organized more than 10 events, including several with partners like the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) and the Natural Climate Solutions Alliance (NSCA).

    The week commenced with the launch of the WBCSD Business Breakthrough Barometer. To many people’s pleasant surprise, the Barometer reveals that 91 percent of 300 leading global businesses have maintained or increased investments in the clean energy and net zero transition vs 12 months ago, with 56 percent citing competitiveness as their primary reason for doing so. At least for this group of companies, backlash is not resulting in backslide.  

    Our team captured several key takeaways from our LCAW discussions with business leaders, investors, policymakers, and representatives of civil society organizations. We share insights on how to get from volatility to value and more below.  

    Navigate volatility

    1. With global uncertainty and upheaval prominent, companies need clear action plans to avoid being blown off course. The ERM-convened Council on Sustainability Transformation launched a report in the lead up to LCAW exploring how companies can reframe and retool their approaches to sustainability during this time of change.
    2. With the cost of inaction rising, companies need to quantify ‘do nothing’ options alongside other investment cases and take action that makes progress towards climate goals and generates business value simultaneously.
    3. An event we held with WBCSD on industrial heat highlighted how companies are expanding investments in renewable heat despite economic incertitude. Companies are turning towards technological innovation and partnerships to drive progress even when policy support may be insufficient.

    Adapt for each geography 

    1. A one-size-fits-all-geographies approach no longer works as companies shift from goal setting to implementation, as implementation needs to be tailored to each operating environment.
    2. Success depends on recognizing that the energy transition is place-based and emphasizing just transition. The effects of the transition will be felt most where activities occur (e.g., job creation or losses, local economic empowerment or displacement, enhanced adaptive capacity, etc.).
    3. No transition plan will succeed without people. Corporate speakers at a just transition roundtable we hosted in partnership with WBCSD said companies must account for the people-related impacts of their transitions and engage people in transition solutions.
    4. During an infrastructure-focused workshop hosted with WBCSD, participants stressed the importance of turning a local lens to physical risk mitigation and recognizing that direct (e.g., property damage) and indirect (e.g., supply chain disruptions) risks will vary by site and geography.

    Creating value requires getting into the details  

    1. Ana Toni, the CEO of COP30, said that businesses need to identify very specifically what they require to progress towards their climate goals. Doing this will enable ‘unlocks’ from policy makers, investors, and others in country plans (like Nationally Determined Contributions and National Adaptation Plans).
    2. The complexity of implementing targets and plans within the current operating environment is forcing companies to get down to details. ERM held LCAW sessions on the electrification of industrial heat, long-duration energy storage, and climate markets, including removals and decarbonization in the manufacturing and pharmaceutical sectors.
    3. Identifying how sustainability programs create enterprise value is essential. Whether growing market share, lowering operating costs, enhancing energy security, or lowering costs of capital, there are many opportunities to add value A blog ERM published before LCAW explores how companies can use financial quantification to help visualize the full benefits of their sustainability-related actions. There are hurdles as well. Companies participating in a financial quantification roundtable we co-hosted with WBCSD stressed that a lack of consistency in data quality and availability makes quantification difficult. 

    Own your narrative 

    1. Defining the narrative for your company’s climate action is critical. If you do not tell your story, someone else will. There is no room for greenhushing in a world where investors, policymakers, other businesses, and stakeholders demand to see evidence of tangible action linked to quantified outcomes.
    2. Outputs on sustainability – however impressive the metrics – mean little until they are set in the context of what matters to stakeholders. Think about framing your story from the outside in, starting with the meaningful outcomes you can deliver.
    3. Communication is an important vehicle for translating the financial quantification of sustainability into language that resonates within and beyond your organization. Tone matters—it is so important to be positive! Participants in an ERM/WBCSD session on quantification and communication stressed the need to avoid overemphasizing risk; human beings respond to inspiration.
    4. Narrative consistency is key—there cannot be one message for employees and another for investors. Participants at an ERM roundtable on sustainability in a volatile world emphasized the importance of transparent and consistent stakeholder communication in building trust and credibility.

    Seek opportunity 

    1. Opportunities emerge during volatility. Companies we spoke with are keeping their eyes open for places where they can create value and build sustainability momentum at the same time. Companies and financial institutions in Asia, for example, are innovating and investing in response to market needs, while global participants at an ERM-supported session on energy storage highlighted the use of the technology as a solution that can generate significant financial opportunity and be a powerful force for decarbonization.
    2. Carbon markets and water were high on the opportunity agenda at many of the sessions in which ERM participated. Companies are determining how to build business cases for these and other nature-related issues and integrate them into their sustainability strategies. As companies face pressure to achieve targets, participants underscored the importance of high-quality carbon credits. While concerns remain about greenwashing, logistical barriers, and the need for clearer standards and metrics, there was a consensus that demand stimulation, policy clarity, and technological innovation are crucial to scaling this key market.

    Delivering in uncharted territory

    Amidst the backdrop of an ever-changing world, a sense of what’s possible in the delivery of climate solutions that make commercial sense spread throughout the biggest LCAW ever. Themes like adaptation, value creation, narration, and opportunity identification emerged as strategies capable of helping companies forge ahead into uncharted territory. ERM was honored to contribute to the conversation.

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  • Circular economy investment has surged since 2018, but high-impact solutions remain underfunded

    Circular economy investment has surged since 2018, but high-impact solutions remain underfunded

    The Circularity Gap Report Finance is the first empirical global study that quantifies and explains the global financial streams to circular business models, such as resale and repair, which allows for estimating the ‘gap’ in finance for a circular economy. It was authored by the Amsterdam-based impact organisation Circle Economy in collaboration with KPMG International, with support from the International Finance Corporation (IFC).

    The report highlights that circular economy investments can deliver risk-adjusted returns. Circular business models generate additional revenue, unlock new markets, and deliver greater value from fewer resources. In addition, circularity is emerging as a key strategy for the financial sector to manage resource risks from supply chain disruptions and material scarcity—risks that are now more relevant than ever, considering trade wars and geopolitical instability.

    The sector increasingly recognises these benefits: investment in the circular economy has grown from US$ 10 billion in 2018 to US$ 28 billion in 2023, peaking at US$ 42 billion in 2021. While this upward trend signals a strengthening business case for circularity, the failure to surpass the 2021 peak suggests waning momentum. Banks account for the majority of these investments in the form of debt. Nevertheless, circular investments still represent just 2% of all tracked capital (in the scope of this report), suggesting a vast unrealised potential.

    Investments mainly go to conventional applications of circularity, like rental and repair, which have existed for decades. High-impact solutions and innovations in design and production received just 4.7% of all investment, despite their potential to eliminate waste and pollution at the source.

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  • Sectoral numerical targets in terms of the Employment Equity Act, 1998

    The Amendments to the Employment Equity Act, 1998, came into effect on 1 January 2025 and the Employment Equity Regulations (Regulations) were published on 15 April 2025 by the Minister of Employment and Labour.

    The Regulations establish five-year numerical targets for designated employers (ie employers who employ more than 50 employees) across 18 economic sectors: accommodation and food service activities; administrative and support activities; agriculture, forestry & fishing; arts, entertainment and recreation; construction; education; electricity, gas, steam and air conditioning supply; financial and insurance activities; human health and social work activities; information and communication; manufacturing; mining and quarrying; professional, scientific and technical activities; public administration and defence; compulsory social security; real estate activities; transportation and storage; water supply, sewerage, waste management and remediation activities; wholesale and retail trade; and repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles.

    In terms of the Regulations designated employers must adopt a five-year employment equity plan based on the sectoral targets which include a 3% disability employment goal.

    Going forward designated employers will only be able to obtain a certificate of compliance to do work for government if they have met the applicable sectoral targets or have a reasonable ground for non-compliance; and provided that there have been no complaints of unfair discrimination in relation to that employer.

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  • Elon Musk’s xAI raises $10 billion in debt and equity

    Elon Musk’s xAI raises $10 billion in debt and equity

    Elon Musk announced his new company xAI, which he says has the goal to understand the true nature of the universe.

    Jaap Arriens | Nurphoto | Getty Images

    XAI, the artificial intelligence startup run by Elon Musk, raised a combined $10 billion in debt and equity, Morgan Stanley said.

    Half of that sum was clinched through secured notes and term loans, while a separate $5 billion was secured through strategic equity investment, the bank said on Monday.

    The funding gives xAI more firepower to build out infrastructure and develop its Grok AI chatbot as it looks to compete with bitter rival OpenAI, as well as with a swathe of other players including Amazon-backed Anthropic.

    In May, Musk told CNBC that xAI has already installed 200,000 graphics processing units (GPUs) at its Colossus facility in Memphis, Tennessee. Colossus is xAI’s supercomputer that trains the firm’s AI. Musk at the time said that his company will continue buying chips from semiconductor giants Nvidia and AMD and that xAI is planning a 1-million-GPU facility outside of Memphis.

    Addressing the latest funds raised by the company, Morgan Stanley that “the proceeds will support xAI’s continued development of cutting-edge AI solutions, including one of the world’s largest data center and its flagship Grok platform.”

    xAI continues to release updates to Grok and unveiled the Grok 3 AI model in February. Musk has sought to boost the use of Grok by integrating the AI model with the X social media platform, formerly known as Twitter. In March, xAI acquired X in a deal that valued the site at $33 billion and the AI firm at $80 billion. It’s unclear if the new equity raise has changed that valuation.

    xAI was not immediately available for comment.

    Last year, xAI raised $6 billion at a valuation of $50 billion, CNBC reported.

    Morgan Stanley said the latest debt offering was “oversubscribed and included prominent global debt investors.”

    Competition among American AI startups is intensifying, with companies raising huge amounts of funding to buy chips and build infrastructure.

    OpenAI in March closed a $40 billion financing round that valued the ChatGPT developer at $300 billion. Its big investors include Microsoft and Japan’s SoftBank.

    Anthropic, the developer of the Claude chatbot, closed a funding round in March that valued the firm at $61.5 billion. The company then received a five-year $2.5 billion revolving credit line in May.

    Musk has called Grok a “maximally truth-seeking” AI that is also “anti-woke,” in a bid to set it apart from its rivals. But this has not come without its fair share of controversy. Earlier this year, Grok responded to user queries with unrelated comments about the controversial topic of “white genocide” and South Africa.

    Musk has also clashed with fellow AI leaders, including OpenAI’s Sam Altman. Most famously, Musk claimed that OpenAI, which he co-founded, has deviated from its original mission of developing AI to benefit humanity as a nonprofit and is instead focused on commercial success. In February, Musk alongside a group of investors, put in a bid of $97.4 billion to buy control of OpenAI. Altman swiftly rejected the offer.

    CNBC’s Lora Kolodny and Jonathan Vanian contributed to this report.

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  • S&P Dow Jones Indices Collaborates with Centrifuge to Bring the S&P 500 Index Onchain, Expanding Access to the World’s Most Widely Recognized Benchmark

    S&P Dow Jones Indices Collaborates with Centrifuge to Bring the S&P 500 Index Onchain, Expanding Access to the World’s Most Widely Recognized Benchmark

    NEW YORK, July 1, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — S&P Dow Jones Indices (“S&P DJI”), the world’s leading index provider, today announced its plans to collaborate with Centrifuge, a decentralized infrastructure provider specializing in real-world asset (RWA) integration, to enter the fund tokenization space by licensing the S&P 500 Index. This initiative extends the reach of the S&P 500 into onchain investment products and protocols.

    S&P Dow Jones Indices logo (PRNewsfoto/S&P Dow Jones Indices)

    For 125 years and counting, S&P DJI’s indices have provided a liquid foundation for increased adoption of index-based investing around the world. By licensing Centrifuge to provide exposure and bring the S&P 500 Index onchain, a blockchain-native investment vehicle will for the first time be built, governed, and accessed directly through Centrifuge’s RWA infrastructure, rather than via traditional brokerages. Anemoy Capital, a web3 native asset manager powered by Centrifuge, has been licensed by S&P DJI along with Janus Henderson, a leading global asset manager, as the sub-advisor for the fund, to offer the Janus Henderson Anemoy S&P 500 Index Fund Segregated Portfolio, which is planned to launch later this year subject to regulatory approval.

    “At S&P Dow Jones Indices, our mission is to bring trusted benchmarks to every investor, today and tomorrow. Today’s announcement places The 500™ at the forefront of index tokenization and real-world asset integration and brings the innovation of decentralized infrastructure to the most iconic financial index in the world,” said Cameron Drinkwater, Chief Product Officer at S&P Dow Jones Indices. “Our collaboration with Centrifuge enables investors to gain direct exposure to the S&P 500 Index –– within a blockchain ecosystem that supports liquidity, transparency and interoperability. The potential from here – real-time, programmable, automated and 24/7 indexed portfolio solutions – is incredibly exciting.”

    This collaboration combines S&P DJI’s premiere S&P 500 Index and unmatched index data quality with Centrifuge’s blockchain technology to create one of the first digital tokens that represents exposure to the S&P 500 Index. The digital tokens can then be owned, used and transferred through the blockchain, initially providing access to a broader range of market participants. In the future, by licensing S&P DJI’s indices to be embedded directly into DeFi protocols, other tokenized assets and compliant digital investment platforms can provide equal market access and choice to blockchain-native investors and those without access to traditional investment products.

    “Bringing the S&P 500 Index onchain is more than a technical milestone, it represents a shift in how institutional portfolios can be constructed and accessed. For the first time, the world’s most trusted benchmark is available through open, transparent, and programmable infrastructure. At Centrifuge and Anemoy, our focus is to establish ‘onchain indices,’ as a core category of onchain asset allocation, bringing institutional-grade products to a decentralized financial system. We are proud to collaborate with S&P Dow Jones Indices and look forward to what this unlocks for the future of onchain finance,” said Anil Sood, Chief Strategy and Growth Officer at Centrifuge and Co-Founder of Anemoy.

    The introduction of tokenization further expands S&P DJI’s existing portfolio of digital asset initiatives, which includes its cryptocurrency indices, ranging from single-coin indices to multi-asset solutions. S&P DJI’s diverse offering is designed to provide choice for market participants looking to effectively navigate the growing DeFi and digital asset space.

    For more information about S&P Dow Jones Indices, please visit https://www.spglobal.com/spdji/en/.

    S&P Global’s digital asset capabilities support transparency and informed decision-making at the intersection of decentralized innovation and traditional finance. To learn more about S&P Global’s DeFi initiatives please click here. 

    For more information about Centrifuge, please visit https://centrifuge.io/.

    ABOUT S&P DOW JONES INDICES

    S&P Dow Jones Indices is the largest global resource for essential index-based concepts, data and research, and home to iconic financial market indicators, such as the S&P 500® and the Dow Jones Industrial Average®. More assets are invested in products based on our indices than products based on indices from any other provider in the world. Since Charles Dow invented the first index in 1884, S&P DJI has been innovating and developing indices across the spectrum of asset classes helping to define the way investors measure and trade the markets.

    S&P Dow Jones Indices is a division of S&P Global (NYSE: SPGI), which provides essential intelligence for individuals, companies, and governments to make decisions with confidence. For more information, visit https://www.spglobal.com/spdji/en/.

    The S&P 500 Index is a product of S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC or its affiliates (“S&P DJI), and has been licensed for use by Anemoy Capital Ltd. (“Anemoy”) and k-f dev AG (“Centrifuge”).  S&P®, S&P 500®, SPX®, SPY®, US 500™, The 500™, iBoxx®, iTraxx® and CDX® are trademarks of S&P Global, Inc. or its affiliates (“S&P”); Dow Jones® is a registered trademark of Dow Jones Trademark Holdings LLC (“Dow Jones”); and these trademarks have been licensed for use by S&P DJI and sublicensed for certain purposes by Anemoy and Centrifuge. Funds based on the S&P 500 are not sponsored or sold by S&P DJI, Dow Jones, S&P, their respective affiliates and none of such parties make any representation regarding the advisability of investing in such products nor do they have any liability for any errors, omissions, or interruptions of the S&P 500 Index.

    FOR MORE INFORMATION:

    Silke Mcguinness 
    Global Head of Communications
    (+1) 415 205 8414
    silke.mcguinness@spglobal.com 

    Alyssa Augustyn
    Americas Communications
    (+1) 773 919 4732
    alyssa.augustyn@spglobal.com

    Asti Michou
    EMEA Communications
    +44 (0) 79 70 887 863
    asti.michou@spglobal.com 

     

    SOURCE S&P Dow Jones Indices

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