Interesting investment options
By Alan Lavine/ On Investing
Sunday, May 30, 2004
Interest rates are rising. Since bond prices and interest rates move in opposite directions, bond prices are dropping.
How to handle the situation?
Some options:
Invest in money funds. Money funds own certificates of deposit, Treasury bills and commercial paper, which is corporate debt that typically matures in 90 days or less. These funds' managers can roll maturing investments over at higher rates quickly.
The funds also keep their share price at $1, so you shouldn't lose principal.
Create your own type of money fund. Invest in three-month, federally insured CDs and keep rolling them over at higher rates.
Dollar cost average into bond funds. Invest regularly and you accumulate shares at lower prices.
Interest rates go in cycles. When the economy heats up (as it's doing today), rates rise. But when the economy slows, rates fall.
Over the long term, the average cost of your shares should be lower than the market price when you sell.
Don't need the income from you bond fund? Be sure to have your income automatically reinvested.
Ladder your investments. Invest in bonds, CDs or other notes that mature in different years.
For example, you might buy bonds or CDs that mature in, say one to five years.
Every year when one matures, roll it over into another investment maturing in five years or at the upper end of your ladder. This way, you roll money over at higher rates.
Target your investments. Say you need $100,000 to add to your retirement stash in 10 years.
You could buy a zero-coupon U.S. Treasury bond that matures in 2014. That investment currently yields about 5.25 percent. If you don't sell it, you'll collect principal and accumulated interest.
Today, you can invest just $58,000 in a zero-coupon Treasury bond and collect $100,000 when it matures in 2014.
Keep the investment in a tax-deferred retirement account and the money grows tax-free until you take distribution.
But keep your eyes open. As rates move higher, bond prices should drop even more, making this targeted buy-and-hold strategy even better.
Hedge. The ProFunds group of mutual funds sells a ``rising-rate'' mutual fund. This fund performs best when interest rates rise and bond price fall.
Sunday, May 30, 2004
Sunday, May 09, 2004
Friday, May 07, 2004
Tuesday, May 04, 2004
Proposed immigration act excludes same-sex couples
The Safe, Orderly Legal Visas and Enforcement Act, which addresses current U.S. immigration policy but fails to recognize gay and lesbian families, was introduced in the Senate and House on Tuesday by Massachusetts senator Edward Kennedy and representatives Luis Gutierrez (D-Ill.) and Robert Menendez (D-N.J.).
Adam Francoeur, program coordinator for Immigration Equality, an organization that advocates for LGBT immigration rights, commented on the proposed bill: "Our immigration system is in desperate need of reform, and this bill provides relief to thousands of immigrants for whom the pledge for family unification has been deferred. While we support this legislation and its aims, we are disappointed that this bill does not extend immigration benefits to gay and lesbian partners of U.S. citizens and permanent residents."
Current U.S. law provides no ability for a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident to sponsor his or her same-sex partner for immigration to the U.S. A bill called the Permanent Partners Immigration Act, now pending in both the House and the Senate, aims to remedy this. Sixteen countries currently provide for same-sex partner immigration, including Great Britain, Canada, and, most recently, Brazil.
According to the Urban Institute there were an estimated 35,820 same-sex binational couples in the United States at the time of the 2000 Census whose relationships were not recognized under U.S. immigration law and who continue to face the threat of one member's removal from the United States.
The Safe, Orderly Legal Visas and Enforcement Act, which addresses current U.S. immigration policy but fails to recognize gay and lesbian families, was introduced in the Senate and House on Tuesday by Massachusetts senator Edward Kennedy and representatives Luis Gutierrez (D-Ill.) and Robert Menendez (D-N.J.).
Adam Francoeur, program coordinator for Immigration Equality, an organization that advocates for LGBT immigration rights, commented on the proposed bill: "Our immigration system is in desperate need of reform, and this bill provides relief to thousands of immigrants for whom the pledge for family unification has been deferred. While we support this legislation and its aims, we are disappointed that this bill does not extend immigration benefits to gay and lesbian partners of U.S. citizens and permanent residents."
Current U.S. law provides no ability for a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident to sponsor his or her same-sex partner for immigration to the U.S. A bill called the Permanent Partners Immigration Act, now pending in both the House and the Senate, aims to remedy this. Sixteen countries currently provide for same-sex partner immigration, including Great Britain, Canada, and, most recently, Brazil.
According to the Urban Institute there were an estimated 35,820 same-sex binational couples in the United States at the time of the 2000 Census whose relationships were not recognized under U.S. immigration law and who continue to face the threat of one member's removal from the United States.
Monday, May 03, 2004
Bill Gates fined 800,000 dollars for merger violation
Related News »
• Microsoft makes 1.6 billion dollar peace with Sun Microsystems
• Microsoft rivals hail EU decision, others claim 'intrusion'
• Microsoft fined half a billion euros in landmark EU ruling
more>>
WASHINGTON : The world's richest man, Bill Gates, agreed to pay an 800,000 dollar civil penalty to settle charges he violated merger reporting requirements on an investment he made, officials said.
The Justice Department said the deal involved Gates's personal investment company and was not related to Microsoft, the company he co-founded and which has had its own antitrust litigation.
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According to officials, Gates acquired more than 50 million dollars of the voting securities of biotech firm ICOS Corporation in 2002 without complying with antitrust pre-merger notification requirements.
Gates did not qualify for the "solely for the purpose of investment" exemption to those notification requirements because he intended to participate in the business decisions of ICOS as a member of the board of directors.
Officials said the action violated the Hart-Scott-Rodino Act of 1976 that imposes notification and waiting period requirements on individuals and companies over a certain size before they can buy stock or assets valued at more than 50 million dollars.
Related News »
• Microsoft makes 1.6 billion dollar peace with Sun Microsystems
• Microsoft rivals hail EU decision, others claim 'intrusion'
• Microsoft fined half a billion euros in landmark EU ruling
more>>
WASHINGTON : The world's richest man, Bill Gates, agreed to pay an 800,000 dollar civil penalty to settle charges he violated merger reporting requirements on an investment he made, officials said.
The Justice Department said the deal involved Gates's personal investment company and was not related to Microsoft, the company he co-founded and which has had its own antitrust litigation.
Advertisement
According to officials, Gates acquired more than 50 million dollars of the voting securities of biotech firm ICOS Corporation in 2002 without complying with antitrust pre-merger notification requirements.
Gates did not qualify for the "solely for the purpose of investment" exemption to those notification requirements because he intended to participate in the business decisions of ICOS as a member of the board of directors.
Officials said the action violated the Hart-Scott-Rodino Act of 1976 that imposes notification and waiting period requirements on individuals and companies over a certain size before they can buy stock or assets valued at more than 50 million dollars.
Sunday, May 02, 2004
Sharon loses vote on Gaza withdrawal
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Photos
Ariel Sharon (AP Photo)
May 2, 2004
Top Stories
11 Troops Die in Iraq; U.S. Hostage Safe
Sharon Loses Vote on Gaza Withdrawal
Iraqi Prisoner Details Abuse by Americans
History of a deadly divide
Born of hate, raised in love
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BY CONAL URQUHART
SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT
May 2, 2004, 8:44 PM EDT
JERUSALEM -- Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon suffered an embarrassing defeat on his proposal to withdraw from settlements in the Gaza Strip and northern West Bank, according to early results Sunday.
Although Sharon said he would "respect" the results of the referendum within his Likud Party, other officials suggested the issue wasn't dead.
Deputy Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, one of Sharon's few close allies in the cabinet, said Sunday that they would seek a different kind of mandate.
"This move cannot be stopped just on the basis of today's decision... . There is no alternative for Israel if we want to stop terrorism."
Sharon, who has said he does not consider the vote legally binding, vowed to consult with party and government officials on his next step.
"One thing is clear to me," he said Sunday night. "The Israeli people did not elect me to sit on my hands for four years. I was elected to find a way to bring the peace and security that so deserve."
With about half the ballots counted, about 60 percent of Likud members who voted rejected Sharon's plan, while 40 percent supported it. The turnout was less than 50 percent.
The referendum took place on a day of violence which saw the killing of a pregnant Jewish settler and her four young daughters in Gaza. In a subsequent Israeli airstrike, four Palestinian militants died in the West Bank city of Nablus.
Sharon said the settlers' killings showed the necessity of backing his plan, in which Israeli settlers and troops would pull out of Gaza but remain in most settlements in the West Bank.
"The disengagement plan is a harsh and painful blow to the Palestinians," Sharon said. "The Palestinians will do everything to prevent its being accepted. Today's terrible murder is the Palestinian way of rejecting and disrupting the plan."
Palestinian officials, who have resented the unilateral nature of Sharon's proposal, appeared to downplay Sunday's vote. "The best and most peaceful way ... is serious negotiations between the two sides," Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmed Qureia said.
Outside the voting site in Jerusalem where Sharon cast his ballot, hundreds of people campaigned against his plan. The area was littered with fliers, many of which said, "Uprooting the settlements rewards terror."
Not a single supporter of Sharon's plan was canvassing there on its behalf.
Ruthie Meir, 48, a mother of eight, said she had rejected the withdrawal despite being a longtime Sharon supporter. "I am from Jerusalem, but I feel as if these homes in Gaza are my home. This is so hard for us, to see Sharon, who has built so much, turning back on us. I cannot imagine Jews taking Jews out of their homes."
Moshe Cohen, 57, an employee of the state telephone company, said he had voted for the plan. "This is a serious dilemma. Emotions are taking over, and members of my family have voted against the plan but I am backing Sharon," he said.
Shai Feldman, director of the Jaffee Center for Strategic Studies at Tel Aviv University, said Sharon's defeat within his own party placed the whole country in a tough position behind a weakened leader.
"It's going to be very difficult to pursue this further," Feldman said. "In many respects he will become a lame duck, although he can continue as prime minister."
Sharon, who confirmed Sunday night that he would remain in office, has a number of options if he decides to pursue the Gaza proposal.
Sharon could move forward with a cabinet vote, a Knesset vote, a national referendum or general election for a new government, according to Uzi Arad, director of the Israeli Institute of Policy and Strategy in Herzliya and an adviser to Sharon's rival and cabinet colleague, Benjamin Netanyahu.
He said party members' opposition to the plan was not a reflection of their unwillingness to compromise but of the plan's inherent weakness.
"The reservations of the rank and file of the Likud are about the lopsided nature of the unilateral disengagement plan. The formula always used to be land for peace; now it's land for nothing. This raises Palestinian expectations, corrupts the negotiating process, reduces our bargaining position and hardens theirs. Only the very extremes of the party are totally opposed to concessions," he said.
Another reason cited for Sharon's defeat was his failure to articulate his case publicly. Sharon appeared to have believed he would secure Likud backing for the plan with its endorsement by President George W. Bush when the two met in Washington last month.
In contrast, the settlers made a passionate defense of their right to stay in the homes and communities they have built up over 20 years.
"There was a huge gap of intent and commitment between the opponents and the supporters," Feldman said. "The reasons for supporting the plan are abstract and conceptual. The reasons for opposing are concrete -- it's about people's homes."
Email this story
Printer friendly format
Photos
Ariel Sharon (AP Photo)
May 2, 2004
Top Stories
11 Troops Die in Iraq; U.S. Hostage Safe
Sharon Loses Vote on Gaza Withdrawal
Iraqi Prisoner Details Abuse by Americans
History of a deadly divide
Born of hate, raised in love
Enter a Category
View List
BY CONAL URQUHART
SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT
May 2, 2004, 8:44 PM EDT
JERUSALEM -- Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon suffered an embarrassing defeat on his proposal to withdraw from settlements in the Gaza Strip and northern West Bank, according to early results Sunday.
Although Sharon said he would "respect" the results of the referendum within his Likud Party, other officials suggested the issue wasn't dead.
Deputy Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, one of Sharon's few close allies in the cabinet, said Sunday that they would seek a different kind of mandate.
"This move cannot be stopped just on the basis of today's decision... . There is no alternative for Israel if we want to stop terrorism."
Sharon, who has said he does not consider the vote legally binding, vowed to consult with party and government officials on his next step.
"One thing is clear to me," he said Sunday night. "The Israeli people did not elect me to sit on my hands for four years. I was elected to find a way to bring the peace and security that so deserve."
With about half the ballots counted, about 60 percent of Likud members who voted rejected Sharon's plan, while 40 percent supported it. The turnout was less than 50 percent.
The referendum took place on a day of violence which saw the killing of a pregnant Jewish settler and her four young daughters in Gaza. In a subsequent Israeli airstrike, four Palestinian militants died in the West Bank city of Nablus.
Sharon said the settlers' killings showed the necessity of backing his plan, in which Israeli settlers and troops would pull out of Gaza but remain in most settlements in the West Bank.
"The disengagement plan is a harsh and painful blow to the Palestinians," Sharon said. "The Palestinians will do everything to prevent its being accepted. Today's terrible murder is the Palestinian way of rejecting and disrupting the plan."
Palestinian officials, who have resented the unilateral nature of Sharon's proposal, appeared to downplay Sunday's vote. "The best and most peaceful way ... is serious negotiations between the two sides," Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmed Qureia said.
Outside the voting site in Jerusalem where Sharon cast his ballot, hundreds of people campaigned against his plan. The area was littered with fliers, many of which said, "Uprooting the settlements rewards terror."
Not a single supporter of Sharon's plan was canvassing there on its behalf.
Ruthie Meir, 48, a mother of eight, said she had rejected the withdrawal despite being a longtime Sharon supporter. "I am from Jerusalem, but I feel as if these homes in Gaza are my home. This is so hard for us, to see Sharon, who has built so much, turning back on us. I cannot imagine Jews taking Jews out of their homes."
Moshe Cohen, 57, an employee of the state telephone company, said he had voted for the plan. "This is a serious dilemma. Emotions are taking over, and members of my family have voted against the plan but I am backing Sharon," he said.
Shai Feldman, director of the Jaffee Center for Strategic Studies at Tel Aviv University, said Sharon's defeat within his own party placed the whole country in a tough position behind a weakened leader.
"It's going to be very difficult to pursue this further," Feldman said. "In many respects he will become a lame duck, although he can continue as prime minister."
Sharon, who confirmed Sunday night that he would remain in office, has a number of options if he decides to pursue the Gaza proposal.
Sharon could move forward with a cabinet vote, a Knesset vote, a national referendum or general election for a new government, according to Uzi Arad, director of the Israeli Institute of Policy and Strategy in Herzliya and an adviser to Sharon's rival and cabinet colleague, Benjamin Netanyahu.
He said party members' opposition to the plan was not a reflection of their unwillingness to compromise but of the plan's inherent weakness.
"The reservations of the rank and file of the Likud are about the lopsided nature of the unilateral disengagement plan. The formula always used to be land for peace; now it's land for nothing. This raises Palestinian expectations, corrupts the negotiating process, reduces our bargaining position and hardens theirs. Only the very extremes of the party are totally opposed to concessions," he said.
Another reason cited for Sharon's defeat was his failure to articulate his case publicly. Sharon appeared to have believed he would secure Likud backing for the plan with its endorsement by President George W. Bush when the two met in Washington last month.
In contrast, the settlers made a passionate defense of their right to stay in the homes and communities they have built up over 20 years.
"There was a huge gap of intent and commitment between the opponents and the supporters," Feldman said. "The reasons for supporting the plan are abstract and conceptual. The reasons for opposing are concrete -- it's about people's homes."
Saturday, May 01, 2004
Five ABB Workers Killed in Gun-Attack in Saudi Arabia (Update5)
May 1 (Bloomberg) -- Gunmen killed five employees of Swiss engineering company ABB Ltd. in the town of Yanbu in Saudi Arabia, the world's largest oil producer, which is battling with militants seeking to undermine the ruling al-Saud family.
Two of the victims are U.S. nationals, two are Britons and one Australian, said Bjorn Edlund, a spokesman for ABB, speaking by telephone from the company's base in Zurich. Edlund said the attack occurred while the men were working in an oil refinery run by Exxon Mobil Corp. and the Saudi company Sabic, Agence France- Presse reported.
Militants, who may be linked to Osama bin Laden's al-Qaeda network, have been attacking Westerners on whom Saudi Arabia relies to help maintain the country's oil and gas, banking and defense industries. Last year, more than 40 foreigners were killed in two bomb attacks on housing compounds in the capital, Riyadh.
The latest attack, at Saudi Arabia's second-largest industrial city, ``follows a pattern of extremists trying to destabilize Saudi Arabia so that Western companies won't work there,'' said Anthony Harris, a former U.K. ambassador to the United Arab Emirates.
Four assailants attacked the building of an unidentified Saudi contractor in Yanbu at 7 a.m. local time, the state-owned Saudi Press Agency reported, citing a statement from the Saudi Interior Ministry. The assailants were later chased, and they held up several vehicles, the agency reported.
Policeman Killed
Three of the assailants were killed, and one was injured and captured in a shootout with security forces, the report said. The assailants were brothers, Dubai's Al-Arabiya television news reported, without saying where it got the information.
A Saudi policeman was also killed in the attack, Qatar's Al- Jazeera television news reported, without saying where it got the information.
One Canadian may have been injured in the attack, the Canadian Foreign Ministry said. Another 27 people, among them Saudis, were also hurt, Al-Arabiya reported, citing the Interior Ministry.
Saud al-Mosibeeh, a spokesman for the Interior Ministry didn't have any more details when Bloomberg called.
The five foreign victims were employees of Lummus, an ABB unit whose Middle Eastern offices are located in the Saudi town of Al-Khobar. Bong Buelle, a spokesman at the Saudi Arabian unit of Lummus, said the employees killed in Yanbu were working on a project and staying in the port temporarily.
The Australian who died was Anthony Mason, 57, from Western Australia, the Australian Foreign Ministry said in a statement read over the phone from Canberra.
Foreign Workers
ABB employs about 200 people in the kingdom, Buelle said by telephone from Khobar. Mahmoud Shaban, ABB's manager in Saudi Arabia, declined to comment when called on his mobile.
The British ambassador to Saudi Arabia and two consular staff are on the way to Yanbu to gather information and will arrive later today, the U.K. Foreign Office said.
The U.K. government advises Britons against ``all but essential'' travel to Saudi Arabia as ``terrorists remain determined to carry out further attacks,'' an advisory on the Foreign Office Web site says,
U.S. State Department officials are also traveling to the area, Susan Pittman, a department spokeswoman said.
About 100,000 Westerners, mainly Americans and Britons, live in Saudi Arabia and work in industries such as oil and banking. The kingdom relies on them for their management and technical expertise.
The number of Britons living in the kingdom has fallen by more than 15 percent to about 25,000 since 2001 because companies have found it more difficult to recruit, according to the U.K. embassy. Almost a quarter of Saudi Arabia's 23 million people are foreign residents, according to Samba Financial Group, the country's No. 2 bank.
Oil Center
Yanbu, on Saudi Arabia's Red Sea coast, is the country's second-largest industrial city, created to house petrochemical and other mainly petroleum-related industries. The city, about 220 miles (350 kilometers) north of Jeddah, is home to more than 30 plants and 60,000 residents, according to the Arab Oil & Gas Directory.
``They are striking at the heart of the Saudi economy, where one of the biggest petrochemical complexes in the world is situated,'' former U.K. ambassador Harris said in a telephone interview.
Exxon Mobil and Royal Dutch/Shell Group are among foreign companies that have joint-venture plants in Yanbu, according to the directory. The city also houses one of the country's crude oil terminals, with a capacity of 6.6 million barrels a day, the directory says.
``Normal operations continue in all company installations,'' said a spokesman for state-owned Saudi Aramco, the world's largest oil company by output. ``Security measures are in effect and on alert at all times,'' said the spokesman, who didn't want to be identified.
To contact the reporter on this story:
James Cordahi, in Dubai on, or at cherifcord@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor on this story:
Catherine Hickley in Berlin on, or at chickley@bloomberg.net
Last Updated: May 1, 2004 15:26 EDT
May 1 (Bloomberg) -- Gunmen killed five employees of Swiss engineering company ABB Ltd. in the town of Yanbu in Saudi Arabia, the world's largest oil producer, which is battling with militants seeking to undermine the ruling al-Saud family.
Two of the victims are U.S. nationals, two are Britons and one Australian, said Bjorn Edlund, a spokesman for ABB, speaking by telephone from the company's base in Zurich. Edlund said the attack occurred while the men were working in an oil refinery run by Exxon Mobil Corp. and the Saudi company Sabic, Agence France- Presse reported.
Militants, who may be linked to Osama bin Laden's al-Qaeda network, have been attacking Westerners on whom Saudi Arabia relies to help maintain the country's oil and gas, banking and defense industries. Last year, more than 40 foreigners were killed in two bomb attacks on housing compounds in the capital, Riyadh.
The latest attack, at Saudi Arabia's second-largest industrial city, ``follows a pattern of extremists trying to destabilize Saudi Arabia so that Western companies won't work there,'' said Anthony Harris, a former U.K. ambassador to the United Arab Emirates.
Four assailants attacked the building of an unidentified Saudi contractor in Yanbu at 7 a.m. local time, the state-owned Saudi Press Agency reported, citing a statement from the Saudi Interior Ministry. The assailants were later chased, and they held up several vehicles, the agency reported.
Policeman Killed
Three of the assailants were killed, and one was injured and captured in a shootout with security forces, the report said. The assailants were brothers, Dubai's Al-Arabiya television news reported, without saying where it got the information.
A Saudi policeman was also killed in the attack, Qatar's Al- Jazeera television news reported, without saying where it got the information.
One Canadian may have been injured in the attack, the Canadian Foreign Ministry said. Another 27 people, among them Saudis, were also hurt, Al-Arabiya reported, citing the Interior Ministry.
Saud al-Mosibeeh, a spokesman for the Interior Ministry didn't have any more details when Bloomberg called.
The five foreign victims were employees of Lummus, an ABB unit whose Middle Eastern offices are located in the Saudi town of Al-Khobar. Bong Buelle, a spokesman at the Saudi Arabian unit of Lummus, said the employees killed in Yanbu were working on a project and staying in the port temporarily.
The Australian who died was Anthony Mason, 57, from Western Australia, the Australian Foreign Ministry said in a statement read over the phone from Canberra.
Foreign Workers
ABB employs about 200 people in the kingdom, Buelle said by telephone from Khobar. Mahmoud Shaban, ABB's manager in Saudi Arabia, declined to comment when called on his mobile.
The British ambassador to Saudi Arabia and two consular staff are on the way to Yanbu to gather information and will arrive later today, the U.K. Foreign Office said.
The U.K. government advises Britons against ``all but essential'' travel to Saudi Arabia as ``terrorists remain determined to carry out further attacks,'' an advisory on the Foreign Office Web site says,
U.S. State Department officials are also traveling to the area, Susan Pittman, a department spokeswoman said.
About 100,000 Westerners, mainly Americans and Britons, live in Saudi Arabia and work in industries such as oil and banking. The kingdom relies on them for their management and technical expertise.
The number of Britons living in the kingdom has fallen by more than 15 percent to about 25,000 since 2001 because companies have found it more difficult to recruit, according to the U.K. embassy. Almost a quarter of Saudi Arabia's 23 million people are foreign residents, according to Samba Financial Group, the country's No. 2 bank.
Oil Center
Yanbu, on Saudi Arabia's Red Sea coast, is the country's second-largest industrial city, created to house petrochemical and other mainly petroleum-related industries. The city, about 220 miles (350 kilometers) north of Jeddah, is home to more than 30 plants and 60,000 residents, according to the Arab Oil & Gas Directory.
``They are striking at the heart of the Saudi economy, where one of the biggest petrochemical complexes in the world is situated,'' former U.K. ambassador Harris said in a telephone interview.
Exxon Mobil and Royal Dutch/Shell Group are among foreign companies that have joint-venture plants in Yanbu, according to the directory. The city also houses one of the country's crude oil terminals, with a capacity of 6.6 million barrels a day, the directory says.
``Normal operations continue in all company installations,'' said a spokesman for state-owned Saudi Aramco, the world's largest oil company by output. ``Security measures are in effect and on alert at all times,'' said the spokesman, who didn't want to be identified.
To contact the reporter on this story:
James Cordahi, in Dubai on, or at cherifcord@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor on this story:
Catherine Hickley in Berlin on, or at chickley@bloomberg.net
Last Updated: May 1, 2004 15:26 EDT
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