Don’t shed a tear for credit card companies. No matter what the headlines say about their parent entities, they’re mostly doing just fine…and eager to earn your business.

If you’re one of those highly empathetic people who tend to cry at sad movies (and, if you are, you really need to stock up on handkerchiefs before you see War Horse) then you may have been shedding tears for some of your favorite credit card companies. If so, you can dry your eyes. The parent companies of Chase and Citi may have published less than impressive fourth-quarter results recently, but it’s not their card divisions that are causing the problems. They’re doing just fine.

Credit card companies flourishing

Take the Chase card division as an example. According to a Jan. 13 press release from JP Morgan Chase, it issued new credit cards to 8.5 million people in 2011. Meanwhile, its charge-offs (when uncollectible debt is written off the books, and passed on to collection agencies and the like) were just 3.27 percent in the fourth quarter of last year, down from 5.73 percent in 2010, and its delinquency rate (when customers are 30 days or more behind with payments) was 2.32 percent compared with 3.23 percent the previous year.

Those may be pretty good figures, but they don’t mean that executives at Chase and elsewhere have room for complacency. By some measures, business is down. However, look on the bright side: it’s card issuers’ responses to the troubling aspects of their results that are creating some good news for consumers like you.

Credit card interest rates down, offers up

In particular, card issuers would love their customers to get back into the habit of carrying forward balances. That may explain at least in part why credit card interest rates have begun edging down. At the time of writing, IndexCreditCards.com’s rate monitor puts the average for all sorts of cards at 16.65 percent, which is still high, but a little lower than it has been recently.

At the same time, many card issuers are mailing out many more credit card offers than they have in recent years. Chase says its non-interest expenses shot up by 8 percent ($158 million) from the previous year in the division that manages cards, and attributed much of that to increased marketing costs.

Rewards credit cards boost cash back bonuses

It’s not just in terms of the number of solicitations mailed that card issuers are making big efforts. The quality of each credit card offer is also tending to improve.

In particular, the number of enhancements to rewards credit cards‘ programs in recent months has been remarkable, as the most casual trawl through the IndexCreditCards.com news blog would reveal. At the same time, sign-up bonuses, which provide a one-off cash gift for new cardholders, are also in evidence. The Chase Freedom Visa Card and the Citi Dividend Platinum Select Visa Card are two current examples, both offering $200 cash back after first use of the card.

If you have good credit, you’re in the enviable position of being in the target market for credit card companies that are very keen to have your business. So now’s the time to dry your eyes, and seek out the best deals you possibly can.

How’s your post-holiday financial hangover? Let’s hope you don’t have one at all, but, if you do and your credit score’s healthy, you might well be thinking of exploring balance transfer credit cards. Many of these offer a break of 6, 12, 15 or even 18 months from high credit card interest rates through 0-percent APR introductory periods on the amount you transfer.

Balance transfer credit cards: two caveats

Before you get too excited about that weight being lifted from your shoulders, you need to heed three warnings:

1. As with most credit, you can’t always get it if you really, really need it. Credit card companies aren’t crazy (mostly), and they won’t lend to you if they think you are already in financial trouble. The stronger your credit report, the better your chances of approval for the card you want.
2. Don’t see balance transfer credit cards as additional lines of credit. It’s a classic mistake to transfer a balance and then run up others on the cards you zeroed. Instead, use the vacation from interest payments to more quickly pay down as much debt as you can, including that on the new card.
3. Most of these cards charge a one-off fee (often 3 percent) on the amount you transfer. That’s usually added to your new balance, and it’s rarely enough to undermine the economics of the deal, but unless you choose one of the fee-free offers described below, you ought to build it into your calculations. Use one of IndexCreditCard.com’s credit card calculators to model your savings and plan how you’re going to pay down your balance.

Balance transfer credit cards without the balance transfer fee

Sometimes, credit card companies run special promotions during which they waive balance transfer fees. They’re not always available, but you should invariably check for them before you apply for one of these credit cards. Right now, there are at least two such offers, and both are time-limited.

Discover has signaled that its offer is likely to expire on Jan. 31, so don’t delay if you’re considering making an application. Here are some of the headline points for this offer, which is on the Discover More Card:

• No balance transfer fee, annual fee or rewards redemption fees.
• Introductory period of 12 months during which there’s a zero-percent APR on both balance transfers and purchases.
• Discover’s usual rewards program, with cash back that can be earned based on eligible purchase categories.

Of course, before you make any credit card application, you should comparison shop online. If you were to do so at the time of writing, you’d find that Chase is offering a similar deal on its Slate from Chase card. There are no balance transfer or annual fees, and the introductory 0-percent APR lasts for 12 months if you have excellent credit, or six months if you have average credit.

Again, this offer is flagged as being available only for a limited time. So if you’re looking for a holiday hangover cure, you’d better act now.

The good folks of Basking Ridge, N.J., must have been choking on the stench of burning rubber last week. The source of the noxious fumes? The headquarters of Verizon Wireless within which had been performed one of the most spectacular U-turns in recent commercial history. On Dec. 30, just days after announcing its plans to institute a $2 convenience fee on online or telephone single payments using debit and credit cards, Dan Mead, the company’s president and chief executive officer, issued a statement:

At Verizon, we take great care to listen to our customers. Based on their input, we believe the best path forward is to encourage customers to take advantage of the best and most efficient options, eliminating the need to institute the fee at this time.

Credit cards and convenience fees

The idea of charging convenience fees for debit and credit card use isn’t entirely new. There’s a good chance you already do so if you use plastic to pay your power bills or for some government services. And back in June 2011, the IndexCreditCards.com news blog reported that UCLA had started charging a 2.75 percent fee to those students who choose to pay their tuition and fees, housing costs, parking permits and so on using certain credit cards.

None of this is good news for credit card companies, which are anxious to encourage people to use their plastic on as many occasions as possible. That’s so they maximize their revenues from the “interchange” fees (the cut of the transaction value) that they receive every time a card is swiped.

Indeed, both MasterCard and Visa ban the levying of supplementary charges (sometimes called “checkout fees”) for card use in their general merchant agreements, and encourage customers to report retailers and others who try to tack them on. What isn’t banned is offering a discount to those who pay by cash, check or PIN debit card. According to Visa’s website:

Retailers can encourage their customers to use other forms of payment, such as cash and checks, and can discount for PIN debit and cash and checks provided that the offer is made to all respective buyers.

Visa also reminds customers that it’s illegal to charge checkout fees for credit card use in most circumstances in 10 states: California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Kansas, Maine, Massachusetts, New York, Oklahoma, and Texas.

Credit cards remain a good way to pay

Given half a chance, many merchants would probably love to cover the cost of processing credit card transactions by levying checkout fees. But it’s unlikely that many CEOs are going to set themselves up for a repeat performance of Dan Mead’s climbdown any time soon. So maybe Verizon has done cardholders (and credit card companies) a favor by deterring others who might otherwise have been similarly tempted to challenge the status quo.

It now looks close to certain: the 2011 holiday season was the time when many Americans once again fell in love with their credit cards, at least according to a Dec. 27 report in The Washington Post.

Credit card use “surges”

The Post’s piece cited support from two sources for its contention. First is — appropriately enough — First Data, a research company that tracks how consumers make payments. It found that, compared with the same period in 2010, credit card purchases increased by 7 percent in November, and then “surged” again in the first part of December. And it went on to quote Ed Ferrell, director of the Consumer Reports national research center:

If past behavior is any predictor, the closer you get to Dec. 25 the more likely you’re running into that store and buying whatever you can. Plastic really starts flying more.

The second source was an earlier study by Consumer Reports itself. This found that, although the number of consumers who said they were planning to use credit cards over the holiday season remained steady compared with last year, the amount they intended to charge to those cards had increased by 6 percent. On average, respondents thought they’d add $756 to their card balances this year.

Credit card debt remains an unknown

Of course, a large proportion of those using plastic are likely to pay down their balances in full when their next monthly statement falls due. But some won’t, and it’s the number of those that credit card companies and other industry observers will be watching carefully.

Stand by for close scrutiny of data from many private and public bodies as they report over the coming weeks, and especially of the Federal Reserve’s figures for total credit card debt, which are due to be released in early January for November’s balances, and early February for December’s.

Credit card debt and consumer confidence

Two questions many people are likely to ask themselves when they come to decide how much they should reduce their holiday card balances are:

1. How secure do I feel in my job?
2. How confident am I in my financial prospects?

The answers to both these may be more cheerful now than they have been recently. Everyone knows that the unemployment rate has at last begun to fall, and the optimism that comes with this was reflected in The Conference Board Consumer Confidence Index, which was published Dec. 27. Lynn Franco, director of the Board’s consumer research center, observed in a statement that day:

Looking ahead, consumers are more optimistic that business conditions, employment prospects, and their financial situations will continue to get better. While consumers are ending the year in a somewhat more upbeat mood, it is too soon to tell if this is a rebound from earlier declines or a sustainable shift in attitudes.

Credit card interest rates a factor

People who are considering carrying forward balances for the first time since the credit crunch should bear in mind one factor beyond their immediate prospects: the credit card interest rates they pay may be higher than they used to be. Right now, the IndexCreditCards.com rate monitor puts the average for all cards at 16.71 percent, while those for rewards credit cards average 17.58 percent.

It’s that higher rate that lies behind a piece of advice that’s oft-repeated here: charge to rewards credit cards only those purchases that you can clear at the end of the current billing cycle. Everything else should go on low interest credit cards.

“How much interest will I pay?”

Of course, even relatively high rates are unlikely to prove a serious problem for those thinking of paying down their holiday spending over two or three months. But anyone planning to carry credit card debt over the long term should probably take the costs of doing so seriously. So, if you’re in that position, why not check out this site’s credit card calculators, which can answer a range of questions, including “How much interest will I pay?“

Prepaid credit cards are clearly on the upswing. According to a U.S. senator’s website, Mercator Advisory Group  reckons that the amount of money loaded onto “open loop” prepaid cards that you can use wherever American Express, MasterCard and Visa are accepted (depending on the card) is going to increase to $233.8 billion in 2012 from $60.4 billion in 2009 — nearly a fourfold increase over three years. That’s a lot of dough.

And you can see why prepaid credit cards are so popular. Anyone with a little upfront cash can get approved for one, so they’re ideal for youngsters and those with badly damaged credit. And they can be a great way to avoid credit card debt or overdrafts: you can only spend your own money. Once the cash you’ve preloaded runs out, the card stops working.

Prepaid credit card pitfalls

If only that were the whole story, it would be easy to endorse prepaid cards as a panacea for so many ills. But it isn’t. On Dec. 19, Sen. Robert Menendez (D-N.J.) highlighted a number of issues:

1. If your prepaid card is lost or stolen, you may stand to lose the balance that remained on it.
2. If your card issuer goes bankrupt, you could similarly lose that balance.
3. Many cards come with horrifically high hidden fees.

As Menendez notes on his Senate website:

This season, its [sic] hidden fees that are making for a Blue Christmas. Unsuspecting consumers are finding out the hard way that prepaid cards often give you much less than the dollar amount you load onto them thanks to unnecessary fees. We need to ensure that families who rely on prepaid cards are not surprised by hidden charges.

To counter these issues, Sen. Menendez is proposing the Prepaid Card Consumer Protection Act, which would require:

1. Comprehensive disclosure of all fees before the card is purchased
2. Limits on the fees that can be levied
3. Protections if a card is lost or stolen
4. FDIC cover, so money wouldn’t be lost if an issuer goes bankrupt

With luck, such regulation could prevent repeats of a story told by The New York Times a couple of years ago: When Floridian Damon Saxton tried to access money from his prepaid card using an ATM he accidentally hit the wrong keys while he was entering his PIN. His card issuer charged him $2.95 “for a declined ATM transaction.” So he called the customer service center to complain. His pleas fell on deaf ears, but he was charged a further $1.95 for the privilege of calling.

Secured credit cards have advantages over prepaid

If your credit history is too damaged to qualify for an unsecured credit card, then a secured credit card may be a better option for you than a prepaid card. These provide many of the statutory and other protections that mainstream credit cards offer. IndexCreditCards.com recently published an article “Best and worst secured credit cards for 2012″ which teases out some of the differences between these cards.

Here’s an interesting question. What proportion of the millions of credit card agreements taken on each year by consumers have been properly read and fully understood before they were signed? There are no prizes for guessing because its highly unlikely that anyone knows, but your blogger suspects that the percentage is tiny. Actually, he suspects that you could count the number on the fingers of one hand, but he’s a cynic.

Credit card contracts impenetrable

Of course, everyone knows that you shouldn’t sign anything that you haven’t read, but that piece of wisdom tends to go out the window when people make credit card applications. Most just cross their fingers that the agreement doesn’t contain outrageous terms, and anyway know that the chances of their successfully negotiating any variation in the standard-form contract are negligible. So nearly all of us simply sign and hope for the best.

Now all that could be about to change. On Dec. 7, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), a federal regulator, unveiled a draft credit card agreement that it hopes will become a template for future contracts. By comparison with existing documents it’s unrecognizable:

1. It’s short: just 1,100 words across two pages, rather than the 5,000 or so that current contracts average.
2. It’s easy to read: no long words or incomprehensible legal jargon — just plain English.
3. It’s simple to navigate: you can find everything you need to know easily, thanks to its easy-on-the-eye layout.

More than just credit card rates

The top half of the first page concerns different credit card rates and other costs that apply in different circumstances: balance transfers, cash advances, foreign transaction fees, introductory APRs and so on. The lower half has four headings:

1. What do I have to pay and when?
2. What if I pay late?
3. Special promotions
4. How is interest calculated?

Turn over, and there are details of the circumstances in which credit card rates and other charges can change, followed by “Additional Information,” which includes:

1. The company’s rights
2. The consumers’ rights
3. How disputes should be resolved
4. Other terms and conditions
5. Privacy

Credit card companies cautiously welcoming

Credit card companies aren’t always welcoming of government interference in their businesses, but their initial reaction to this suggestion hasn’t been wholly adverse. True, some are concerned that a lack of legalese in their contracts could open them up to expensive litigation. But this was how Kenneth Clayton, chief counsel at the American Bankers Association, greeted the CFPB’s proposal in a statement:

For more than 20 years, the banking industry has strongly supported efforts to provide consumers with a short, easy-to-understand summary of their credit card agreement. The model released by the Bureau is a good first step, but could be made even shorter, as well as less susceptible to costly lawsuits and the higher consumer prices that come from them. We look forward to working with the Bureau to ensure disclosures provide exactly what our customers need and want to know, while maintaining consumer access to competition and choice in the marketplace.

Maybe some day soon virtually all of us are going to understand the card contracts we sign.

On July 21, the new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau opened its doors for business, and at the same time launched a portal (via a call center and snail mail as well as online) through which consumers could complain about their credit card companies. In spite of that launch being reported on the IndexCreditCards.com news blog, some people may remain ignorant of the service’s existence, a possibility that might appear likely given that it received only 5,074 complaints up to Nov. 15.

Top credit card complaints

The CFPB broke down complaints into 33 categories (including one called “other”), so it gives us a chance to see the things about credit card companies that bother people most. Perhaps surprisingly, only three of these each made up over 10 percent of the total:

1. Billing disputes: 13.4 percent
2. Credit card rates: 11.0 percent
3. Identity theft/fraud/embezzlement: 10.8 percent

The fourth largest category was that “other” one, and no other (other than “other”) accounted for more than 4.4 percent of all complaints. One interesting observation is the low levels at which the three fee-related categories (late fee, overlimit fee and other fee) appear. When you add them all together, they make up less than 8 percent of all complaints. Before the Credit Card Act was implemented, you might have expected the ultra-high penalty fees that issuers used to charge to have topped the list.

Credit card interest rates

At first sight, consumers’ beefs with credit card rates seem strange. We all know what rates we have to pay on our cards, so what’s the problem? Unfortunately, the CFPB doesn’t provide an answer, but it may be that penalty rates are the issue. These can be triggered by late payments, and often result in a doubling of the APR that a consumer is used to paying. You can see someone being outraged if such a hike were to be imposed (and one usually would be) after they’d provided their credit card issuer with a perfectly reasonable and innocent explanation for a one-off slip.

Of course, credit card interest rates could easily become an increasingly common cause of complaint in the future. Most credit cards today have variable rates, and when these eventually begin to climb–and some believe they might do so steeply once the economy gets fully back on its feet–then many who carry forward significant balances could well find themselves suffering real pain.

Balance transfer credit cards

It was encouraging to see that only 83 complaints (1.7 percent of the total) were received concerning balance transfer credit cards or balance transfer fees. Many see these as important tools that can help them head off financial problems before they get too serious, so it’s important they work well.

However, you have to recognize the limitations of the data. If only 83 balance transfer credit cards were to have been issued during the period the figures covered (an incredibly unlikely scenario) then that would mean that every one of them was a cause of complaint. The thing is, we don’t know how many were issued, so we can’t make more than intelligent guesses about how well they’re performing for cardholders.

There is another weakness in the CFPB report: it provides only a snapshot of the period covered. Of course, that’s inevitable for the first data from any tracking study. What will be even more interesting in the future is to watch trends develop. The CFPB, the credit card companies, and you as a cardholder should then be able to identify problem areas of the business as they emerge, and address them. So, for example, you might one day see that complaints concerning cash advance fees have suddenly jumped (they account for only 0.3 percent in the current report), and that might prompt you to check whether your issuers have bumped up their fees recently and, if so, consider switching to a different card.

A truly free market can only exist when all parties have access to full, accurate and timely information. Anything that improves the flow of knowledge, even imperfectly, should surely be welcomed. The CFPB is surely a step in the right direction.

Stand by for a blockbuster Black Friday weekend. Recently, the National Retail Federation (NRF) reported the results of a survey that suggested that half of all Americans (152 million) are planning to make purchases either in-store or online over the three days running from Friday through Sunday. That’s way up on last year, when some 138 million were expected.

Online shopping

How many will venture out and how many will head for their home computers may well depend on the weather and the crowds. Extrapolating from the NRF survey sample, about 74 million are certain to visit stores, while another 77 million say they plan to wait and see how cold it is and how mobbed the malls are.

One thing seems certain, at least according to new research published by comScore on Nov. 23: it’s going to be a bumper year for online sales. Just during the first 20 days of November, retail e-commerce sales reached $9.67 billion, 14 percent up on the $8.47 billion spent during the same period last year. comScore now forecasts that such purchases for the whole 2011 holiday season will top $37.6 billion, 15 percent up on 2010’s equivalent number.

Credit cards and online shopping

Presumably, a large chunk of that will be spent using credit cards. There are at least four reasons why anyone with self-discipline, sound finances and cards (particularly rewards credit cards) should think twice before paying for online purchases any other way:

1. Credit cards provide better statutory protections against fraud and shoddy or wrongly described goods than any other payment method.
2. Many rewards credit cards are currently offering exceptional deals both on the cash and points you can earn and on redemptions.
3. You get an interest-free “loan” between the date you make a purchase and the date you have to settle your next card statement.
4. Many credit cards have built-in protections that can extend warranties and boost your right to return unwanted goods.

Credit card debt and temptation

Of course, those who can’t resist tempting bargains may be better off sticking to debit cards, checks and cash. Writing in the Detroit Free Press on Nov. 24, Susan Torpor gave a sobering example of how those extra impulse purchases can add up–and how they can affect your credit card debt.

Suppose, she suggested, that you charge an extra $25 a day in impulse purchases to your credit cards between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Eve. If you only make minimum payments on the $950 you run up, it should, she calculates, take you six years to clear the debt. And, if your credit card rates average 15 percent (lucky you!), you’re likely to pay $501 in interest charges for the privilege.

No wonder credit card companies are so keen to tempt you with promotions and enhanced rewards this holiday. They want your money.

Nobody could blame you for wanting to bury your head in the sand. Why should you be planning your holiday spending now, when you’ve got Thanksgiving to worry about? But, if you can spare a few minutes, here are some ideas that could put cash back in your pocket. So let’s talk turkey.

Credit card companies and sign-up bonuses

As you probably know by now, credit card companies are currently locked in a desperate battle to win market share. This largely explains the recent rush of enhancements to rewards credit cards. And it may also be behind sign-up bonuses, which card issuers pay on some products simply to say thank you for becoming a new customer and for spending a certain amount on your new plastic.

Right now, at least two cash back credit cards are offering a whopping $200 in sign-up bonuses, and that’s in addition to the usual rewards (up to 5 percent cash back) you would normally receive. But, before we explore those cards, here are two caveats:

1. You’re likely to need excellent credit in order to qualify for either, so don’t bother reading further if you’ve had financial problems recently. It’ll probably only make you feel worse.
2. Deals like these are seductive. Don’t apply if you already have significant credit card debt, or if you’re one of those people who can’t resist temptation when it comes to spending.

Cash back credit cards from Chase

The first of today’s cash back credit cards to offer a $200 sign-up bonus is the Chase Freedom® Visa card. To get the bonus, you have to spend at least $500 within the first three months that you have it, which may not be a problem, given the time of year.

Chase pays 5-percent cash back but only for purchases (capped at $1,500 a quarter) made within revolving categories that change every three months. So, for example, during the current (October-December) quarter, that 5 percent is paid on purchases made in restaurants, department stores and movie theaters, as well as on charitable donations. Generally speaking, you get 1 percent on everything else, though you can get up to 10 percent if you shop at certain retailers through Chase’s online portal.

There’s no annual fee on this card, but interest rates, which are variable, are currently 15.99 percent to 22.99 percent annual percentage rate (APR), depending on your creditworthiness. That isn’t uncompetitive, but it’s hardly generous either. It might be best to charge to this one only purchases that you know you can pay down quickly, and to use low interest credit cards for everything else.

Cash back credit cards from Citi

The second card (only alphabetically) is the Citi® Dividend World MasterCard®. The sign-up bonus deal is precisely the same as Chase’s: $200 back if you spend $500 during the first three months after your account is opened.

And its rewards are very similar too. Its bonus categories also pay 5 percent (1 percent on everything else), and change each quarter. Citi’s choice of categories for the current quarter seems even more seasonally appropriate than Chase’s:

1. Department stores
2. Clothing stores
3. Electronics stores
4. Toy stores

Citi caps the rewards you can earn in any one calendar year at $300, but makes an exception for purchases made through the Citi Bonus Cash Center, where they’re unlimited. Like the Chase card, Citi’s card has no annual fee, and, interestingly enough, both Chase and Citi charge precisely the same credit card rates on these two near-identical products. So the same suggestion applies about not using it for purchases that you can’t pay down quickly.

The fact these two credit cards are so similar may relieve you of one holiday headache: choosing which to apply for. Just toss a coin. Heads you win, tails you win.

This content is not provided or commissioned by any company mentioned in this post. Opinions expressed here are author’s alone and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any such company. This site is compensated by companies referenced in the blog posts through advertising, affiliate programs or otherwise.

Are you one of those people who receive their monthly credit card bills, check the minimum payment required, and then (at least usually) pay only that minimum? If so, you’re a member of quite a big club.

Credit card debt paid down more slowly

Of course, everyone knows that making only minimum payments is a very slow, and, with credit card rates the way they are, a very expensive way of paying down plastic. But, with so many other more immediate demands on household income, it’s understandable that many cardholders choose to take this route, often while promising themselves that they’ll pay off more next month.

New research published in the Journal of Marketing Research suggests that, just by showing the minimum payment required on monthly statements, credit card companies are actually encouraging people to pay down their debt more slowly.

The study, conducted by the Boston College Carroll School of Marketing in conjunction with three English universities, found that for many consumers “including the minimum required payment information on their account statements can reduce the amount they pay each month by as much as 24 percent – about $120 less on a $2,000 balance.”

Linda Salisbury, a Boston College assistant professor, says, “The mere presence of minimum payment information acts like an anchor on borrowers’ repayments, pulling them downward.”

Credit card companies not to blame

Credit card companies have little choice but to show minimum payments. Salisbury explains that “this presents a tricky balancing act for lenders: removing the minimum required payment may increase repayments overall, but it would also put lenders at greater risk of increasing default levels.”

You can see her point. It’s the reason so few restaurants invite diners to pay what they think a meal is worth, and why those that have tried the experiment have tended to pull down their shutters so quickly. Plenty will pay more than necessary to keep the restaurateur in business, but plenty of others will pay way too little. If card issuers effectively made the repayment of credit card debt voluntary, an awful lot of people might not put their hands up.

How much interest will I pay? I don’t care!

The Credit CARD Act of 2009 obliged credit card companies to show on monthly statements the potential cost of interest over the long term, along with different payment scenarios. You might think that giving consumers this additional information would empower them to make smarter choices. But no. Sadly, and surprisingly, the Boston College study found, “Disclosing future interest costs significantly increased the likelihood a cardholder would pay only the minimum required.”