Affect by the Equifax data breach? Here's how to find out if you're part of the settlement - WPSD Local 6

July 26, 2019

One way to look at the Equifax data breach is if you weren’t affected, your neighbor probably was. Almost half the U.S. population can file a claim to receive part of the $700 million attempt to make things right. Here’s what you need to do to find out if you’re part of the settlement.

The stolen information included names, birth dates and social security numbers. If you were affected, you should have received an e-mail but that was a couple of years ago. If you don’t remember, search your email for the name “Equifax”. If you don’t see anything you could still be affected and eligible for the payment.

There will be other emails sent to people part of the class-action lawsuit in the coming weeks plus full-page advertisements and announcements on social media.

There’s also the website, www.equifaxbreachsettlement.com where you can check for your name or email address. At the moment it isn’t active but will be when a judge approves the settlement.

You can also call this number 1-833-759-2982. When I did, I spoke to a real person in a matter of seconds who told me I should check back with that website Thursday or Friday. When I told her I had not signed up to be part of the class-action lawsuit, I was told it was not too late to make a claim and that I should call back later this week.

What could you get out of this? At the very least, free credit monitoring for at least 3 years. If you’ve already paid for credit monitoring, you can get $125 cash payment. If you’ve spent time dealing with stolen information or identity theft, Equifax will reimburse you $25 an hour up to $500 total. You’ll have to jump through hoops to prove your work.

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2019-07-27 04:18:30Z
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T-Mobile-Sprint Merger Is Approved by Justice Dept., Clearing Major Hurdle - The New York Times

The Justice Department on Friday approved the merger of T-Mobile and Sprint, the third- and fourth-largest wireless companies in the United States, moving the deal one crucial step closer to completion years after the two carriers first explored joining forces.

Under the terms of the deal, T-Mobile, the larger of the two companies, would pay $26 billion to acquire Sprint, which has struggled in recent years. The combination would reshape the wireless industry and create a formidable rival to AT&T (No. 1 in the United States) and Verizon (No. 2).

The merger required the approval of the Justice Department, which enforces antitrust law, and the Federal Communications Commission, which oversees the telecommunications industry. In May, Ajit Pai, the F.C.C. chairman, signaled his support after the companies committed to investing in rural broadband service and the fifth generation of cellular networks, known as 5G.

The deal could still hit a snag if the companies fail to overcome a lawsuit brought by several states that are trying to block the transaction. Attorneys general for 13 states say the combination could harm consumers by leaving them with higher cellphone bills.

The Justice Department gave its approval after the two companies overcame a final obstacle by agreeing to sell off parts of their businesses to pay-TV operator Dish to create a potential fourth major player in the wireless industry. The agency also corralled the attorneys general of five states not party to the lawsuit into the agreement.

Makan Delrahim, the head of the Justice Department’s antitrust division, said in a statement that under the agreement’s terms, “Dish is in a unique position to succeed.”

In the smaller deal, T-Mobile and Sprint this week reached a $5 billion agreement with Dish to hand over Sprint’s prepaid wireless businesses, including Boost Mobile, which is popular with lower-income customers, and some of its airwaves, known as spectrum. With the acquisitions, Dish will have a chance to become a fourth major wireless carrier.

John Legere, T-Mobile’s voluble chief executive, is poised to become the leader of the combined company, which will use the T-Mobile name. He has been the deal’s primary pitchman, lobbying legislators and promoting the merger with a former rival to his 6.2 million Twitter followers. T-Mobile’s majority owner, the German telecommunications giant Deutsche Telekom, will own a non-controlling but significant stake in the newly merged business.

T-Mobile and Sprint have made their pledge to build out 5G technology, which brings faster-than-broadband speeds through the air, a centerpiece of their argument for why the merger should be approved. The companies have said they would have a more difficult time making progress in that area as separate businesses.

In addition to extending reliable internet access to rural areas, 5G is expected to fuel the development of autonomous cars and other so-called moonshot projects. President Trump has argued that the technology is critical to national security, and he has cited its importance in his administration’s crackdown on the Chinese telecommunications giant Huawei.

The combination of T-Mobile and Sprint would create a company with more than 100 million customers, putting it in a league with AT&T, with over 150 million customers, and Verizon, with about 118 million.

Mr. Legere, 61, and his counterpart at Sprint, the executive chairman Marcelo Claure, 48, embarked on a lobbying offensive after announcing that they had reached a deal to merge the companies more than a year ago.

Mr. Legere has made numerous visits to the F.C.C. and the Justice Department, documenting his activity on social media. A month after the proposed merger was announced, Mr. Claure was a host of a fund-raiser for Representative Marsha Blackburn, a Tennessee Republican who was running for Senate. Ms. Blackburn, a longtime supporter of the telecommunications industry, was elected to the Senate in November.

Several lawmakers have expressed misgivings over Mr. Legere’s Washington visits, noting the dozens of times that he and other T-Mobile executives have stayed at the Trump International Hotel. The companies have denied doing anything inappropriate to curry favor with federal officials.

The approval of the Justice Department and the F.C.C. does not mean the merger is a done deal. Last month, in a rare move, attorneys general for 13 states and the District of Columbia created a new obstacle in the transaction’s path when they sued to block it. The action opens a potential new front in regulation beyond Washington’s purview.

Led by New York and California, the states argue that the merger would lead to higher prices for consumers, because it would reduce the number of major wireless providers. The Justice Department’s approval is based on the same concern, and the moving to establish Dish as a fourth carrier is meant to address that issue.

Critics contend that the agreement with Dish does not really create a legitimate competitor because the satellite service would effectively be marketing T-Mobile’s service under a different banner. The Boost service Dish would own would only give it over nine million customers, and it would have to operate on T-Mobile’s network. The cable operators Charter and Comcast have a similar arrangement with Verizon.

Over time, Dish could create a fully owned network using the spectrum it owns plus the newly acquired airwaves from T-Mobile. But building that kind of infrastructure is costly, and Dish has been steadily losing subscribers to cheaper streaming services.

Senator Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota, a Democratic candidate for presidential, issued a statement on Friday saying that the agreement does not do enough to protect consumers and fails to address the concerns she raised with the Justice Department when it was first announced.

“It looked like a bad deal then, and it looks like a bad deal today, despite the parties’ promises and this proposed consent decree,” she said.

The Justice Department’s agreement relies almost entirely on the future actions of Dish, a company with a history of violations. The business is controlled by the billionaire Charles Ergen, an expert poker player and tough negotiator. Dish will be a party to the agreement and would be subject to millions of dollars in fines if it fails to build out its cellular service, Mr. Delrahim said.

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2019-07-26 15:39:04Z
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Donald Trump Says Apple Won't Be Granted Tariff Relief on Mac Pro Parts Made in China: 'Make Them in The USA,... - Mac Rumors

ugh.

The president cannot spell waiver correctly.

The dozens of people who were going to buy this are disappointed.

But really...good. Keep the jobs in the USA

good call

Hey Apple makes billions and pays almost no taxes. They can afford to make things here in America

Trump is a clown.

Having said that -- good. Keep the jobs in America. Pay American wages. Operate under American labor / safety laws. Abide by American environmental regulations.

Why would Tim Apple even think they would be granted a tariff waiver?

The infrastructure to build in the US simply doesn't exist.

Apple is the wealthiest company on this planet, things can happen if they want to do it.

I think the people (aka companies) who were going to buy this can afford the tariff premium. ... And no I don't really care for our President's policies.

Non-issue.

“Waver” lol

ugh.

The president cannot spell waiver correctly.

LOL

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2019-07-26 14:26:00Z
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Our economy continues to beat the odds. Why is Trump threatening it? - Washington Examiner

For the ninth straight quarter in a row, this past quarter's gross domestic product grew by over 2%. At 2.1%, our Q2 GDP growth surpassed expert expectations, which ranged around the 1.8% mark, even as it fell from our first quarter growth of 3.1%.

Although no quarter of the Trump administration has reached the peaks of quarters or annualized GDP growth of Obama's presidency, it has avoided his pitfalls of quarters and annualized negative GDP growth. (However, today's Bureau of Economic Analysis report did make some major downward revisions to 2018 economic growth rates.) Somehow despite the president's bombastic trade policy and dovish badgering of the Federal Reserve, consumer confidence has remained apace and kept the economy afloat.

Most notable about the BEA's GDP report is the global backdrop it was launched against. China's GDP has sunk to its lowest in more than 25 years thanks to Trump's trade war, and yet another decade of low growth, low employment, and low inflation have pulled Europe back in reaching distance of yet another recession.

Naturally, the United States continues to stand out as the last great anchor of the global economy. Given Trump's capitalist instincts on domestic industry and regulation and his Luddite instincts on international trade, this makes sense. What doesn't is why he'd want to sabotage success partially of his own creation.

As the BEA notes, consumers, not investors, kept the economy growing this quarter, as inventory investment, exports, and nonresidential structures, equipment, and software investment all fell. Even personal saving, which translates into investment, slumped from $1.37 trillion to $1.32 trillion.

Last month's surprisingly good jobs report shows that employers aren't letting manufacturing fears get the best of them just yet, and the longest bull market in history continues to catapult the markets into record highs as investors await with baited breath for the Fed to slash the federal funds rate. Yet all of this raises the question as to why Trump, backed by the entire stock market, wishes to play poor politics with bad monetary policy and threaten the very raison d'etre of his presidency.

In the past half century, our federal funds rate has plummeted below 2% just twice, with the rate skyrocketing into the double digits during the monetary salvation of Paul Volcker after the stagflation of the Carter administration and the growth and recovery of the Reagan administration. The Fed's recent rate hikes have brought interest rates back within the (extreme) lower bounds of historic interest rates, not above them. If anything, the Fed has remained dangerously dovish. Their refusal to raise interest rates more during the stable economic growth and half-century record-low unemployment of the Trump administration robs America of its best tool to stabilize the economy in case of a recession — which, statistically speaking, we're years overdue for.

We've defied the global odds and temporal ones. If the leveraged loan bubble bursts and derails us into a recession, we're already screwed in our ability to cut historically low interest rates and infuse cash back into the economy. Given Japan and Europe's negative interest rates, we can't bet on anyone else on the planet to save us. Trump ought to take the victory and scale back his pressure on the Fed and keep this trade war focused and brief.

Our economy's been lucky this far. But we can't bet on consumers bailing us out forever.

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https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/our-economy-continues-to-beat-the-odds-why-is-trump-threatening-it

2019-07-26 13:39:00Z
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U.S. Growth Slows to 2.1% as Trade Tensions Weigh on Businesses - Investing.com

© Reuters. U.S. Growth Slows to 2.1% as Trade Tensions Weigh on Businesses

(Bloomberg) -- U.S. economic growth slowed in the second quarter by less than forecast as consumer spending topped estimates, though weaker business investment and exports underscored the risks spurring the Federal Reserve toward an interest-rate cut next week.

Gross domestic product expanded at a 2.1% percent annualized rate, according to Commerce Department data Friday that topped forecasts for 1.8%. That follows an unrevised 3.1% advance in first quarter and updated data showing growth last year was slower than previously reported.

Consumer spending, the biggest part of the economy, increased 4.3%, while government spending climbed 5% and offered the biggest boost in a decade. Nonresidential investment fell 0.6% for the first drop since 2015 and residential decreased for a sixth straight period.

The mixed report highlights how President Donald Trump -- who's repeatedly called for lower interest rates -- is enjoying signs of a solid economy while his trade war with China weighs on the expansion and fuels uncertainty for global businesses. Revised data released Friday showed the economy missed Trump's 3% growth goal in 2018, after previous data had showed it matching.

Friday’s report showed fresh evidence that trade is weighing on the expansion as exports dropped 5.2% while imports rose just 0.1%. Overall growth on a year-over-year basis slowed to 2.3%, the weakest pace in two years.

Economic Risks

The report on the broadest measure of all goods and services comes as Fed is expected to cut interest rates next week by a quarter point. The GDP report isn’t likely to sway that outcome, though officials are likely to consider the weakness in trade and corporate investment as risks to the economic outlook.

Excluding the volatile trade and inventories components of GDP, final sales to domestic purchasers increased at a 3.5% pace, the best in a year. Economists monitor this measure for a better sense of underlying demand. Inventories were a drag on growth, subtracting 0.86 point from growth after a 0.53 point contribution in the prior period.

The Fed's preferred underlying inflation measure, the personal consumption expenditures price index excluding food and energy, firmed to a 1.8% annual pace in the quarter, closer to policy makers' 2% objective.

The expansion, which this month became the longest on record, is cooling as the effects of the 2018 fiscal stimulus fade and global growth slows, with the International Monetary Fund again cutting its estimate earlier this week. A stronger dollar and new tariffs are also making it less desirable to do business with the U.S.

Other data have highlighted the cooler pace of growth, with manufacturing figures showing tepid conditions and bellwether Caterpillar Inc (NYSE:). reporting a lackluster second quarter. A U.S. measure of production has declined in consecutive quarters, the common definition of recession, while a gauge of global factory activity contracted in May and June.

Orders Gaining

A more upbeat report Thursday showed business-equipment orders jumped in June by the most since early 2018, signaling company investment may be regaining momentum that would help support the economy in coming months.

Consumer sentiment is near historical highs and robust spending is backstopping growth. Retail sales have advanced for four straight months, the longest streak since early 2018, indicating Americans are benefiting from a tight labor market and elevated wages. Coffee chain Starbucks Corp (NASDAQ:). on Thursday said U.S. comparable-store sales soared 7% from a year earlier.

Trump targets growth of about 3%, though economists see the pace of growth remaining under 2% through at least the end of next year. Revised GDP figures released Friday show 2.5% growth on a fourth-quarter-to-fourth-quarter basis last year. That compares with a previous estimate of 3% and an upwardly revised 2.8% in 2017, the first year of Trump’s presidency.

Government spending got a boost from a 15.9% surge in federal nondefense expenditures, which contributed the most in two decades to growth. That was boosted by delayed compensation for some federal employees after the government shutdown that ended in January.

©2019 Bloomberg L.P.

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2019-07-26 12:32:00Z
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GDP slows to 2.1% in second-quarter but beats expectations thanks to strong consumer - CNBC

A man using an angle grinder on a steel piece at a metal fabrication company on August 7, 2018 in Orange County, New York.

Waring Abbott | Michael Ochs Archives | Getty Images

Growth decelerated in the second quarter, but not by as much as Wall Street thought, as tariffs and a global slowdown weighed on the U.S. economy, the Commerce Department reported Friday.

GDP increased 2.1%, down from 3.1% from the first quarter, the weakest increase since the first quarter of 2017 as President Donald Trump took office. Dow Jones estimates were for 2% growth.

However, the underlying numbers in the report seemed to take steam out of the recession fears that have been much of the talk among economists and policymakers at the Federal Reserve.

"The recession talk was always overstated," chief investment strategist at State Street Global Advisors. "Those that were doing the Chicken Little, the sky is falling, we're headed for recession talk were clearly early in that assessment. The economic data continue to suggest that the economy isn't near recession, at least in the next year or so."

Consumer and business spending helped propel GDP in the April-to-June period, while a pullback in business investment weighed on the number. Personal consumption expenditures rose 4.5%, the best performance in four and a half years. At the same time, gross private domestic investment tumbled 5.5%, the worst since Q4 in 2015 as spending on structures slumped 10.6%.

Worries over the back-and-forth tariff battle between the U.S. and China has been a major driver of business sentiment, with executives expressing concern, both in surveys and 

The report comes amid growing concern that the weakening growth hitting much of the world's economy is spilling over into the U.S. While consumer activity has been strong, manufacturing growth has slumped recently and housing remains a weak spot.

Federal Reserve policymakers have been expressing concern about a potential slowdown and are expected to approve a quarter percentage point rate cut at their policy meeting next week. The Fed currently targets its benchmark funds rate in a range between 2.25% and 2.5%, but markets are pricing in a 100% chance of a cut and about a 56% probability of two more reductions before the end of the year, according to the CME.

While central bankers worry over rates, corporate profits have proven more resilient than expected, and analysts believe the economy, though slowing, remains strong enough to support earnings. Also, Goldman Sachs said in a report earlier this week that recent economic data is showing improvement, and the bank's strategists expect GDP to rebound to around 2% in the second half.

Get the market reaction here.

This is breaking news. Check back here for updates.

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https://www.cnbc.com/2019/07/26/us-gdp-second-quarter-2019.html

2019-07-26 12:30:58Z
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Stocks - U.S. Futures Jump After Twitter Earnings Beat - Investing.com

© Reuters.

Investing.com - U.S. futures jumped on Friday, as upbeat earnings from Alphabet (NASDAQ:), Intel (NASDAQ:), Starbucks (NASDAQ:) and Twitter (NYSE:) helped boost market sentiment.

Twitter gained 4.1% in premarket trading after it an 18% jump in revenue during the second quarter, with diluted earnings per share of $1.43 on net income of $1.1 billion.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:), parent company of Google, rose 8.8% after its second-quarter earnings beat forecasts, The company also announced a $25 billion stock buyback and played down fears of increased regulatory scrutiny.

Intel (NASDAQ:) surged 4.9% after it increased its revenue forecast.

rose 32 points or 0.4% by 7:05 AM ET (11:05 GMT), while gained 80 points or 0.3% and were up 8 points or 0.3%.

Elsewhere on the earnings front, Starbucks (NASDAQ:) was set to open at a new all-time high, jumping 6.2% after posting its strongest comparable sales in three years.

By contrast, Amazon.com (NASDAQ:) fell 1.6% after its profit missed consensus and it said income would slump in the third quarter due to increased spending on one-day delivery, raising the cost of sales.

McDonald’s (NYSE:) is also in focus as it releases its results before the morning bell.

Meanwhile, Apple (NASDAQ:) inched up 0.3% after it confirmed it is purchasing Intel’s modem business in a deal valued at $1 billion, while Sprint (NYSE:) gained 3.5% after reports that the Department of Justice is in talks with states to gain their approval for its merger with T-Mobile (NASDAQ:).

On the economic front, U.S. (GDP) is released at 8:30 AM ET (12:30 GMT). The data are expected to show a slowdown in annualized growth to 1.8%, its slowest since 2017. The numbers may also influence the Federal Reserve's deliberations when it makes its monetary policy decision on July 31.

In commodities, gained 0.8% to $56.49 a barrel. rose 0.3% to $1,418.65 a troy ounce, while the , which measures the greenback against a basket of six major currencies, hit a two-month high earlier in the day before edging back to 97.657.

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2019-07-26 11:08:00Z
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