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Powell: Fed on track to slow aid for economy later this year
WASHINGTON: The Federal Reserve will start dialing back its ultra-low-interest rate policies this year as long as hiring continues to improve, Chair Jerome Powell said Friday, signaling the beginning of the end of the Feds extraordinary response to the pandemic recession. Such a move could lead to higher borrowing costs for mortgages, credit cards and business loans. The Fed has been purchasing $120 billion a month in bonds to lower longer-term interest rates and support borrowing and spending. Powells comments indicate the Fed will likely announce a reduction, or tapering, of those purchases sometime in the final three months of the year.
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Stocks rally to records amid relief rates will remain low
NEW YORK: Wall Street rallied to records Friday after the head of the Federal Reserve said its still far from pulling interest rates off the record low that has helped the market soar, even if it does begin dialing back its support for the economy later this year. The S&P 500 rose 0.9%, beating the high it set on Wednesday. In a highly anticipated speech, the Feds chair said one milestone has been reached for the central bank to slow a bond-buying program thats assisting the economy. But he stressed that the move toward eventually raising rates will be a gradual one.
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Chinese regulators to exercise more control over algorithms
BEIJING: Chinese regulators will exercise greater control over the algorithms used by Chinese technology firms to personalize and recommend content, in the latest move in a regulation spree across the internet sector. Chinas internet watchdog on Friday released a draft proposal of algorithm recommendation management regulations. It aims to manage how technology companies use algorithms. The move expands the crackdown on the internet sector in China. Regulators are seeking to strengthen data privacy and curtail anti-competitive practices, in order to curb the outsized influence of technology companies. The planned regulations could affect companies like ByteDance and Alibaba, which use algorithms to offer personalized services to users.
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July US consumer spending ekes up 0.3% as delta threatens
WASHINGTON: Growth in U.S. consumer spending slowed in July to a modest increase of 0.3% while inflation over the past 12 months rose to the fastest pace in three decades. The July increase in spending was down sharply from a 1.1% rise in June, the Commerce Department reported Friday. It was the clearest signal yet that the surge in the delta variant of the coronavirus was having an impact on consumer spending, the driving force in the economy. The report showed that consumer prices over the past 12 months have risen 4.2%, the biggest 12-month gain since a 4.5% increase for the 12 months ending in January 1991. Incomes, which provide the fuel for future spending, rose a solid 1.1% in July reflecting in part the strong job gains seen that month.
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Apple loosens app store payment rules in lawsuit settlement
BERKELEY, Calif.: Apple has agreed to let developers of iPhone apps email their users about cheaper ways to pay for digital subscriptions and media by circumventing a commission system that generates billions of dollars annually for the iPhone maker. The concession announced late Thursday is part of a preliminary settlement of a nearly 2-year-old lawsuit filed on behalf of iPhone app developers in the U.S. It also addresses an issue raised by a federal court judge who is expected to soon issue a decision in a separate case brought by Epic Games, maker of the popular video game Fortnite.
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T-Mobile CEO says truly sorry for hack of 50M users data
BELLEVUE, Wash.: T-Mobile says it has notified nearly all of the millions of customers whose personal data was stolen and that it is truly sorry for the breach. CEO Mike Sievert said in a written statement Friday that the company spends lots of effort to try to stay ahead of criminal hackers but we didnt live up to the expectations we have for ourselves to protect our customers. Knowing that we failed to prevent this exposure is one of the hardest parts of this event. The company disclosed earlier in August that the names, Social Security numbers and information from drivers licenses or other identification of just over 40 million people who applied for T-Mobile credit were exposed in a recent data breach. The same data for about 7.8 million current T-Mobile customers who pay monthly for phone service also appeared to be compromised.
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House panel seeks records from tech companies in riot probe
WASHINGTON: The House panel investigating the riot at the U.S. Capitol issued sweeping document requests on Friday to social media companies, expanding the scope of its investigation as it seeks to examine the events leading to the Jan. 6 insurrection. The requests were issued to technology giants, including Google, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and TikTok, and also to Reddit, Parler, Telegram, 4chan, 8kun and other platforms. The committee asked 15 companies to provide copies of any reviews, studies, reports or analysis about misinformation related to the 2020 election, foreign influence in the election, efforts to stop the election certification and domestic violent extremists associated with efforts to overturn the 2020 election, including the attack on the Capitol.
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The S&P 500 gained 39.37 points, or 0.9%, to 4,509.37. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 242.68 points, or 0.7%, to 35,455.80. The Nasdaq advanced 183.69 points, or 1.2%, to 15,129.50. The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies rose 63.17 points, or 2.9%, to 2,277.15.
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