Thursday, December 15, 2016

IT HAPPENED AGAIN: Yahoo says 1 billion user accounts stolen in what could be biggest hack ever

IT HAPPENED AGAIN: Yahoo says 1 billion user accounts stolen in what could be biggest hack ever

Yahoo CEO Marissa MayerYahoo CEO Marissa Mayer.Reuters/Pascal Lauener
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More than 1 billion Yahoo user accounts — including phone numbers, birthdates, and security questions — may have been stolen by hackers during an attack that took place in August 2013, the company revealed on Wednesday.
The announcement of what could represent the largest hack of all time is a separate incident than the one Yahoo disclosed back in September. In that hack, Yahoo said that at least 500 million user accounts were compromised.
"The company has not been able to identify the intrusion associated with this theft," Yahoo said on Wednesday about the new incident.
News of the breach sent Yahoo shares sliding about 2.5% in after-hours trading on Wednesday.
The revelation of the hack could have implications for the $4.8 billion sale of Yahoo to Verizon, which has yet to close. Yahoo disclosed the previous hack to Verizon only after agreeing to the deal, and Verizon has since said that it considers the hack a material event that could affect the terms and price of the acquisition.
"As we’ve said all along, we will evaluate the situation as Yahoo continues its investigation," Verizon told CNBC on Wednesday, regarding the latest hack.

Forged cookies

With a billion accounts at risk, that would make this the biggest breach of ever — bigger than the Myspace breach of 360 million user accounts and 427 million passwords.
Yahoo said that payment-card data and bank-account information were not stored on the system the company "believes" was affected. But the hackers may have collected a trove of other valuable personal information, such as user names, email addresses, telephone numbers, dates of birth, hashed passwords, and, in some cases, encrypted or unencrypted security questions and answers.
Yahoo said that it now believes an "unauthorized third party accessed the company's proprietary code to learn how to forge cookies." It was not clear which incident the forged cookies related to. But Yahoo said that "the company has connected some of this activity to the same state-sponsored actor believed to be responsible for the data theft the company disclosed on September 22, 2016."

Here's the entire message from Yahoo:

"Yahoo! Inc. (NASDAQ:YHOO) has identified data security issues concerning certain Yahoo user accounts. Yahoo has taken steps to secure user accounts and is working closely with law enforcement.
"As Yahoo previously disclosed in November, law enforcement provided the company with data files that a third party claimed was Yahoo user data. The company analyzed this data with the assistance of outside forensic experts and found that it appears to be Yahoo user data. Based on further analysis of this data by the forensic experts, Yahoo believes an unauthorized third party, in August 2013, stole data associated with more than one billion user accounts. The company has not been able to identify the intrusion associated with this theft. Yahoo believes this incident is likely distinct from the incident the company disclosed on September 22, 2016.
"For potentially affected accounts, the stolen user account information may have included names, email addresses, telephone numbers, dates of birth, hashed passwords (using MD5) and, in some cases, encrypted or unencrypted security questions and answers. The investigation indicates that the stolen information did not include passwords in clear text, payment card data, or bank account information. Payment card data and bank account information are not stored in the system the company believes was affected.
"Yahoo is notifying potentially affected users and has taken steps to secure their accounts, including requiring users to change their passwords. Yahoo has also invalidated unencrypted security questions and answers so that they cannot be used to access an account.
"Separately, Yahoo previously disclosed that its outside forensic experts were investigating the creation of forged cookies that could allow an intruder to access users' accounts without a password. Based on the ongoing investigation, the company believes an unauthorized third party accessed the company's proprietary code to learn how to forge cookies. The outside forensic experts have identified user accounts for which they believe forged cookies were taken or used. Yahoo is notifying the affected account holders, and has invalidated the forged cookies. The company has connected some of this activity to the same state-sponsored actor believed to be responsible for the data theft the company disclosed on September 22, 2016.
"Yahoo encourages users to review all of their online accounts for suspicious activity and to change their passwords and security questions and answers for any other accounts on which they use the same or similar information used for their Yahoo account. The company further recommends that users avoid clicking links or downloading attachments from suspicious emails and that they be cautious of unsolicited communications that ask for personal information. Additionally, Yahoo recommends using Yahoo Account Key, a simple authentication tool that eliminates the need to use a password on Yahooaltogether.
Additional information is available on the Yahoo Account Security Issues FAQs page: https://yahoo.com/security-update.

9-0: Bank of England votes unanimously to leave monetary policy unchanged

9-0: Bank of England votes unanimously to leave monetary policy unchanged

mark carney handsGetty
The bank left its key interest rate unchanged at 0.25%, a record low that has been in place since rates were cut in August following the UK's vote to leave the European Union.
The MPC voted 9-0 in favour of leaving rates unchanged, as well as leaving the bank's quantitative easing programme unchanged at a maximum of £435 billion — a combination of the £375 billion of QE completed before August, and the £60 billion announced post-Brexit vote.
Both decisions were in line with the pre-release forecasts of economists and reflect consensus in the markets.
Anything other than a unanimous vote to leave rates unchanged would have been a significant surprise, and focus is instead on the minutes of the MPC's meeting.
At the December meeting, the BoE reiterated that is has moved away from a bias to more easing (in the form of further rate cuts and QE) and towards a neutral stance, meaning that rates could go either way. That was as a result of better than expected economic data coming out of the UK since the Brexit vote. 
"Earlier in the year, the Committee noted that the path of monetary policy following the referendum on EU membership would depend on the evolution of the prospects for demand, supply, the exchange rate, and therefore inflation.  This remains the case.  Monetary policy can respond, in either direction, to changes to the economic outlook as they unfold to ensure a sustainable return of inflation to the 2% target," the bank's statement said.
The MPC also confirmed the stance that it is willing to allow inflation to run above target in the future if it is required in order to protect jobs and growth, but that there are limits to that overshoot, saying: 
"Equally, there are limits to the extent to which above-target inflation can be tolerated.  Those limits depend, for example, on the cause of the inflation overshoot, the extent of second-round effects on domestic costs, the evolution of inflation expectations, and the scale of the shortfall in economic activity below potential."
While acknowledging that it will tolerate an overshoot, the bank said it now expects inflation to run a lottle lower than it forecast at its last meeting in November, saying in its statement: 
"Since the Committee’s previous meeting, sterling’s trade-weighted exchange rate has appreciated by over 6%, while dollar oil prices have risen by 14%.  All else equal, this would result in a slightly lower path for inflation than envisaged in the November Inflation Report, though it is still likely to overshoot the target later in 2017 and through 2018."
Commenting on the Old Lady of Threadneedle Street's announcement, Ian Shepherdson, chief economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics said:
"No real surprises in the minutes; the MPC repeated its November  points that policymakers have "limited tolerance" for  above-target inflation, and that rates can move in either  direction in response to the evolving outlook, which remains  very uncertain, not least because the scale of U.S. fiscal easing  next year is unknown."
The pound dropped a little on the announcement, moving lower from 1.2485 to 1.2460 against the dollar. Here's the chart:
Screen Shot 2016 12 15 at 12.10.43Markets Insider

FED HIKES INTEREST RATES

FED HIKES INTEREST RATES

janet yellenReuters/Gary Cameron
The Federal Reserve on Wednesday decided to raise its benchmark interest rate, as expected, and upped its expectation for the number of rate hikes in 2017.
This move, which markets saw a 100% probability of, will increase the target of the federal funds rate — which banks use to lend to each other overnight — by 25 basis points, to a range of 0.50 to 0.75%.
This was the second rate hike in a decade. By continuing to lift rates from near zero, the Fed is slowly ending the era of unprecedented monetary policy support and giving the economy room to advance without it. A higher fed funds rate will lift rates on things like credit cards and mortgages and test the extent to which consumer spending and business investment can propel the economy without Fed stimulus.
In its unanimous decision, the Federal Open Markets Committee noted improvement in the jobs market and the drop in the unemployment rate to a prerecession low. It noted the rise in inflation, partly due to more stable oil prices, and said expectations for higher prices had risen "considerably."
2017 may be the year that fiscal policy starts to support the economy in a significant way as President-elect Donald Trump enters office. Trump has pledged to cut taxes for corporations and individuals and to invest about $550 billion in infrastructure. Wall Street already thinks these steps will spur economic growth and inflation while supporting company earnings; stocks surged to new highs after the election, while bonds sold off.
BI Graphics_Janet Yellen Quote card 4x3_2Samantha Lee/Business Insider
Trump's proposals are still uncertain, meaning the Fed is unlikely to capture the full extent of their effects in its outlook right now. The Fed's outlook for economic growth, inflation, and unemployment was little changed from its projections in September.
When the Fed in December 2015 moved for the first time since the financial crisis, it projected four rate hikes this year. However, it whiffed big on that estimate as the realities of market volatility, sluggish inflation, and underwhelming economic growth set in. To be fair, the Fed's projections were always conditional on incoming data.
The Fed expects to raise rates three times during the next three years.
Here's the full statement:
"Information received since the Federal Open Market Committee met in November indicates that the labor market has continued to strengthen and that economic activity has been expanding at a moderate pace since mid-year. Job gains have been solid in recent months and the unemployment rate has declined. Household spending has been rising moderately but business fixed investment has remained soft. Inflation has increased since earlier this year but is still below the Committee's 2 percent longer-run objective, partly reflecting earlier declines in energy prices and in prices of non-energy imports. Market-based measures of inflation compensation have moved up considerably but still are low; most survey-based measures of longer-term inflation expectations are little changed, on balance, in recent months.
BI Graphics_Janet Yellen Quote card 4x3_1Samantha Lee/Business Insider
"Consistent with its statutory mandate, the Committee seeks to foster maximum employment and price stability. The Committee expects that, with gradual adjustments in the stance of monetary policy, economic activity will expand at a moderate pace and labor market conditions will strengthen somewhat further. Inflation is expected to rise to 2 percent over the medium term as the transitory effects of past declines in energy and import prices dissipate and the labor market strengthens further. Near-term risks to the economic outlook appear roughly balanced. The Committee continues to closely monitor inflation indicators and global economic and financial developments.
"In view of realized and expected labor market conditions and inflation, the Committee decided to raise the target range for the federal funds rate to 1/2 to 3/4 percent. The stance of monetary policy remains accommodative, thereby supporting some further strengthening in labor market conditions and a return to 2 percent inflation.
"In determining the timing and size of future adjustments to the target range for the federal funds rate, the Committee will assess realized and expected economic conditions relative to its objectives of maximum employment and 2 percent inflation. This assessment will take into account a wide range of information, including measures of labor market conditions, indicators of inflation pressures and inflation expectations, and readings on financial and international developments. In light of the current shortfall of inflation from 2 percent, the Committee will carefully monitor actual and expected progress toward its inflation goal. The Committee expects that economic conditions will evolve in a manner that will warrant only gradual increases in the federal funds rate; the federal funds rate is likely to remain, for some time, below levels that are expected to prevail in the longer run. However, the actual path of the federal funds rate will depend on the economic outlook as informed by incoming data.
"The Committee is maintaining its existing policy of reinvesting principal payments from its holdings of agency debt and agency mortgage-backed securities in agency mortgage-backed securities and of rolling over maturing Treasury securities at auction, and it anticipates doing so until normalization of the level of the federal funds rate is well under way. This policy, by keeping the Committee's holdings of longer-term securities at sizable levels, should help maintain accommodative financial conditions.
"Voting for the FOMC monetary policy action were: Janet L. Yellen, Chair; William C. Dudley, Vice Chairman; Lael Brainard; James Bullard; Stanley Fischer; Esther L. George; Loretta J. Mester; Jerome H. Powell; Eric Rosengren; and Daniel K. Tarullo."

Wednesday, December 14, 2016

Spain is officially changing regulation to steal business from London post-Brexit

Spain is officially changing regulation to steal business from London post-Brexit

MadridShutterstock
Spain is unleashing a range of new measures to make it easy for businesses to relocate from London to Madrid in a bid to take business away from Britain post-Brexit, says the country's financial regulator.
The measures include allowing companies to submit all their documents in English, fast-track authorisation for financial companies looking to relocate, as well as promising that the country will not impose any regulatory requirements beyond those set out by the European Union.
The Comisión Nacional del Mercado de Valores (CNMV), Spain's financial watchdog, confirmed in a statement that it is ready to try and make Spain more desirable for companies thinking of relocating from London in the likelihood that the City would lose its financial passporting rights.
"In this context, the CNMV is ready to welcome UK-based financial institutions that wish to locate their business in Spain as a result of Brexit," it said.
It also added that it was "determined to contribute to making Spain the most appealing option for investment firms considering a move from the UK to another EU country."
The loss of passporting rights following Brexit is one of the biggest fears in the City of London. If the passport is taken away, then London could cease to be the most important financial centre in Europe, costing the UK thousands of jobs and billions in revenues. Around 5,500 firms registered in the UK rely on the European Union's passporting rights for the financial services sector, and they turn over about £9 billion in revenue.
So this is why, if there is a "hard Brexit" — leaving the EU without access to the Single Market in exchange for complete control over immigration — or a strong indication that one may happen, firms are likely to relocate.

Banks are apparently already relocating from London to other cities in Europe

On Tuesday, a partner at a massive asset manager warned that the longer it takes for Britain to trigger Article 50, and thereby start the formal two-year Brexit negotiation talks, the more likely it is that companies will "postpone business investment decisions ... or, worse, speed up decisions to relocate some operations outside."
Current EU law allows European banks to operate branches in the UK that do not need to be separately capitalised from the parent company abroad. Similarly, non-EU banks, such as those from the US or Asia, can use their London subsidiary to sell services to clients across the EU. This has allowed London's financial centre to act as a hub for global firms looking to do business in the EU.
However, if London loses financial passporting, it will mean many places will look to relocate its operations.
Madrid is competing with Frankfurt in Germany and Paris in France for financial company relocations.

DOW CLOSES IN ON 20,000: Here's what you need to know

DOW CLOSES IN ON 20,000: Here's what you need to know

Business Insider
 Dec. 13, 2016, 04:37 PM
man reaching for flag shirtless out of reach
Stocks stuck solidly in the green as the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed in on a major milestone in trading on Tuesday.
The Dow closed just shy of the 20,000 mark - getting within just 40 points of the record midday.
Both the S&P 500 and Nasdaq composites also finished in the green the day before the Federal Reserve's big December interest rate announcement.
We've got today's headlines, but first, the scoreboard:
  • Dow: 19.904.46, +114.78, (0.58%)
  • S&P 500: 2,271.72, +14.76, (0.65%)
  • Nasdaq: 5,463.83, +51.29, (0.95%)
  • US 10-year yield: 2.481%, +0.002
  1. The Federal Reserve kicked off their December meeting. The two-day meeting began on Tuesday with the central bank's interest rate decision coming tomorrow.
  2. Bill Gates thinks stocks are 'expensive.' The founder of Microsoft told CNBC that he believes low interest rates at the Fed have allowed investors to pile into the market and pushed stocks into lofty territory. He said it's "kind of amazing that interest rates have stayed so low for so long."
  3. Google is spinning out its self-driving car division. The new company, called Waymo, will focus on the self-driving technology but not produce its own cars.
  4. The CEO of Facebook's virtual reality arm stepped down. Brendan Iribe, the CEO of Oculus, announced he was leaving the role of CEO, but would remain to lead up a new team developing high end VR for Pcs.
  5. SeaWorld is opening a park in Abu Dhabi without whales. This will be the first park without the signature orca attraction. SeaWorld has been slowly moving away from the whales since the release of the documentary "Blackfish."
ADDITIONALLY:

Tech titans are meeting with Trump today

Tech titans are meeting with Trump today

tim cook apple ceoApple CEO Tim Cook is one of the expected attendees.Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
Some of the most powerful and high-profile leaders from the technology industry are scheduled to meet with US President-elect Donald Trump on Wednesday.
The meeting has the potential to be a tense affair: Silicon Valley was overwhelmingly opposed to the Republican president-elect before the election, and during the campaign he repeatedly railed against the business practices of the industry. The discussion is likely to centre on jobs and immigration — issues on which the tech community and Trump seem likely to clash.
The meeting, due to be held at Trump Tower in New York, has a star-studded guest list: Apple CEO Tim Cook, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, Larry Page and Eric Schmidt from Google parent company Alphabet, Amazon boss Jeff Bezos, Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg, Tesla's Elon Musk, IBM's Ginni Rometty, and Brian Krzanich from Intel are among the attendees, according to a roundup from The New York Times.
(Sidenote: Jack Dorsey, the cofounder and CEO of Twitter — a social network beloved by Trump — was not invited.)

It's all about jobs

A key issue on the table will be jobs and immigration. Silicon Valley is heavily reliant on immigrant workers, hiring engineers and other employees from all over the world — but Trump ran his campaign in opposition to immigration, promising to build a wall along America's southern border and to halt Muslim immigration altogether.
Trump has been critical of the H-1B skilled-worker visa program, which the tech industry uses heavily, saying in a statement in March: "I will end forever the use of the H-1B as a cheap labor program, and institute an absolute requirement to hire American workers for every visa and immigration program. No exceptions." Trump's chief strategist, Steve Bannon, has expressed concern that there are too many Asian CEOs in Silicon Valley.
The attendees will be hoping that Trump is prepared to be more pragmatic about the issue than his rhetoric on the campaign trail might have suggested.

The tech industry and Trump do not get along

Several of the attendees at the meeting have previously been the subject of Trump's ire. On the campaign trail, Trump repeatedly went after Bezos, the Amazon CEO who also owns The Washington Post, which aggressively reported on Trump during the campaign.
Donald TrumpPresident-elect Donald Trump. Drew Angerer/Getty Images
Trump said Bezos had "a huge antitrust problem because he's controlling so much," while Bezos countered that Trump's strategy of targeting the news media"erodes democracy." (Bezos later promised to keep an "open mind" after Trump's election.)
Trump attacked Apple over its refusal to help unlock an iPhonefor the FBI in February, asking, "Who do they think they are?" and calling for a boycott. He has also targeted the company for building its iPhones in China.
One of Trump's few backers in Silicon Valley is Peter Thiel, the Paypal cofounder turned billionaire investor and Facebook board member. Thiel supported Trump's candidacy, speaking at the Republican National Convention in the summer. He now sits on the president-elect's transition team, and he helped organise Wednesday's meeting.
In November, Trump sat down for a similar off-the-record meeting with media executives. It was reportedly an awkward affair, with Trump attacking the assembled execs over their coverage of his campaign and their failure to anticipate his victory.
Business Insider will bring you more on Wednesday's meeting as it happens.
Disclosure: Jeff Bezos is an investor in Business Insider through his personal investment company Bezos Expeditions.

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