Never-Ending Phone Spam Is Turning Off Consumers - NPR

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Spam phone calls are the No. 1 consumer complaint at the Federal Communications Commission. Seventy percent of people no longer answer calls they don't recognize, according to Consumer Reports. smartboy10/Getty Images hide caption

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The spam calls keep coming, offering you loans or threatening you with jail time for IRS violations. By some estimates, they make up at least a quarter of all calls in the United States.

And as the problem continues to grow, it creates a whole new set of related nuisances for people like Dakota Hill.

He estimates he gets hundreds of unwanted spam calls every month. But Hill says he also gets calls from people who think he's spamming them.

In addition to hundreds of unwanted spam calls every month, Dakota Hill says he fields calls from people who think he's spamming them. Courtesy of Jade Hewitt hide caption

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Courtesy of Jade Hewitt

People call, asking: "Do I know you?" or "Why did you wake me up?"

In fact, Hill didn't place any of those calls. He figures his number is being "spoofed"; fraudsters use software to trick the caller ID system to make it appear as though calls are coming from his phone.

He explains this, over and over, to the people calling him.

There is an irony here. The cellphone has become our everything — our wallet, photo archive, computer and music library. But it's also becoming less appealing as a phone. Consumer Reports found that 70% of people no longer answer calls they don't recognize. Regulators and industry are combating junk calls. But at least so far, they haven't succeeded.

The Federal Communications Commission, which regulates phone companies, itself has been targeted.

"We've seen recently scammers using our number, spoofing our number, to try to convince consumers that they're from the FCC and in some way get money out of them," says Patrick Webre, chief of the agency's consumer bureau.

He says spam calls are the No. 1 consumer complaint and a top priority for the agency. FCC Chairman Ajit Pai has demanded that all U.S phone carriers install new technology to authenticate real calls and flag potential spam by the end of this year.

The battle against phone spam is so big that there's a sub-industry combating it.

At Hiya, a Seattle technology startup that's designing ways to block spam calls, U.S. calls are tracked on giant computer monitors. Jonathan Nelson, director of product management, says consumers are adapting — by not answering the phone and letting calls go to voicemail.

But spammers then devise clever new ways of bilking people. The latest example is the "one ring" scam, which emerged May 3. That day, Nelson's monitors turned a flurry of red.

"It was [an] explosion of calls," he says. "We'd never seen that level of volume before."

This scam involves robocallers hanging up after one ring, hoping to trick the victim into calling back on an expensive international toll line, mostly to West Africa.

Scams are easy to perpetrate and hard to stop, largely because technology allows calls to go out by the millions with the click of a button. Many scams prey on fear — of arrest or investigation by a government agency — and target immigrants, taxpayers, debtors or retirees.

And to be profitable, spammers need only a small fraction of recipients to fall for the scam. Scams cost Americans an estimated $10.5 billion a year, according to spam blocker Truecaller. But their success, Nelson says, comes at a high cost to consumers: "We're kind of seeing the death of the phone call."

Most cellphone carriers recognize they need to step up the fight.

Chris Oatway, associate general counsel for Verizon Wireless, calls the fight with spammers an "arms race" and says the company is investing more than ever in technologies to detect, identify and trace junk calls. "The key here is to restore trust in voice calls," he says.

But doing so is complicated, because telephone networks are so interconnected. If another wireless carrier doesn't flag a spam call, Verizon's network might not recognize it's a problem and let it go through. Oatway says that's just one way spammers might still succeed.

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https://www.npr.org/2019/06/06/727711432/do-i-know-you-and-other-spam-phone-calls-we-can-t-get-rid-of

2019-06-06 09:00:00Z
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Fiat Chrysler bails; ECB time; Stock market gains - CNN

The company said Wednesday that it "has become clear that the political conditions in France do not currently exist for such a combination to proceed successfully."

Earlier in the day, Renault said that the French government had requested its board of directors postpone the vote on the merger.

France, which owns 15% of Renault and is the company's largest shareholder, previously indicated that it would support a merger if the companies protect French jobs and auto plants.

Shares in Renault plunged nearly 7% in Paris on Thursday after the proposal was withdrawn. Fiat Chrysler stock dropped 1.6% in Milan.

2. ECB time: The European Central Bank meets Thursday as global trade tensions escalate and the race to find a replacement for president Mario Draghi heats up.

Analysts expect the central bank to outline details on additional cheap loans for banks while maintaining historically low interest rates.

Almost certain to come up: whether Draghi and the ECB would be open to cutting interest rates lower still.

"Draghi may have to adopt a dovish tone again, and, at least, not rule out rate cuts if asked about them," Bank of America Merrill Lynch analysts said recently in a research note.

The US Federal Reserve suggested it could cut rates earlier this week, driving markets higher. Fed Chair Jerome Powell said that he's closely monitoring developments on trade, and that the bank will "act as appropriate to sustain the expansion."

Meanwhile, India's central bank on Thursday gave the country its third consecutive interest rate cut as it tries to get a slumping economy back on track.

Before the Bell newsletter: Key market news. In your inbox. Subscribe now!

3. Market gains: US stock futures point to another day of gains as investors stay hopeful that the Federal Reserve could cut interest rates.

The Dow is poised to rise 70 points, or 0.3%. The Nasdaq and S&P 500 are set for a similar jump.

European markets opened higher after a mixed session for stocks in Asia. Britain's FTSE 100 rose 0.6%, while Germany's DAX index added 0.5%.

In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng rose 0.2%, while Japan's Nikkei closed flat. The Shanghai Composite, however, dropped 1.2%.

The Dow closed up 0.8% on Wednesday, logging its third consecutive day of gains. The S&P 500 was up 0.8%, and the Nasdaq added 0.6%.

4. Coming this week:
Thursday — ECB and Reserve Bank of India rate decisions; Europe's GDP growth estimate; Beyond Meat earnings
Friday — US jobs report

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https://www.cnn.com/2019/06/06/investing/premarket-stocks-trading/index.html

2019-06-06 08:59:00Z
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Fiat Chrysler withdraws proposed merger with Renault - CNN

The company said Wednesday that it "has become clear that the political conditions in France do not currently exist for such a combination to proceed successfully."

Earlier in the day, Renault (RNLSY) said that the French government had requested its board of directors postpone the vote on the merger.

France, which owns 15% of Renault and is the company's largest shareholder, previously indicated that it would support a merger if the companies protect French jobs and auto plants.

Shares in Renault plunged nearly 7% in Paris on Thursday after the proposal was withdrawn. Fiat Chrysler stock dropped 1.6% in Milan.

Renault could not be reached for further comment Wednesday.

The deal would have created the world's third largest carmaker behind Volkswagen (VLKAF) and Toyota (TM). General Motors (GM) would have fallen to fourth in the global ranking.

The proposal was the latest example of established automakers seeking partnerships to share the costs of developing new technologies including electric vehicles and autonomous driving systems.

Fiat Chrysler (FCAU) owns brands including Jeep, Dodge, Alfa Romeo and Maserati. Among its top markets is North America, where Renault does not have a significant presence.

When it first made the merger proposal last month, Fiat Chrysler said a combination would produce annual cost savings of more than €5 billion ($5.6 billion). The company said no plants would be closed as a result of a merger.

Renault is already part of a major global alliance with Japanese automakers Nissan (NSANF) and Mitsubishi Motors. Renault and Nissan both own major stakes in one another.

That alliance was put under pressure when Carlos Ghosn, the architect of the partnership and the former chairman of Nissan and Renault, was arrested last year in Japan and accused of financial wrongdoing.

Nissan declined to comment on Fiat Chrysler's withdrawal.

Nissan, Renault and Mitsubishi Motors together employ more than 470,000 people in nearly 200 countries. They sold more than 10.6 million cars worldwide in 2018.

All three alliance members renewed their commitment to one another last year after Ghosn was arrested, but tensions linger among the partners.

Fiat Chrysler was itself formed as a merger of two struggling automakers. Fiat bought a controlling stake in Chrysler following the US government bailout of the company in 2009. They were formally merged in 2014.

Fiat Chrysler is a distant fourth in US sales and eighth globally. The company has also trailed its competitors in adopting electric vehicle and self-driving technology.

Sergio Marchionne, its former CEO who passed away a year ago, had spoken openly of the need to merge Fiat Chrysler with a larger automaker to give it the scale and resources to compete.

He had even sought a merger with General Motors, only to be rebuffed. He had been far more blunt than other auto executives about the threat to the industry that new entrants such as Google (GOOGL) posed to automakers.

- Chris Isidore and Sherisse Pham contributed to this report

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https://www.cnn.com/2019/06/05/business/fiat-chrysler-renault-merger-withdrawal/index.html

2019-06-06 08:14:00Z
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Why Europe needs to monitor China's rare earths threat - CNBC

Workers transport soil containing rare earth elements for export at a port in Lianyungang, Jiangsu province, China October 31, 2010.

Stringer | Reuters

European manufacturers will need to keep an eye on China's "near-monopoly" on the extraction and supply of rare earth minerals as they move toward electric power, experts have told CNBC.

Rare earths — minerals found in a wide range of everyday consumer electronics — hit the headlines over the past week as China hinted at stopping the export of rare earths to the U.S., after Washington increased tariffs on $200 billion worth of Chinese goods.

The group of 17 minerals aren't actually rare, but are produced in fairly scarce quantities compared with abundantly mined metals like copper. They have grown in prominence in recent years due to their use in high-tech equipment, defense manufacturing and electric vehicles.

China extracted 70% of the world's rare earths in 2018.

Martin Eales, CEO of London-listed Rainbow Rare Earths, which runs an ongoing mining project in Burundi, told CNBC that China may not opt for an outright export ban but rather a reduction in its production quota, which "by definition would reduce the amount of rare earths material available for export and potentially create supply problems for rest-of-the-world users."

The automotive revolution

The long-term concern for European manufacturers, however, will be the increased volume of rare earths required, according to the British Geological Survey's Science Director for Minerals, Andrew Bloodworth.

As the automotive sector moves from internal combustion engines to electric vehicles, many of those electric motors will rely on high field strength electric magnets which contain rare earth components.

"This isn't going to happen overnight, but as the automotive sector moves from petrol and diesel power to electric, you can make a very efficient small powerful electric motor using high field strength magnets," Bloodworth told CNBC.

"The difference there is just that the volumes required to manufacture the millions and millions of cars every year are going to change the game, because they're going to up that demand for materials."

Vertical integration

Bloodworth suggested that the Chinese are aware of the changing portfolio of materials required by the auto industry, adding that they are "particularly interested in selling the global automotive sector motors or even finished cars rather than rare earths."

"So we may see the market operating in a sense that if this demand does ramp up quickly, prices will rise, therefore some of these projects which are kicking around in the rest of the world will come to pass because they will become more attractive to investors," he said.

At the moment, non-Chinese mines are a difficult proposition for investors owing to the scale of Chinese dominance, but Bloodworth suggested any imposition of tariffs or restrictions would be "nuanced," as it would not be in Chinese interests to hike prices in a way that encourages alternative supply sources to enter the market.

Eales agreed that an added interest for companies like Rainbow, operating non-Chinese mines, is "speculation as to how it may fit into a future supply chain that attempts to bypass China entirely."

"There is going to be so much demand from the vehicle market for rare earths that some of these projects will come to pass anyway," said Bloodworth.

"They may be acquired by Volkswagen or Toyota for instance — they will be buying supply and vertically integrating. "

He suggested that Europe was becoming more concerned about the raw material supply chain, owing to its role as a major producer of finished vehicles and the threat that Chinese monopolization of the supply chain poses.

The British Geological Survey has been communicating to the British government the importance of understanding this shifting tide for global manufacturing.

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https://www.cnbc.com/2019/06/06/rare-earths-why-europe-needs-to-monitor-chinas-threat.html

2019-06-06 05:07:44Z
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Bernie Sanders takes his fight against Walmart to its annual meeting as 2020 primary heats up - CNBC

Sen. Bernie Sanders took his crusade against Walmart to the mammoth retailer's annual meeting Wednesday, backing a push to give workers a spot on the company board.

The Vermont independent stopped in Bentonville, Arkansas, in the heat of the 2020 Democratic presidential primary to show support for Walmart's hourly associates. Sanders — who has long pushed the retailer to boost wages and benefits — sees condemnation of corporate titans as a way to separate himself from a crowded Democratic field.

The senator introduced a shareholder proposal — on behalf of Walmart employee and labor advocate Cat Davis — that would make the company's roughly 1.5 million hourly workers eligible for board nominations. Founder Sam Walton's family holds a majority of the company's shares and opposes the measure.

"Walmart can strike a blow against corporate greed and a grotesque level of income and wealth inequality that exists in our country," Sanders said in a two-minute comment introducing the proposal and calling for wage increases at Walmart.

Results of the shareholder vote were expected later in the day.

Sanders' appearance holds obvious political benefits for the senator. He criticized Walmart's leadership while standing in the same room as its CEO Doug McMillon — and backed the working-class voters he hopes will help propel him to the Democratic presidential nomination.

"Frankly, the American people are sick and tired of subsidizing the greed of some of the largest and most profitable corporations in this country," Sanders added during his remarks, noting that some Walmart employees rely on public assistance programs such as Medicaid.

Protestors gather outside Walmart's shareholder meeting as Sen. Bernie Sanders was slated to speak at the event.

Amanda Lasky | CNBC

Protesters gathered outside the meeting — some from the group "United for Respect," which has pushed for a worker presence on Walmart's board — held signs supporting Sanders' 2020 campaign and calling for a $15 per hour minimum wage.

When Sanders confirmed last month he would attend the meeting, Walmart said it hoped the senator would "approach this visit not as a campaign stop, but as a constructive opportunity to learn about the ways we're working to provide increased economic opportunity, mobility and benefits to our associates."

Before Sanders spoke, McMillon highlighted the company's efforts to increase its starting wage to $11 per hour. He also called on Congress to pass a "thoughtful plan to increase" the federal minimum wage, taking into account "phasing and cost of living increases to avoid unintended consequences."

"It's clear by our actions, and those of other companies, that the federal minimum wage is lagging behind," McMillion said, adding "$7.25 is too low. "

On Wednesday, Sanders argued that a $15 per hour minimum wage "is not a radical idea." He noted that Walmart competitors such as Amazon and Target have started to phase in a $15 per hour pay floor.

As criticism of wealthy individuals and corporations has taken hold across the political spectrum, 2020 Democratic candidates have more directly targeted large corporations. Along with Walmart, Sanders has slammed Amazon and its CEO Jeff Bezos and helped to push the company to hike its minimum wage to $15 per hour.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., has also taken aim at corporate America, pushing to break up tech companies such as Amazon and Apple and agricultural giants such as Monsanto. Warren has proposed a plan to allow employees to select at least 40% of a company's board members.

Sanders and Warren's stances have distanced them from rivals like former Vice President Joe Biden, who has tried not to seem too hostile to corporate America.

During the campaign so far, presidential candidates have showed support for workers on strike at grocery chain Stop & Shop and other companies.

Subscribe to CNBC on YouTube.

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https://www.cnbc.com/2019/06/05/2020-candidate-bernie-sanders-attends-walmart-annual-shareholder-meeting.html

2019-06-05 16:50:09Z
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Sephora to give staff diversity training - can it help? - BBC News

Beauty chain Sephora has closed its US stores for Diversity training, a month after a singer said she had been racially profiled.

RnB star SZA said she had been targeted while shopping at a branch in California.

The firm told Reuters it was aware of the incident but said the training was not "a response to any one event".

The BBC spoke to Asad Dhunna from the Unmistakables, who advises companies on how to be more racially inclusive.

Video journalist: Sophie Van Brugen

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2019-06-05 14:15:56Z
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These charts show how Fed Chair Jerome Powell is the most important thing to the market now - CNBC

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rallied more than 500 points on Tuesday (and was continuing that rally Wednesday) after Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell opened the door to a rate cut that traders have been crying for because of fears the economy is slowing.

Their love of Powell's pivot is evident in this Dow chart here:

"We will act as appropriate to sustain the expansion," was all Powell said, but that was enough to cause the market to leap.

Now contrast that with what happened on May 1, when Powell disappointed investors by appearing to downplay the odds of a rate cut by saying that he believed a slowdown in inflation was likely "transitory."

The Dow shed 150 points during that session.

What a difference a month makes when there's a vicious sell-off in risk assets.

"Powell's assurance the Fed will 'act as appropriate to sustain the expansion' was confirmation that not only is a rate cut on the table, but it is nearing on the horizon," Ian Lyngen, head of U.S. rate strategy at BMO, wrote in an email. "Risk assets improved in the wake of the dovish undertones; at least that aspect of Tuesday's price action fit with our broader understanding of the world."

"A preemptive cut was priced-in, which suggests if the Fed doesn't follow-through it will be risk off," he added.

— CNBC's Jeff Cox contributed reporting.

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https://www.cnbc.com/2019/06/05/investors-warm-up-to-fed-policy-outlook-after-powell-hints-at-rate-cut.html

2019-06-05 14:13:09Z
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