Target Registers Across Country All Malfunction at Once, Causing Massive Lines - Gizmodo

A Target store in San Francisco experiencing long lines due to a software glitch.

Photo: Michael Liedtke (AP)

Massive lines and an inability to make purchases were reported across the country at Target stores after the retailer’s cash registers malfunctioned due to a “systems issue,” though hours later Target announced it had resolved the issue.

According to CNN, “employees at three different locations in Georgia” said that registers had been down for 45 minutes as of 3:00 p.m. ET. Clerks were instead forced to use cell phones to process transactions, according to BuzzFeed News, with customers reporting hour-long waits to check out and in some cases abandoning their carts to go elsewhere. Staff in some locations apparently handed out free drinks and snacks to affected customers. Photos show at least some stores were closed, while a customer in Richmond told SFGate that stopgap checkout methods took up to 15 to 20 minutes per customer.

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A Target location in San Francisco on June 15, 2019.

Photo: Michael Liedtke (AP)

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“They handled the situation like pros,” Mississippi resident and D’Iberville location customer Jeff Clark told BuzzFeed. “They kept bringing out Starbucks shooters for everyone because what better way to calm an intense crowd than by giving them caffeine shots!”

“The crowd didn’t get unruly,” Clark told the site. “Just a little whinging here and there.”

“It was just a sea of very frustrated people,” Edmond, Oklahoma customer Brodie Butler told the Washington Post. “People were throwing their things on the ground or just pushing their carts down the aisle and walking away.”

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In 2013, Target’s national credit card database was breached, compromising the security of roughly 40 million accounts’ debit and credit card data, as well as separate data including names, phone numbers, mailing addresses, and email addresses on tens of millions of others. In 2017, Target agreed to pay out $18.5 million in a settlement (estimating the total damage at $202 million).

This does not appear to be a similar situation. Target spokeswoman Danielle Schumann said that after an “initial but thorough review,” it had determined it the outages were not a “data breach or security-related issue” and no data was compromised, BuzzFeed wrote. Staff resolved the problem after two hours.

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2019-06-15 22:55:00Z
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Target registers back online after widespread outage - CNN

In a statement, the company said the failure was not the result of a data breach or security-related issue.

"The temporary outage earlier today was the result of an internal technology issue that lasted for approximately two hours. Our technology team worked quickly to identify and fix the issue, and we apologize for the inconvenience and frustration this caused for our guests," the statement said.

Earlier in the day, Target (CBDY)acknowledged guests were "unable to make purchases" at its stores but did not provide details.

Shoppers at dozens of stores across the country used social media to express frustration or commend store employees for efforts to diffuse tension as people waited in long lines on the Saturday before Father's Day. Some on Twitter said Target workers were helping to entertain children and offering refreshments.

"This is how you bring America to a standstill," a Minnesota journalist shared on Twitter alongside a photo of an error message at a cashier's stand. "Every single register at the Richfield [Target] is down."

Target has 1,800 locations in the United States and a presence in India.

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https://www.cnn.com/2019/06/15/business/target-register-outage-trnd/index.html

2019-06-15 22:48:00Z
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Target outage: Shoppers reporting registers down nationwide - USA TODAY

Kelly Tyko USA TODAY

Published 3:06 PM EDT Jun 15, 2019

Target registers appear to be down nationwide.

Shoppers are posting to social media about long waits at the checkout line and then leaving stores empty-handed Saturday afternoon.

"We are aware of a systems issue in store and are working as quickly as possible to get this fixed," Target tweeted from its @AskTarget account in response to shoppers' tweets. "Thank you for your patience!"

According to a shopper at the Columbia, Maryland store, employees were warning shoppers about the outage as they entered the store.

There have been many posts on Downdetector.com about stores experiencing problems.

"This is what happens when you rely solely on technology @Target #TargetShutdown #Anarchy," Twitter user @_MsKilljoy tweeted, including a photo of shoppers standing with carts near checkout lanes.

"Massive outage at @Target. All checkout systems are down across multiple stores in our immediate area. I wonder how widespread this really is. #SaturdayMorning," @TheQuietJorge tweeted.

Some stores are reportedly passing out snacks, @WesleyBout tweeted.

Some shoppers are reporting signs of store closings on doors at their Target stores.

This story will be updated.

Follow USA TODAY reporter Kelly Tyko on Twitter: @KellyTyko

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https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2019/06/15/target-registers-down-shoppers-reporting-outage-saturday/1465476001/

2019-06-15 18:30:00Z
52780315212712

The Fed won't cut rates at its June meeting. Here's why - CNBC

Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell holds a press conference following a two day Federal Open Market Committee policy meeting in Washington, January 30, 2019.

Leah Millis | Reuters

With pretty much everyone convinced that the Fed is going to be cutting interest rates at some point this year, the central bank faces one rather pressing question: Why wait?

After all, the market already is pricing in at least reductions this year and probably three. Though the Federal Open Market Committee meets next week, there is little expectation of a move then.

Not moving next week essentially comes down to three factors, according to Fed watchers: The looming G-20 summit at which the U.S. and China, at least theoretically, could reach a trade agreement; a desire not to be seen as overly influenced by the financial markets and President Donald Trump's hectoring; and the desire to avoid making December's rate hike look like a policy mistake.

"They don't want to be seen as cowing to any sort of pressure, be it political from the White House or from the market," said Lindsey Piegza, chief economist at Stifel. "The Fed is going to look at the data, they're going to look at what their models say. To them, it doesn't matter what the markets say."

'No cuts this year is hard to believe'

Wall Street, though, is clamoring for a cut.

Futures pricing Friday afternoon in the fed funds market showed a 21% chance of a move at the June 18-19 meeting, down from 30% earlier in the day on some stronger-than-expected economic data. The chance of a July cut remained at 85%, while the market was figuring a 61% probability for three moves in total by the end of the year.

As things stand currently among Chairman Jerome Powell and his fellow Fed officials, no moves are indicated. That is likely to change when FOMC members submit their economic projections at the June 18-19 meeting, which include the "dot plot" of individual members' expectations of where rates are headed over the next few years.

"I can't imagine what they are going to do with the dots," Jeffrey Gundlach, founder of DoubleLine Capital, said in a webcast Thursday. He noted the "big divergence" between the market and Fed projections and said, "No cuts this year is hard to believe."

In May, Gundlach recommended a straddle options trade that benefited from wide fluctuations in interest rates. The trade recently had netted a 22% gain.

Fed officials have been under intense pressure from more than the markets. Trump has been a continuous nemesis to the central bank, most recently repeating his demand for lower rates and saying he's "not happy with what [Powell has] done" as Fed chair.

Along the same lines, the Fed has its credibility to worry about.

Trump and a growing number of market participants view the December rate hike — the fourth of the year — as a policy mistake that came amid several pivots and missteps that caused Powell and other officials to change their public statements to assuage investors' nerves.

'A verbal intervention'

From October to March, the Fed went from being "a long way from neutral" on rates and with a balance sheet reduction on "autopilot," both in Powell's words, to adopting a "patient" stance on policy and finally laying out a timetable to end the balance sheet program by September. Officials also cut the forecast level of rate hikes from two to zero, and now are in the position of having to convey a likelihood of cuts, if that is the way the FOMC members see things unfolding.

"It's a difficult transition for the Fed now from two rate hikes this year to the pause and now moving closer and closer to rate cuts," said Quincy Krosby, chief market strategist at Prudential Financial.

Krosby points to two pivotal events recently that signaled yet another change in policy — remarks from Powell and Vice Chairman Richard Clarida earlier in June that set the groundwork for potential cuts. In Powell's case, it was a pledge to "act as appropriate to sustain the expansion" while for Clarida it was a vow to adapt policy to keep the economy "in a good place."

"You can't dismiss the comments from Powell and Clarida. That was orchestrated. They were laying the groundwork. That's what the Fed does," Krosby said. "It came across as verbal intervention and they didn't even have to do anything. The market reacted."

Indeed, stocks have been on a solid run lately, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average up more than 5% in June after a brutal May. That equity strength gives the Fed another pillar to rest on if it chooses not to cut this month, though that hasn't always been enough to stop easing in the past.

But if the market strength holds up and the U.S. and China come to a trade agreement, it at least could lower the level of expectations for cuts.

Tom Porcelli, chief U.S. economist at RBC, said a client survey showed that if a trade deal gets one, 85% of clients "would not react negatively to the Fed taking a pass" on a July rate cut.

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https://www.cnbc.com/2019/06/14/three-reasons-why-the-fed-wont-cut-rates-at-its-june-meeting.html

2019-06-15 13:14:53Z
52780314582799

The Fed won't cut rates at its June meeting. Here's why - CNBC

Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell holds a press conference following a two day Federal Open Market Committee policy meeting in Washington, January 30, 2019.

Leah Millis | Reuters

With pretty much everyone convinced that the Fed is going to be cutting interest rates at some point this year, the central bank faces one rather pressing question: Why wait?

After all, the market already is pricing in at least reductions this year and probably three. Though the Federal Open Market Committee meets next week, there is little expectation of a move then.

Not moving next week essentially comes down to three factors, according to Fed watchers: The looming G-20 summit at which the U.S. and China, at least theoretically, could reach a trade agreement; a desire not to be seen as overly influenced by the financial markets and President Donald Trump's hectoring; and the desire to avoid making December's rate hike look like a policy mistake.

"They don't want to be seen as cowing to any sort of pressure, be it political from the White House or from the market," said Lindsey Piegza, chief economist at Stifel. "The Fed is going to look at the data, they're going to look at what their models say. To them, it doesn't matter what the markets say."

'No cuts this year is hard to believe'

Wall Street, though, is clamoring for a cut.

Futures pricing Friday afternoon in the fed funds market showed a 21% chance of a move at the June 18-19 meeting, down from 30% earlier in the day on some stronger-than-expected economic data. The chance of a July cut remained at 85%, while the market was figuring a 61% probability for three moves in total by the end of the year.

As things stand currently among Chairman Jerome Powell and his fellow Fed officials, no moves are indicated. That is likely to change when FOMC members submit their economic projections at the June 18-19 meeting, which include the "dot plot" of individual members' expectations of where rates are headed over the next few years.

"I can't imagine what they are going to do with the dots," Jeffrey Gundlach, founder of DoubleLine Capital, said in a webcast Thursday. He noted the "big divergence" between the market and Fed projections and said, "No cuts this year is hard to believe."

In May, Gundlach recommended a straddle options trade that benefited from wide fluctuations in interest rates. The trade recently had netted a 22% gain.

Fed officials have been under intense pressure from more than the markets. Trump has been a continuous nemesis to the central bank, most recently repeating his demand for lower rates and saying he's "not happy with what [Powell has] done" as Fed chair.

Along the same lines, the Fed has its credibility to worry about.

Trump and a growing number of market participants view the December rate hike — the fourth of the year — as a policy mistake that came amid several pivots and missteps that caused Powell and other officials to change their public statements to assuage investors' nerves.

'A verbal intervention'

From October to March, the Fed went from being "a long way from neutral" on rates and with a balance sheet reduction on "autopilot," both in Powell's words, to adopting a "patient" stance on policy and finally laying out a timetable to end the balance sheet program by September. Officials also cut the forecast level of rate hikes from two to zero, and now are in the position of having to convey a likelihood of cuts, if that is the way the FOMC members see things unfolding.

"It's a difficult transition for the Fed now from two rate hikes this year to the pause and now moving closer and closer to rate cuts," said Quincy Krosby, chief market strategist at Prudential Financial.

Krosby points to two pivotal events recently that signaled yet another change in policy — remarks from Powell and Vice Chairman Richard Clarida earlier in June that set the groundwork for potential cuts. In Powell's case, it was a pledge to "act as appropriate to sustain the expansion" while for Clarida it was a vow to adapt policy to keep the economy "in a good place."

"You can't dismiss the comments from Powell and Clarida. That was orchestrated. They were laying the groundwork. That's what the Fed does," Krosby said. "It came across as verbal intervention and they didn't even have to do anything. The market reacted."

Indeed, stocks have been on a solid run lately, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average up more than 5% in June after a brutal May. That equity strength gives the Fed another pillar to rest on if it chooses not to cut this month, though that hasn't always been enough to stop easing in the past.

But if the market strength holds up and the U.S. and China come to a trade agreement, it at least could lower the level of expectations for cuts.

Tom Porcelli, chief U.S. economist at RBC, said a client survey showed that if a trade deal gets one, 85% of clients "would not react negatively to the Fed taking a pass" on a July rate cut.

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https://www.cnbc.com/2019/06/14/three-reasons-why-the-fed-wont-cut-rates-at-its-june-meeting.html

2019-06-15 13:14:27Z
52780314582799

The Fed won't cut rates at its June meeting. Here's why - CNBC

Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell holds a press conference following a two day Federal Open Market Committee policy meeting in Washington, January 30, 2019.

Leah Millis | Reuters

With pretty much everyone convinced that the Fed is going to be cutting interest rates at some point this year, the central bank faces one rather pressing question: Why wait?

After all, the market already is pricing in at least reductions this year and probably three. Though the Federal Open Market Committee meets next week, there is little expectation of a move then.

Not moving next week essentially comes down to three factors, according to Fed watchers: The looming G-20 summit at which the U.S. and China, at least theoretically, could reach a trade agreement; a desire not to be seen as overly influenced by the financial markets and President Donald Trump's hectoring; and the desire to avoid making December's rate hike look like a policy mistake.

"They don't want to be seen as cowing to any sort of pressure, be it political from the White House or from the market," said Lindsey Piegza, chief economist at Stifel. "The Fed is going to look at the data, they're going to look at what their models say. To them, it doesn't matter what the markets say."

'No cuts this year is hard to believe'

Wall Street, though, is clamoring for a cut.

Futures pricing Friday afternoon in the fed funds market showed a 21% chance of a move at the June 18-19 meeting, down from 30% earlier in the day on some stronger-than-expected economic data. The chance of a July cut remained at 85%, while the market was figuring a 61% probability for three moves in total by the end of the year.

As things stand currently among Chairman Jerome Powell and his fellow Fed officials, no moves are indicated. That is likely to change when FOMC members submit their economic projections at the June 18-19 meeting, which include the "dot plot" of individual members' expectations of where rates are headed over the next few years.

"I can't imagine what they are going to do with the dots," Jeffrey Gundlach, founder of DoubleLine Capital, said in a webcast Thursday. He noted the "big divergence" between the market and Fed projections and said, "No cuts this year is hard to believe."

In May, Gundlach recommended a straddle options trade that benefited from wide fluctuations in interest rates. The trade recently had netted a 22% gain.

Fed officials have been under intense pressure from more than the markets. Trump has been a continuous nemesis to the central bank, most recently repeating his demand for lower rates and saying he's "not happy with what [Powell has] done" as Fed chair.

Along the same lines, the Fed has its credibility to worry about.

Trump and a growing number of market participants view the December rate hike — the fourth of the year — as a policy mistake that came amid several pivots and missteps that caused Powell and other officials to change their public statements to assuage investors' nerves.

'A verbal intervention'

From October to March, the Fed went from being "a long way from neutral" on rates and with a balance sheet reduction on "autopilot," both in Powell's words, to adopting a "patient" stance on policy and finally laying out a timetable to end the balance sheet program by September. Officials also cut the forecast level of rate hikes from two to zero, and now are in the position of having to convey a likelihood of cuts, if that is the way the FOMC members see things unfolding.

"It's a difficult transition for the Fed now from two rate hikes this year to the pause and now moving closer and closer to rate cuts," said Quincy Krosby, chief market strategist at Prudential Financial.

Krosby points to two pivotal events recently that signaled yet another change in policy — remarks from Powell and Vice Chairman Richard Clarida earlier in June that set the groundwork for potential cuts. In Powell's case, it was a pledge to "act as appropriate to sustain the expansion" while for Clarida it was a vow to adapt policy to keep the economy "in a good place."

"You can't dismiss the comments from Powell and Clarida. That was orchestrated. They were laying the groundwork. That's what the Fed does," Krosby said. "It came across as verbal intervention and they didn't even have to do anything. The market reacted."

Indeed, stocks have been on a solid run lately, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average up more than 5% in June after a brutal May. That equity strength gives the Fed another pillar to rest on if it chooses not to cut this month, though that hasn't always been enough to stop easing in the past.

But if the market strength holds up and the U.S. and China come to a trade agreement, it at least could lower the level of expectations for cuts.

Tom Porcelli, chief U.S. economist at RBC, said a client survey showed that if a trade deal gets one, 85% of clients "would not react negatively to the Fed taking a pass" on a July rate cut.

Let's block ads! (Why?)

https://www.cnbc.com/2019/06/14/three-reasons-why-the-fed-wont-cut-rates-at-its-june-meeting.html

2019-06-15 13:09:33Z
52780314582799

Tired of #$%& passwords? Single Sign-on could be savior - USA TODAY

Jefferson Graham USA TODAY

Published 10:15 AM EDT Jun 15, 2019

The experience we know as password hell could be radically changed for the better within the next year and a half to three years. 

Struggling to come up with long strings of complex capital and lower case letters, numbers and symbols? That's so yesterday. 

That's the hope, anyway. 

In a fascinating interview with Google product manager Mark Risher in The Verge this week, he laid out his vision for why those passwords we've been told to create don't actually help.  

They have "no bearing on phishing, no bearing on password breaches, no bearing on password reuse," he said. "We think that it’s much more important to reduce the total number of passwords out there."

In other words, all that time you've been forced to spend trying to create tougher to crack passwords is a waste. At least that's the way he appears to see it. 

I think all Talking Tech readers would agree that anything we could do to eliminate the constant typing of passwords during our daily hours would be most welcome. 

But how to get there? 

Google wants you to use its single sign-on feature, which still requires a password and has Google authenticate your identity, for a second layer of authority, via text messages or via the Google smartphone app.

Apple just announced its answer to Google's sign-in, with an alternative that will be introduced to the iPhone and iPad in the fall, as part of the iOS13 software upgrade. Google has an 85.% market share for its Android phone system, to 14.9% for Apple, according to market tracker IDC. 

"Between the two of them, that's pretty much everyone's phone system," says Bob Rudis, the Chief Data Scientist for security firm Rapid 7. "So most everyone will get this by default over the next 18 to 36 months."

Facebook and Google have for years been offering consumers the ability to ditch having to recall their multiple passwords, and instead use their single sign-on system for gaining entry to websites. These tools don't even require the input of screen name and passwords, just a click of the "Sign in with" Facebook or Google tab. 

Apple hopes to go a little deeper, by using the Face ID and Touch ID biometrics features of the iPhone and iPad to bypass those clicks. If a website or app asks for an e-mail address, Apple will "create a unique email address that forwards to your real one," the company says. 

So how is single sign-on more secure, if Facebook is in charge? It's not, say security experts. "They’ve shown they can’t be trusted with our information," says Rudis. 

Google, however, is more trustworthy and Apple the best of the trio, he adds, due to its public commitment to privacy. 

Both are super convenient. Who wouldn't rather click a Facebook or Google icon instead of having to type in your name and password, once again? 

But not everyone we spoke with was in agreement that we can let our back down and forget about tough passwords. 

Even Google, on its website, recommends 8 characters minimum, and combinations of letters, numbers and symbols. Apple has the same requirements, with at least one number minimum. "You can also add extra characters and punctuation marks to make your password even stronger," the company says. 

"You can also make the password more complex by making it longer with a phrase or series of words that you can easily remember, but no one else knows," says Facebook. 

Andy Halverson, who runs IT for video firm Ooyala, looks to a password manager, and lets it create and remember the hard passwords, so he doesn't have to. He uses the password manager Dashlane, but there are many other popular ones, including Lastpass and 1Pass. 

"I like single sign-on, but this is another tool, and really convenient," he says.

James Litton, the CEO of security firm Identity Automation doesn't think single sign-on achieves much. "If it's a horrible password, your security situation hasn't improved," he says. 

He likes super long passwords, as many as 32 to 64 characters, but stored in a password manager. With a manager, you type in one master password, and the software logs you in. 

"It's more difficult for a bad guy to pick words out of a dictionary for a hack attack if I go long," he says. 

Meanwhile, for now, Rudis says a combination of long passwords and a password manager will lead to us "to that nirvana of being able to sign on with a single sign-on," everywhere.

It will take time. First, Apple will have to convince hundreds of thousands of websites to add its single sign-on system, which won't be easy. Apple, Google and Facebook have huge sales jobs ahead. For instance, while you can sign on to Barnes and Noble and Kroger with Google, that option isn't available on many top websites, including Target, Walmart, American Airlines, Verizon Wireless and Home Depot.

In other tech news this week

Elon Musk announced a new Tesla video game at the E3 conference: The racing game, "Beach Buggy Racing 2" will use the Tesla steering wheel, and will be able to be played in his car. Musk cautioned that the car has to be in park in order to play. 

Speaking of games, the PlayStation game system went down briefly on Thursday, for about four hours, According to the PlayStation status indicator page, there were problems with account management, gaming and social, PlayStation Now, PlayStation Video, PlayStation Store, and PlayStation Music. 

A leak of Google's next edition of the Pixel phone displayed online this week. After tech blogs got ahold of leaked images, Google did something unexpected: The search giant went to social media to post real photos of the next generation smartphone months in advance of its expected release. On Wednesday, Google dropped a rendering on Twitter with the caption, "Well, since there seems to be some interest, here you go! Wait 'til you see what ti can do. #Pixel4." Google traditionally introduces new hardware in the fall. 

And ICYMI, I offered some killer photo tips on how to get better vacation photos with your smartphone. Do you know about the flashlight app trick for food, or timer trick for selfies? Check it out!

This week's Talking Tech podcasts

Hey Google, why are you tracking my every move?

More on Google's tracking

Kristina Kumic's take on Father's Day videos

How to use tech to set up interviews

Mattel revs up new Hot Wheels 

That's it for the Talking Tech news wrap. Please subscribe to the newsletter, http://technewsletter.usatoday.com, listen to the daily Talking Tech podcast wherever you enjoy audio and follow me (@jeffersongraham) on Twitter, Instagram and YouTube. 

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2019-06-15 13:09:00Z
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