Welcome to Finance World

A credit card hack attack on Global Payments is hitting the headlines. Here are answers to some of the key questions it raises.

What happened in the Global Payments breach?

Global Payments, a company that processes card transactions, discovered an unauthorized intrusion into its servers in early March. The company says it "promptly" notified others in the industry. It didn’t publicly announce the breach until Friday.

The breach affects all major credit and debit card brands, because Global Payments is one link in the long chain involved in card transactions.

When a customer swipes a credit card, the data is sent to a payment processor like Global Payments, which coordinates the steps involved in authorizing the charge and submitting the transaction details to card networks like Visa (, Fortune 500) and MasterCard (, Fortune 500). It’s a quick but complicated process, with lots of players in the mix.

What kind of information was stolen? What can the hackers do with it?

Global Payments () released a statement late Sunday saying that around 1.5 million card numbers may have been compromised. That’s a big breach, but the odds are good that your card wasn’t among them. There are more than 1 billion credit and debit cards currently in circulation in the U.S., according to the Nilson Report, an industry trade publication.

Card numbers were stolen, but that’s all the thieves got fast cash online. Cardholder names, addresses and Social Security numbers were not affected, according to Global Payments.

That’s good news. Stolen numbers can be used create to fraudulent cards, but they’re not enough for full-fledged identity theft.

Global Payments is still investigating how the breach happened. The U.S. Secret Service has launched its own inquiry.

What does this mean for me? Should I be worried?

While the threat of a compromised card is upsetting, customers should sit tight. If your card issuer thinks your account may have been compromised, they’ll contact you. Some may need to reissue credit cards or take other steps to contain the damage.

No matter what, you’re not liable for unauthorized charges made on your account.

As Visa (, Fortune 500) put it in a response to the Global Payments debacle: "It’s important for U.S. Visa consumer cardholders to know they are protected against fraudulent purchases with Visa’s zero liability fraud protection policy, which exceeds federal safeguards. As always, Visa encourages cardholders to regularly monitor their accounts and to notify their issuing financial institution promptly of any unusual activity." 

Source

South Korea

AstraZeneca PLC says it has won a judgment in a U.S. court protecting its patent on the extended release version of Seroquel, its blockbuster drug for treating bipolar disorder.

AstraZeneca said Friday that U.S. District Court in New Jersey upheld the formulation patent for Seroquel XR, which expires in 2017.

The company said the court also ruled that Anchen Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Osmotica Pharmaceutical Corp., Torrent Pharmaceuticals Ltd., Torrent Pharma Inc., Mylan Pharmaceuticals Inc saving account payday loan. and Mylan Inc. have infringed the patent.

AstraZeneca has also been fighting legal battles to protect its patent on quetiapine, the active ingredient in Seroquel, which expires in December. Seroquel is the company’s second-largest-selling brand, accounting for 17 percent of sales last year.

Source

Scotland Yard’s communications chief resigned Thursday, the third senior police figure to part with his job over the force’s failure to come to grips with Britain’s phone hacking scandal.

Dick Fedorcio stepped down after the force decided he would face disciplinary proceedings over a contract awarded to a former executive at Rupert Murdoch’s now-defunct News of the World tabloid. The Independent Police Complaints Commission ruled that Fedorcio had to answer questions over the decision to hire Neil Wallis, the former News of the World executive later arrested on suspicion of breaking into voicemails.

The links between senior members of the News of the World and Scotland Yard have come under particularly close scrutiny because both organizations insisted for years that there was no evidence of widespread phone hacking at the tabloid.

Those assurances fell apart after it emerged that journalists at the paper routinely broke into the phones of celebrities and other public figures to score scoops or get leverage. Three parallel police inquiries, a cascade of lawsuits, and a judge-led inquiry have since lifted the lid on a host of illegal practices, from large-scale bribery to computer hacking no fax cash advance.

The scandal’s fallout has shaken Britain’s establishment. The News of the World has been shut, the country’s press watchdog has been scrapped, and dozens of journalists, executives, and public officials have either resigned, been suspended or been arrested over their role in the scandal.

Among them are former Scotland Yard chief Paul Stephenson and ex-Assistant Commissioner John Yates, both of whom resigned in July. Fedorcio’s decision was announced Thursday, but he’d been on extended leave since August.

Politicians also have been drawn into the scandal. Kit Malthouse, London’s deputy mayor for policing and crime, was asked why he had challenged police about the resources they were pouring into the phone hacking investigation.

Malthouse, called before the judge-led inquiry on Thursday, defended his skepticism, saying that the phone hacking investigation is projected to draw in some 200 people by 2013.

“That’s the equivalent of eight murder squads,” he said.

Source

Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda

Global stock markets drifted lower in lackluster trading Monday as investors saw few optimistic indicators to weigh against the prospects of a global economic slowdown.

Benchmark oil remained above $106 per barrel while the dollar rose against the euro and the yen.

In early European trading, Germany’s DAX slid 0.2 percent to 6,981.43 while France’s CAC-40 retreated 0.3 percent to 3,466.11. The FTSE 100 index of leading British companies edged up 0.1 percent to 5,862.13.

U.S. stocks were poised to fall. Dow futures were marginally lower at 13,029 while broader S&P 500 futures lost less than 0.1 percent to 1,393.20.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 index rose less than 0.1 percent to end at 10,018.24 as the yen slipped against the dollar, helping the country’s powerhouse export sector. Markets elsewhere had a tepid start to the week after reports in China and Europe last week pointed to a likely slowdown in those economies.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index finished unchanged at 20,668.86 but property companies rebounded as investors shook off worries that the social reform policies promised by the city’s next leader would hurt home prices.

South Korea’s Kospi index fell 0.4 percent to 2,019.19. Australia’s S&P ASX/200 shed 0.2 percent to 4,262.80. Benchmarks in Singapore, Taiwan and Indonesia also fell. New Zealand was higher.

“The market is still lacking positive catalysts,” said Jackson Wong, a vice president at Tanrich Securities, who noted that investors are hanging back as they await market-moving news.

Germany is set to release later Monday its monthly index of business confidence, a closely watched indicator for Europe’s biggest economy. Earnings reports by Cheung Kong Holdings Ltd. and Hutchison Whampoa Ltd., controlled by Hong Kong’s richest man, Li Ka-shing, are due Thursday.

Mainland Chinese shares were flat. The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index was less then 0.1 percent higher at 2,350.60 while the smaller Shenzhen Composite Index was unchanged at 952 paydayloans.76.

Real estate- and media-related companies weakened. China Vanke, the country’s biggest real estate developer, lost 1.2 percent while No. 2 Poly Real Estate lost 0.8 percent.

“Investors worry GDP data in the first quarter might be 7 to 7.5 percent instead of the earlier 7.5 to 8 percent” that’s been forecast, said Peng Yunliang, an analyst based in Shanghai.

Shares of Qantas Airways Ltd. rose 2 percent in Sydney after it announced plans to set up a Hong Kong-based discount airline with China Eastern Airlines Co.

Chinese auto and battery maker BYD Co. fell 4.8 percent in Hong Kong after it reported 2011 profit fell by nearly half as the country’s booming auto sales slowed and competition intensified.

Shares of China Construction Bank, one of China’s four major state-owned lenders, fell 1 percent in Hong Kong even after reporting 2011 profit rose 25.5 percent despite government-imposed credit curbs and slowing economic growth.

Big Hong Kong property developers rebounded on hopes that social reform policies espoused by Leung Chun-ying, who was selected Sunday to be Hong Kong’s next chief executive and pledged to expand public housing, would not bring down house prices. New World Development Co. rose 3.8 percent, Sino Land Co. was up 3.8 percent and Henderson Land Co. climbed 2.1 percent.

“We reiterate our view that general property prices will not fall substantially on the simple theme of Leung taking office,” Citigroup analysts said in a report.

Benchmark oil for May delivery was down 46 cents to $106.41 in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract was up $1.52 to end at $106.87 per barrel in New York on Friday.

The euro weakened to $1.3205 from $1.3263 late Friday in New York. The dollar rose to 82.88 yen from 82.49 yen.

Source

A former MF Global executive is contradicting testimony from Jon Corzine, saying the former senator ordered the transfer of $200 million out of a customer account days before the firm collapsed, according to an e-mail obtained by congressional investigators.

Edith O’Brien, the former assistant treasurer, says Corzine ordered the money shifted to one of the firm’s bank accounts overseas, according to a memo that cited the e-mail.

A House Financial Services subcommittee released the memo Friday in advance of a hearing Wednesday. O’Brien has been subpoenaed to testify.

In December, Corzine told the panel: “I did not instruct anyone to lend customer funds to MF Global or any of its affiliates.” Corzine also said he didn’t know about “the use of customer funds on any loan or transfer.”

.

Source

Asian stock markets fell Friday, dragged down by reports of a manufacturing slowdown in China and a deepening economic malaise in Europe.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 index dropped 1 percent to 10,027.72 as the country’s formidable export sector faded amid fears of slowing overseas demand.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng lost 0.9 percent to 20,712.70 and South Korea’s Kospi shed 0.3 percent to 2,019.79.

Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 slipped 0.2 percent to 4,264.50 as the country’s mining and resource shares took a pounding over worries of reduced demand from China, the world’s biggest consumer of raw materials.

BHP Billiton, the world’s largest mining company, lost 1.3 percent in Sydney. Steel makers also took a hit. South Korea’s POSCO lost 0.9 percent while Japan’s JFE Holdings dropped 2.2 percent.

On Thursday, data showed China’s manufacturing is contracting. An index compiled by HSBC fell to 48.1 in March from 49.6 in February. Figures below 50 indicate that manufacturing is shrinking.

That’s a negative sign because growth in China has played a key role in shoring up the global economy since the financial crisis of 2008.

And in another sign of cooling growth in the world’s No. 2 economy, new home prices dropped in 45 Chinese cities in February as the government implemented measures to cool property speculation.

Worries about China’s deceleration were compounded by a survey Thursday showing slower growth in Europe. An index of economic activity from financial information company Markit fell to 48.8 in March from 49.3 a month earlier. The index combines both the services and manufacturing.

Japanese exporters whose fortunes are closely linked with European demand came under pressure. Honda Motor Corp. lost 2.3 percent and Mazda Motor Corp. shed 2.1 percent. Sharp Corp. slid 2.9 percent and Sony Corp. lost 2.6 percent.

A rare gainer was Japanese food processor Yukiguni Maitake Co., which rose 0.6 percent a day after announcing a study showed that maitake mushrooms might help fight obesity, Kyodo News reported.

Benchmark oil for May delivery was up 17 cents to $105.52 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract fell $1.92 to finish at $105.35 per barrel on the Nymex on Thursday.

In currencies, the euro rose to $1.3198 from $1.3181 late Thursday in New York. The dollar rose to 82.88 yen from 82.59 yen.

Source

Stocks were mostly lower Wednesday on Wall Street following a bumpy start to the week.

The Dow Jones industrial average was down 45 points at 13,125 in the first two hours of trading, giving up an earlier gain of 20. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index was down three points to 1,402, and the Nasdaq composite was down less than a point at 3,073.

The declines were broad. Only three of the 10 industry groups in the S&P 500 index rose. Aluminum maker Alcoa led the Dow lower with a decline of 1.2 percent.

Hartford Financial jumped 4.3 percent after the company said it would get out of the annuity business and focus on property and casualty insurance, group benefits and mutual funds. Hedge fund manager John Paulson had urged Hartford to spin off businesses.

Green Mountain Coffee Roasters soared 8.3 percent. The company said it was expanding its partnership with Starbucks to sell Starbucks’ Vue coffee packs for use in Green Mountain’s Keurig single-cup machines. The news relieved investors concerned that Starbucks’ new single-cup Verismo coffee machine might be a competitive threat to Keurig.

FSI International, which makes equipment for producing microelectronics, jumped 10 percent after the company reported that orders skyrocketed in the latest quarter, helping the company beat analysts’ forecasts.

Baker Hughes fell 4 percent after the oil-field services company said its profit margin would fall below last quarter’s as companies shift from crude to natural gas exploration. Baker Hughes is facing shortages of raw materials used in its pressure pumping business, a decline in fleet usage and higher-than-expected personnel and logistics costs.

The yield on the 10-year Treasury note fell to 2.32 percent from 2.36 percent late Tuesday. The dollar fell against the euro. Gold and crude oil prices rose slightly.

Stocks closed lower on Tuesday for only the second time in two weeks after two reports suggested an economic slowdown in China. Supercharged economic growth in China over the past three years has helped sustain the global economic recovery. The Dow closed down nearly 69 points, its biggest loss in two weeks.

The Dow is still up 1.6 percent this month and 7.7 percent so far this year. Other indexes are up even more in the year to date: The S&P 500 is up 11.7 percent, the technology-focused Nasdaq composite 18.1 percent.

In a research report Wednesday, Goldman Sachs analysts urged investors to dump bonds and put money into stocks. The report argues that the weak economic growth in the United States and Europe is not universal, and that the 2010s could be the strongest period for world growth between 1980 and 2050.

It also argues that, while Japan’s two decades of economic stagnation in the 1990s and 2000s are a tempting comparison to what the U.S. and Europe face today, Japanese stocks were far more overvalued before Japan entered its decline.

“We think it’s time to say a `long goodbye’ to bonds, and embrace the `long good buy’ for equities as we expect them to embark on an upward trend over the next few years,” the report says.

Source

Thailand and Taiwan may keep interest rates unchanged this week as Asian policy makers gauge the extent of a growth slowdown in China that