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📝 Good afternoon and welcome to Notes on the News. Here’s what you should know today, May 25: Some congressional Democrats are scrutinizing credit-reporting companies’ handling of consumer complaints, orders for long-lasting goods rose modestly in April, and getting consistent sleep in the age of hybrid work is (yawn) important. Notes on the News is getting a new name and look later this month. We’ll still land in your inbox at the same time to catch you up on the biggest headlines—and help you make sense of them. We’ll also bring you more ways to connect with our journalism, advice for making better decisions, an easier-to-read format and a surprise or two. We can’t wait to hear what you think! |
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| People leaving flowers Wednesday at a makeshift memorial outside Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas. PHOTO: TAMIR KALIFA FOR THE WALL STREET JOURNAL |
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2. The FDA responded too late to a warning about safety problems at a baby formula plant, the agency commissioner said. Closing the Abbott Laboratories manufacturing facility in Sturgis, Mich., after bacteria was discovered exacerbated infant formula shortages, Robert Califf told a House subcommittee. The hearing is the latest in Congress on the short supplies of the crucial baby product, which have left some store shelves empty, triggered an outcry from parents and prompted the Biden administration to try to address the problem. |
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3. Rising interest rates are battering mortgage lenders. They’re struggling to survive a sharp drop-off in the number of homeowners refinancing their loans. Nonbank lenders in particular are laying off staff, selling servicing rights and otherwise trying to survive. Refinancings made up the bulk of U.S. mortgage originations throughout the Covid-19 pandemic. |
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| A wounded man at a hospital in Pokrovsk, in the Donetsk region of eastern Ukraine, on Wednesday. PHOTO: FRANCISCO SECO/ASSOCIATED PRESS |
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0.4% — The increase in orders for long-lasting goods such as appliances, computers and cars in April. That’s a seasonally adjusted $265.3 billion following a revised 0.6% rise in March, the Commerce Department said. April marked the sixth increase in seven months, driven by a jump in new aircraft orders. 45 — The number of poor countries to which Pfizer will sell 23 of its patent-protected drugs and vaccines for cancer, heart conditions and autoimmune diseases at not-for-profit prices. Under the initiative, the pharmaceutical giant will begin shipping the medicines first to Ghana, Malawi, Rwanda, Senegal and Uganda before the end of this year. $2.78 trillion — The value of assets in funds that claim to focus on sustainability or ESG factors (a.k.a. environmental, social and corporate-governance) in the first quarter, up from less than $1 trillion two years earlier, according to Morningstar. The SEC voted to issue two proposals on new requirements for investment funds that try to appeal to public concerns about climate change or social justice. |
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| What Everyone Wants To Know |
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| A House subcommittee led by Rep. James Clyburn (D., S.C.) is looking into credit-reporting companies’ responses to complaints. PHOTO: MICHAEL A. MCCOY FOR THE WALL STREET JOURNAL |
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Federal lawmakers are investigating how credit-reporting companies dealt with consumer complaints during the pandemic. Democrats on the House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis sent letters to Equifax, Experian and TransUnion, seeking documentation of their responses to complaints about credit-report errors, according to letters The Wall Street Journal viewed. Payment-deferment programs and an increase in identity theft during the pandemic created new opportunities for mistakes. Equifax, Experian and TransUnion didn’t comment. Industry representatives have said errors often come from incorrect information lenders provide or from people trying to remove legitimate negative information, such as payments they missed. |
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When you mix RTO and WFH, it’s hard to catch enough Zs. Sticking with a consistent sleep routine can become tricky when you have the option of sleeping later on remote days. But poor sleep could hurt your performance at work, make you too stressed or irritable to form professional relationships with colleagues and weaken your immune system. Experts advise figuring out your sleep chronotype (For those of you not nodding off already, that means if you’re an early riser or a night owl.), adopting habits to standardize a schedule that works with your body’s natural tendencies, using tracking apps and understanding that you can’t bank sleep. |
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| ILLUSTRATION: JAN FEINDT |
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Go travel this summer—but prepare for worst-case scenarios: You’ll need to have a solid Plan B or C or D ready. Here are a few strategies to keep in mind: Try everything to get rebooked quickly when your flight has been canceled (stand in line at the airport, use the airline’s app, message the carrier on Twitter), arrive at the airport early to avoid long security lines, update car-rental reservations ASAP to reflect flight changes and familiarize yourself with train schedules and car-rental agencies. |
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Today's newsletter was curated by Zlati Meyer in collaboration with publishing editor Rich Bellis in New York. We hope you’re enjoying Notes on the News. If you would prefer to receive a different newsletter, please check out all your options to keep up with the latest on markets, economics, politics and more. For members, we recommend The 10-Point. |
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