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October 29: Spain Rail Crash and Israel’s Election Deadlock
In data privacy
The Federal Trade Commission has ordered several companies to explain how they use personal data to set prices and pay. The inquiry comes amid growing customer concerns about pricing technology and AI-driven data collection.
Separately, the Department of Homeland Security is working to secure its systems after hackers accessed personnel files and posted work information for more than 41,000 employees online.
In federal court
A defense lawyer alleges that the FBI used a paid informant to steer an autistic Egyptian teenager into an alleged ISIS-inspired attack plot. The lawyer told a federal court that the bureau waited until the teenager turned 18 before sending the informant, and alleges that agents used propaganda the FBI had produced itself.
In Spain
Spain has begun three days of mourning after a high-speed train collision near Urda killed 69 people. Dozens of injured passengers remain in the hospital. Emergency teams are searching the wreckage with drones and dogs, while relatives are providing DNA samples to help identify victims.
Transport Minister Óscar Puente says the national rail control center authorized a Renfe train to pass a red signal 17 minutes before it struck a stationary Iryo train, following a computer failure. He called the decision “inexplicable.” Investigators are examining the cause, and recordings of conversations between controllers and drivers have raised questions about what controllers knew before the collision.
In Israel
Benjamin Netanyahu and his right-wing religious allies are projected to win 53 seats in Israel’s 120-member parliament, according to Bloomberg. The opposition bloc is projected to take 48. Neither would have a majority, and Bloomberg reports that coalition negotiations could take weeks or months.
In Tel Aviv, protesters called for a government bringing together Jewish and Arab parties. Police moved to disperse activists blocking traffic.
At the central banks
The Federal Reserve has held its key interest rate at 3.75 to 4 percent, with inflation still above target, despite President Donald Trump’s public calls for lower borrowing costs.
The European Central Bank says Christine Lagarde will step down in February, eight months before her term ends. Reuters reports that she could be confirmed as the next leader of the World Economic Forum as early as next month.
In the auto industry
Volkswagen reported a bigger-than-expected third-quarter loss, its worst result in a decade, amid competition from Chinese rivals at home and overseas. The results follow cuts to earnings forecasts by Mercedes-Benz and BMW as consumption weakens in China.
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