Financial life in a big town

If your wallet gets stolen or you’ve been caught up in a data breach — as in April, when hackers grabbed 1.5 million credit card numbers — you can protect against identity theft by contacting one of the big three credit bureaus, which are required by law to place a fraud alert on your report.

But dealing with the credit bureaus isn’t easy. A recent Federal Trade Commission report found major complaints about Equifax, Experian and TransUnion included long waits to reach live help, failure to send required free credit reports, and unwelcome sales pitches for monitoring services.

Placing a fraud alert also suffices when identity theft is just a possibility.

If identity theft a reality, though — say, someone’s using your credit card — take stronger measures, such as freezing your credit.

Check your financial health

A monitoring service may also make sense, but hold off on signing up when notifying a credit bureau.

"Don’t make a decision when you’re at your most fearful," says FTC attorney Tony Rodriguez.

Identity thefts tops list of consumer complaints

One alternative: Insurers including MetLife offer a year of free monitoring for homeowners and auto insurance customers.

Identity theft victims get spotty help

Was it easy to reach a live person at credit bureaus?*

61%: Yes

36%: No

Did the bureaus give you a free credit report?

51%: Yes

11%: No

33%: Some did

Did you get a notice of your ID theft victim rights?

45%: Yes

27%: No

* "Don’t remember or not sure" responses omitted.

Source: Federal Trade Commission "Using FACTA Remedies" report, March 2012.

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Investors are bracing for Facebook’s Wall Street debut on Friday after the pioneering online social network raised about $16 billion in one of the biggest initial public offerings in U.S. history.

More: Why you should resist buying Facebook on its first day of trading

More: Facebook IPO: How long will the euphoria last?

To rapturous applause from employees, Facebook Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg rang the bell to kick off trading on the Nasdaq market at the company’s Silicon Valley headquarters at 6:30 a paydayloans.m. Pacific time.

Shares in Facebook begin publicly trading on the Nasdaq stock exchange for the first time Friday at 11:00 a.m., at an opening price of $38 US. Follow our live blog as The Star covers the social networking giant’s historic first trading day, including analysis and reaction.

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The euro fell to a four-month low as Spain

European markets bounced back from early losses on news that the 17-country eurozone has narrowly dodged recession, thanks mainly to strong growth in Germany, though concerns persisted that Greece’s political impasse could eventually force it to leave the currency bloc.

Official EU statistics showed the eurozone economy was flat in the first quarter compared with the previous three-month period, better than the 0.2 percent drop that analysts had been expecting. A drop would have put the eurozone technically back into recession, which is defined as two consecutive quarters of economic contraction.

“In the current context, zero growth in the eurozone in the first quarter is relatively good news,” said Marie Diron, senior economic adviser at Ernst & Young. “It suggests that the economy is not falling off a cliff under the burden of fiscal austerity.”

Growth of 0.5 percent in Germany helped offset recessions in seven countries, including large economies like Spain and Italy. But such imbalances remain a worrying weakness in the eurozone. The most fragile economies are also those that are enacting the most punishing austerity measures to lower debt. The result is a currency union in which countries’ economic paths are diverging.

After earlier losses, Britain’s FTSE 100 was up 0.2 percent to 5,474 while Germany’s DAX was up 0.3 percent at 6,472 and France’s CAC-40 added 0.7 percent to 3,080. The euro was up 0.2 percent at $1.2852.

Wall Street was headed for a higher opening, with Dow Jones industrial futures rising 0.6 percent to 12,731 while S&P 500 futures adding 0.6 percent to 1,341.50.

The outlook for the eurozone remains darkened by the political crisis in Greece, where party leaders were struggling for a ninth day to form a coalition government.

No party won an outright majority in the May 6 election, causing an impasse that has raised questions about Greece’s ability to stay in the eurozone. Power-sharing efforts have failed so far after the left-wing Syriza party, which came second in the vote, insisted that the draconian terms of Greece’s financial rescue agreements be scrapped or rewritten short term personal loans.

More talks will be held Tuesday, but hopes for a deal are low and expectations are increasing that the country will have to hold new elections. With polls showing increasing support for Syriza, analysts expect a showdown between whatever new government comes to power in Greece and the country’s bailout rescuers.

“The exit of Greece from the single currency has become probable. Not so long ago it was impossible,” analysts at DBS Bank said.

Looking ahead, investors will keep an eye on U.S. economic indicators for inflation, retail sales and surveys on manufacturing due later in the day. The recovery in the world’s largest economy has been tentative, with employment gains uneven, though corporate earnings have been mostly upbeat. Investors will be searching for signs of strength that might offset the turmoil in Europe and weakening growth in Asia, particularly China.

Asian markets fell earlier on Tuesday, with Japan’s Nikkei 225 down 0.8 percent to 8,900.74, its lowest close since Feb. 3. South Korea’s Kospi lost 0.8 percent to 1,898.96. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 lost 0.7 percent to 4,266.30.

Mainland Chinese shares extended their losses, with the Shanghai Composite Index hitting another three-month low, losing 0.2 percent to 2,374.90. But Hong Kong’s Hang Seng, which some analysts said was oversold after more than a week of losses, rebounded 0.8 percent to 19,894.31.

Benchmark oil for June delivery was up 2 cents to $94.80 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract fell $1.35 to settle at $94.78 in New York on Friday.

In currencies, the dollar rose to 79.92 yen from 79.86 yen late Monday in New York.

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Oil prices fell Wednesday on concerns about a weakening European economy and disappointing job growth in the U.S.

Benchmark West Texas Intermediate crude gave up 94 cents to end the day at $105.22 per barrel in New York. Brent crude, which helps set the price of oil imported into the U.S., lost $1.46 to finish at $118.20 per barrel in London.

Prices dropped after a survey showed that Europe’s manufacturing industry is slowing down. Also, the unemployment rate in the 17 countries that use the euro rose to 10.9 percent in March. A separate report says U.S. businesses added 119,000 jobs in April, far lower than the 201,000 added in March.

Oil and natural gas demand has been declining this year in the U.S. and Europe, and it could fall further if their economies struggle. The U.S. is the world’s largest oil consumer. Europe uses nearly a fifth of the world’s oil.

Wednesday’s reports out of Europe and the U.S. show “the economic picture remains uncertain,” said Gene McGillian, a broker and oil analyst at Tradition Energy. “The European debt crisis is still ongoing, and while the U.S. appears to be improving, it’s really just muddling forward,” he said.

The Energy Department’s Energy Information Administration also reported on Wednesday that U No teletrak payday loan.S. oil supplies grew slightly more than expected last week, while demand fell nearly 2 percent. The nation’s crude inventories increased by 2.8 million barrels from the previous week, to 375.9 million barrels in storage. At the same time, gasoline supplies dropped by 2 million barrels.

The EIA report said wholesale demand for gasoline was down almost 5 percent from a year ago, as many drivers continue to be careful about how much they drive.

Retail U.S. gasoline prices fell by less than a penny on Wednesday to a national average of $3.80 per gallon, according to AAA, Wright Express and Oil Price Information service. That’s about 12 cents lower than a month ago, but the average is still above $4 a gallon in seven states and the District of Columbia.

In other energy futures trading, natural gas fell nearly 5 percent after jumping on Tuesday to the highest level in two months. Futures fell 11.8 cents to finish at $2.253 per 1,000 cubic feet.

Heating oil fell by 3.46 cents to end at $3.1425 per gallon and gasoline fell by 2.14 cents to end at $3.0757 a gallon.

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Oil prices dropped slightly on Wednesday after the government reported an increase in U.S. supplies.

Benchmark West Texas Intermediate crude lost 22 cents to $103.33 per barrel in New York. Brent crude, which sets the price of oil imported into the U.S., lost 28 cents to $117.88 per barrel in London.

Prices dipped after the Energy Information Administration reported that U.S. oil supplies increased by 4 million barrels last week. The increase was a surprise following an industry trade group’s prediction late Tuesday that supplies had declined last week. The price of oil tends to fall as more supply becomes available to refineries.

Crude supplies climbed close to a record high in Cushing, Okla., where benchmark crude is delivered. High oil supplies in Cushing have pushed the benchmark price lower than other oil varieties. Those supplies are expected to begin falling in May when the Seaway Pipeline begins carrying crude oil from Cushing to the Gulf Coast.

Supplies also rose last week on the East Coast, Gulf Coast, Midwest and Rocky Mountains.

Petroleum demand fell by 3.2 percent when compared with the same time last year.

At the pump, gasoline prices fell for a ninth day to an average $3.84 per gallon, according to auto club AAA, Wright Express and Oil Price Information Service. The price of gasoline has declined by an average of 9.6 cents per gallon since it hit $3.936 per gallon on April 6.

In other energy trading, heating oil was flat at $3.1314 per gallon and gasoline futures gave up 3.05 cents to $3.1288 per gallon. Natural gas added 2.9 cents to $2.004 per 1,000 cubic feet.

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The parent of American Airlines, which went into bankruptcy last year, announced a quarterly net loss of $1.7 billion on Thursday, slammed by reorganization costs and rising fuel prices.

The loss was more than quadruple the carrier’s loss from a year earlier, when AMR Corp. reported a net loss of $405 million in the first quarter of 2011.

AMR said the part of the loss stemmed from $1.4 billion in reorganization costs in the latest quarter. The company said the costs were related to its bankruptcy filing from last Nov. 29.

The largest chunk of those costs — some $1 billion - is related to the rejection of eight aircraft leases and eight aircraft engine leases, and the modification of 158 aircraft leases, the airline said.

Merger hangover continues to pain United

American was also hit by rising fuel prices poor credit personal loans. The company said that it paid $3.24 per gallon of jet fuel in the first quarter of 2012, a 17% increase from $2.76 in the year-earlier quarter. The airline said this equated to an increase in costs of $325 million.

While American Airlines didn’t specifically mention job cuts in its quarterly report, the carrier said in February that it was cutting 13,000 positions from its overall staff of 88,000. Layoffs, especially when they happen en masse, typically cost a lot of money for the company that’s handing out the severance packages.

American is one of the largest U.S. carriers, competing with Delta Air Lines (, Fortune 500) and United Continental Holdings (, Fortune 500). 

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Economists have lots of ideas about what can be done to help jumpstart the still weak economy, but they don’t expect Congress to enact any of them any time soon.

A survey of economists by CNNMoney found most don’t expect Congress to pass any kind of economic assistance anytime in the foreseeable future. Only about a third of the 16 who responded to the survey expect some kind of action early in 2013, after the election. Just one expects action in a lame-duck session after the election but before the end of the year. None of them expect action before the election.

"Two weeks after a sudden freeze in hell," is when Bill Watkins, of the Center for Economic Research and Forecasting at Cal Lutheran University, expects Congress to ride to the rescue.

Watkins and his colleagues are the most concerned of those surveyed about the recent weakness in a number of economic readings, including much weaker-than-expected job growth in the March jobs report. They were the only ones who checked the very concerned box.

Another five economists said they were somewhat concerned, but six said they were only a little concerned, and four said they were not concerned at all.

Policies they would like to see passed include comprehensive tax reform, which was endorsed nearly unanimously. Those surveyed were allowed to endorse as many options as they thought would help the economy.

America’s biggest tax breaks

Tax reform would likely lower tax rates for both corporations and individuals, but eliminate many deductions and loopholes. The concept has been endorsed by everyone from President Obama to his likely Republican opponent Mitt Romney, but working out the details in a partisan atmosphere strikes economists as out of reach.

"Comprehensive tax reform would be great, but highly unlikely," said David Wyss, a fellow at Brown University.

Also getting the support of most economists is some extension of the Bush tax cuts, although they split on whether it should be for all taxpayers or if the extension should exclude high-income taxpayers.

Another third support another extension of the partial payroll tax holiday that has been in effect since the start of 2011 and runs through the end of this year.

"The pace of economic growth is too tepid to allow for the simultaneous expiration of the tax policies at the end of 2012," said Sean Snaith, economics professor at the University of Central Florida.

The survey also found 40% support repealing the health care reform and about a quarter would like to repeal the Dodd-Frank financial services reform.

"The uncertainty imparted on the economy by both Dodd-Frank and health care reforms are black clouds over the private sector and they both need to be reworked into more moderate forms," said Snaith.

Some believe that the economy will be better off if Congress does as little as possible.

How Congress is killing the recovery

"There was a time in this recent period where the economy benefited from the assistance of government actions, but now it is time for the government sector to resume its place on the sidelines," said Russell Price of Ameriprise Financial. Price would like to see an extension of the tax cuts for all but upper income households along with comprehensive tax reform.

The economists surveyed forecast only modest growth and hiring for the rest of this year. 

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Spanish, Italian and Portuguese banks are loading up on bonds issued by their own governments, a move that shifts more of the risk of sovereign default to European taxpayers from private creditors.

Holdings of Spanish government debt by lenders based in the country jumped 26 percent in two months, to 220 billion euros ($289 billion) at the end of January, data from Spain