GSK Wins Latest Trial Over Zantac Cancer Claims

 GSK won the latest trial over claims that discontinued heartburn drug Zantac caused cancer, as a jury on Monday found that the drug was not responsible for an Illinois woman's illness, a company spokesperson said.

Carrie Joiner had alleged in her lawsuit in state court in Chicago that she developed colorectal cancer from a carcinogenic contaminant called NDMA found in the once-blockuster drug.

A lawyer for Joiner did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Zantac was sold at different times by GSK, Pfizer, Sanofi and Boehringer Ingelheim. First approved by U.S. regulators in 1983, it became the world's best-selling medicine in 1988 and one of the first to top $1 billion in annual sales.

The companies collectively are facing thousands of lawsuits against them in courts across the United States.

The majority of those are in Delaware state court, where a judge in June allowed more than 70,000 cases to go forward after rejecting the defendants' bid to keep key plaintiffs' expert witnesses out of court on the grounds that their scientific methods were not reliable. The companies are appealing that ruling.

The lawsuits began piling up after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in 2020 asked manufacturers to pull the drug off the market over concerns that ranitidine, the active ingredient in Zantac and generic versions of the drug, could degrade into NDMA over time or when exposed to heat.

Several cases have settled before trial for undisclosed amounts. The only previous case to go to trial ended with a verdict in favor of GSK and Boehringer Ingelheim in May.

The drugmakers have said the cases are meritless. They won a significant victory in 2022, when a Florida federal judge ruled against about 50,000 cases, finding that the alleged cancer link was not supported by sound science. Some of those cases are being appealed.

https://www.usnews.com/news/us/articles/2024-08-05/gsk-wins-latest-trial-over-zantac-cancer-claims

'US passes message to Iran not to escalate at 'critical moment' for Middle East'

 The United States has been urging countries through its diplomatic engagements to tell Iran that escalation in the Middle East is not in their interest, a State Department spokesperson said on Monday, at what Secretary of State Antony Blinken called a "critical moment" for the region.

Blinken said Washington was "engaged in intense diplomacy, pretty much around the clock" to help calm tensions amid fears Iran is preparing a retaliatory strike against Israel.

"All parties must refrain from escalation," Blinken said during a signing ceremony with his Australian counterpart in Washington.

"All parties must take steps to ease tensions. Escalation is not in anyone's interests. It will only lead to more conflict, more violence, more insecurity."

Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh was assassinated in the Iranian capital Tehran last week, an attack that drew threats of revenge on Israel and fueled further concern that the conflict in Gaza was turning into a wider Middle East war.

Iran has blamed Israel and said it will "punish" it; Israeli officials have not claimed responsibility for the killing. Iran backs Hamas, which is at war with Israel in Gaza, and also the Lebanese group Hezbollah, whose senior military commander Fuad Shukr was killed in an Israeli strike on Beirut last week.

U.S. President Joe Biden met on Monday with his national security team, including Blinken, in the White House Situation Room to discuss the latest Middle East developments.

Blinken earlier on Monday spoke with Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani and Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty on the tensions in the Middle East.

"One of the points of the engagements that we have had is to urge countries to pass messages to Iran and urge countries to make clear to Iran that it is very much not in their interests to escalate this conflict, that it is very much not in their interest to launch another attack on Israel," said State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller.

Miller, speaking at a press briefing, did not say definitively whether or not Washington's messages have been disseminated to Iran or through which channel.

"I would expect that some of them would pass that message along and impress that point upon the government of Iran," he added.

Blinken in his remarks also called for parties to "break this cycle" of violence and agree a ceasefire in the Gaza conflict, despite the killing of Haniyeh, who was a key figure in the negotiations between Israel and Hamas.

"What it comes down to really is all parties finding ways to come to an agreement, not look for reasons to delay or to say no," Blinken said. "It is urgent that all parties make the right choices in the hours and days ahead."

https://www.yahoo.com/news/us-urged-countries-pass-messages-182735867.html

Chicago Crime and Democratic Values

 The Democratic National Committee presented its 2024 convention site as a show of confidence. “Chicago is a world-class city that looks like America and demonstrates the values of the Democratic Party,” Brandon Johnson, then mayor-elect, said in the DNC’s April 2023 announcement.

Fast-forward to this July 4. Over the four-day holiday weekend in Chicago, 19 people were fatally shot and more than 100 wounded by gunfire. One of them, 8-year-old Bryson Orr, was killed along with two women in a drive-by shooting. This wasn’t unusual. On Memorial Day weekend, 10 people lost their lives to gun violence, including 5-year-old Reign Ware. On Father’s Day weekend, more than 70 people were shot and eight killed. The child victims this summer include 7-year-old Jai’Mani Amir Rivera, fatally shot in the chest while walking to a neighbor’s house on June 18. A 3-month-old boy named Jemimah—his parents, fearing for their safety, have kept the family name out of the news—was shot in the chest on July 27 while riding in a car and remains in critical condition. On Thursday, a 3-year-old boy was grazed by a bullet fired by an adversary of his father.

Juveniles are well-represented among perpetrators as well as victims. Sixteen-year-old Raysean Comer has been charged in Jai’Mani’s murder. On July 8, an 11-year-old girl and three other minors allegedly assaulted and robbed a 63-year-old man on a subway train. Teenagers populate the gangs that use stolen cars and weapons to commit back-to-back carjackings.

Is this what happens when you govern in accord with the “values of the Democratic Party”? Convention speakers will likely argue that crime has gone down since Joe Biden and Kamala Harris arrived in the White House. In Chicago as of July 28, there had been 29 fewer homicides than during the same period in 2023, an 8% drop, and 76 fewer shooting incidents, a 5% drop. But those decreases don’t begin to erase the crime spike that began with the George Floyd race riots of 2020. The seven major felonies tracked by the federal government were up 55% in 2023 compared with 2019. Through July 21 of this year, major felonies were up 53% from the same period in 2020.

Mr. Johnson’s explanation for Chicago’s anarchy: racism. “Black death has been unfortunately accepted in this country for a very long time,” he said after the July 4 shooting spree. Indifference to “black life,” Mr. Johnson maintains, led to “generations of disinvestment” in black communities. The teens who rampage on Chicago’s Magnificent Mile, beating and stomping on passersby and breaking car windows, have been “starved of opportunities in their own communities.”

After Memorial Day weekend 2023, when 11 people were killed and at least 30 more shot, Mr. Johnson reminded the city that “poverty didn’t go away over the weekend.” Communities have been “disinvested in and traumatized,” he added, and “you are seeing the manifestation of that trauma.”

It is hard to square that claim of poverty with the ubiquity of smartphones among juvenile looters and shooters. Social media is the police’s friend, since youthful gangbangers often post videos of themselves showing off their guns and stolen money. As for “disinvestment,” Chicago has been pouring billions into high-crime neighborhoods for decades. Illinois has thrown in hundreds of millions more over the past 5½ years, dedicated to therapy, job training, substance-abuse counseling and other social services to little avail.

Mr. Johnson will find a kindred spirit in Ms. Harris. Ms. Harris, too, believes that systemic racism “seeps into every part of American life,” to quote a 2020 address. In an April 2021 speech, she said that Floyd’s death showed America the “racial injustice” that keeps the country from “fulfilling the promise of liberty and justice for all.” Like Mr. Johnson, Ms. Harris also blames the lack of “investment” for crime. “If you want safe communities,” she said in the 2020 address, “you have to invest in the health of those communities.”

As California attorney general in 2015, Ms. Harris implemented “implicit bias” training for police officers, the first such statewide program in the country. She wants more police departments to come under federal consent decree for alleged civil-rights violations. She rejects the idea that putting more cops on the street improves public safety. She opposes trying juvenile gang murderers as adults, and she opposes extended sentences for most convicted felons who commit a third felony.

Ms. Harris can even take partial credit for Chicago’s crime policies. In 2016 then-Attorney General Harris co-chaired a transition team for Kim Foxx, the newly elected Cook County state’s attorney. The team’s report urged Ms. Foxx to address “racial inequalities in the justice system,” in part by cutting back on the “destabilizing overincarceration” that plagues “communities of color” and in part by further limiting the detention of juvenile criminals. Ms. Foxx immediately followed California’s lead and declared that her office would stop prosecuting felony shoplifting for all thefts under $1,000. Property crime skyrocketed. Avoiding disparate impact on black criminals became the guiding philosophy of Ms. Foxx’s tenure.

Convention-goers this month may be deprived of a full demonstration of Mr. Johnson’s depolicing philosophy. Despite its depleted ranks, the Chicago Police Department will flood the convention zone with manpower by eliminating officers’ days off and requiring back-to-back shifts.

A disfavored technology has been granted a temporary reprieve. ShotSpotter uses audio sensors to alert the police to gunshots, the vast majority of which aren’t called in to 911. (On July 24, for instance, ShotSpotter alone notified the police of a wheelchair-bound man who had been shot in the back.) Mr. Johnson had refused to renew ShotSpotter’s contract, claiming that the technology leads to overpolicing of black neighborhoods. The company was ready to pull out in February 2024, but Mr. Johnson insisted on a temporary extension of its contract through August. Apparently racial justice isn’t as urgent as electing Democrats.

While conventioneers may be insulated from the Chicago way, if Kamala Harris becomes the next president, the country may not be so lucky.

Ms. Mac Donald is a fellow at the Manhattan Institute and author of “The War on Cops: How the New Attack on Law and Order Makes Everyone Less Safe.”

https://www.wsj.com/articles/chicago-crime-kamala-harris-antipolice-policies-change-for-democrats-convention-455a6e94

'Few Smokers Who Want to Quit Seek Healthcare Provider Help'

 Approximately half of US adult smokers tried to quit in 2022, but fewer than 40% used counseling or medication, and half received assistance or advice about quitting from clinicians, based on a review in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.

Previous research has shown that clinician intervention and evidence-based treatment increase the odds that smokers can quit successfully, but the extent to which these interventions are applied in practice has not been well studied, the researchers noted. 

Although great progress has been made in reducing cigarette smoking in the United States, disparities remain, both in use and in cessation, with an estimated 28.8 million adults reporting cigarette smoking in 2022, said lead author Brenna VanFrank, MD, MSPH, in an interview.

"Cigarette smoking remains the leading preventable cause of death and disease in the United States," said VanFrank, Senior Medical Officer, Office on Smoking and Health, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In a new review, the researchers examined data from the 2022 National Health Interview Survey. The study population included 27,651 adults aged 18 years and older. Current smoking was defined as currently smoking each day or some days and ever having smoked at least 100 cigarettes. The survey assessed the individuals' interest in quitting, past-year quit attempts, recent quitting success, receipt of healthcare professional advice about quitting, use of counseling to help quit, and use of medication to help quit. 

In 2022, approximately two thirds (67.7%) of the 28.8 million adult smokers in the United States wanted to quit, half (53.3%) tried to quit, but only 8.8% were successful. Of those who reported trying to quit, 38.3% used counseling or medication. Of these, 36.3% used medication, 7.3% used counseling, and 5.3% used both. 

Indicators of smoking cessation varied by health characteristics and sociodemographic factors, with the highest prevalence of attempts to quit smoking in the past year among adults aged 18-24 years and the lowest among those aged 45-64 years (74.4% vs 47.5%). 

Rates of successful quitting were highest among individuals with higher levels of education and income, and use of smoking cessation treatment was highest among White adults (42.7%), followed by non-Hispanic adults of another race, Black adults, and Hispanic adults (33.6%, 32.6%, and 28.8%, respectively). 

Smokers of menthol cigarettes had similarly low success rates for quitting (< 10%), although they were significantly more likely than nonmenthol cigarette smokers to express interest in quitting (72.2% vs 65.4%). Smokers of menthol cigarettes also had significantly lower prevalences than smokers of nonmenthol cigarettes of receiving clinician advance to quit and using treatment strategies (both P < .05).

The study findings were limited by several factors including the use of self-reports, which may be subject to bias, and a lack of data on institutionalized adults or adults in the military, which may limit generalizability of the findings to those populations, the researchers noted. 

However, the results suggest that opportunities exist to increase smoking cessation across public health and health care sectors by expanding access to and use of services and supports to help smokers quit, they wrote.

Support All Smokers Seeking to Quit

The takeaway for clinical practice remains that quitting smoking "is one of the most important actions people who smoke can take to improve their health," VanFrank told Medscape Medical News.

"It is important to ensure everyone has an opportunity to quit smoking and has access to proven treatments to help them be successful," she emphasized. Strategies that include behavioral counseling, cessation medications, and advice and support from healthcare professionals can increase quit success, she said. Given that tobacco dependence is a chronic, relapsing condition driven by addiction to nicotine, quitting successfully often takes multiple tries, and those trying to quit may need long-term support and repeated treatment, VanFrank added. 

"Health systems changes, such as adoption of treatment protocols and standardized clinical workflows, can systematize clinical treatment delivery, and such changes might also serve to increase treatment access for the 75% of adults who smoke who see a healthcare professional in a given year," said VanFrank. 

As for additional research, "Continued surveillance of tobacco use and cessation-related behaviors will help us monitor progress and identify continued opportunities to eliminate tobacco product use and tobacco-related disparities," VanFrank told Medscape Medical News.

"We know a lot about what works to help people successfully quit smoking and what we can do to support people in making quit attempts," she said. Including equitable opportunities in all commercial tobacco prevention and control efforts has the potential to reduce tobacco-related health disparities, she added. 

Overall smoking prevalence in the United States and the current study shows that most smokers would like to quit, said David M. Mannino, MD, a pulmonologist and professor of medicine at the University of Kentucky, Lexington, in an interview. The lack of success experienced by many smokers seeking to quit emphasizes the highly addictive nature of nicotine products, which cause death and disease when used as directed, said Mannino, who was not involved in the study.

The results of the review were not surprising, and reflect where tobacco treatment has been for the past 20 years, said Mannino. The good news is that smoking prevalence has continued to drop in the United States over the past 15 years, he said. However, some bad news is that use of e-cigarettes/vaping is still increasing, especially in younger populations, and new nicotine delivery systems, such as pouches (Zyn) are addicting a new generation, he noted. 

Always Ask About Smoking

In practice, "clinicians should always ask patients about cigarette smoking, as well as vaping and other nicotine use, advise them to quit, and refer them to tobacco treatment experts," Mannino emphasized.

The bottom line is that better treatments are needed for tobacco/nicotine addiction, Mannino told Medscape Medical News. "Although we have come a long way, we have a long way to go as millions of smokers in the US and globally would like to quit," he said.

Tobacco related disease continues to be the number one cause of morbidly and mortality in the United States, and although many current smokers want to quit, most are not successful, said Jamie Garfield, MD, professor of thoracic medicine and surgery at the Lewis Katz School of Medicine at Temple University, Philadelphia, in an interview. 

"This review highlights the sheer number of current cigarette smokers who want to quit, how many of them attempted to quit, and how many of those were successful," said Garfield, who was not involved in the study. Understanding the characteristics of individuals who are more or less likely to successfully quit smoking can help public health and health care sectors to increase smoking cessation by expanding access to and use of services and supports, she said. 

"We have to do better to control the sale of tobacco products and make tobacco cessation more accessible to everyone," Garfield told Medscape Medical News. In addition, clinicians need to be consistent in asking patients about tobacco use, she said. "If we don't ask, we will not know who needs help." Behavioral counselling helps, as does pharmacotherapy, and the two together are more effective than either alone, she added. 

Cessation services need to be tailored to the many demographic groups who use tobacco products, said Garfield. "Just as marketing campaigns directed to older adults will be different from those directed to young adults, so too must cessation resources," she said. "Providers need better options to choose from with regard to cessation resources and behavioral counselling sessions. They need to be aware of what motivates one group of people to smoke and how they can be inspired to quit, including which pharmacotherapies are affordable, available, and will work; the same strategies will not work for all people," Garfield emphasized.

The study was supported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion. The researchers had no financial conflicts to disclose. Mannino disclosed serving as an expert witness for on tobacco use and tobacco-caused disease on behalf of people suing the tobacco and vaping industries. Garfield had no financial conflicts to disclose.

https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/few-smokers-who-want-quit-seek-healthcare-provider-help-2024a1000ed8

Hims & Hers, known for hair-loss treatments and Viagra, rallies amid market panic

 'An approach to democratizing access to high-quality personalized solutions on our platform at an affordable price continues to resonate with consumers,' Hims & Hers CFO says

Shoppers might be spending less or seeking cheaper deals on takeout food and household items, and investors on Monday were panicking about the U.S. economy. But Hims & Hers Health Inc. - the online telehealth platform best known for selling hair-loss treatments, Viagra and Cialis - said customers are still piling in.

The company on Monday bumped its full-year sales forecast higher, and its second-quarter results beat expectations. Subscribers to its platform jumped 43% to 1.9 million.

Shares of Hims & Hers (HIMS) were up 4.5% after hours.

The results arrived as the company tries to expand its health and wellness offerings to include anxiety and weight-loss drugs - including access to GLP-1 injections like Ozempic and Wegovy - for men and women.

"An approach to democratizing access to high-quality personalized solutions on our platform at an affordable price continues to resonate with consumers," Chief Financial Officer Yemi Okupe said in a statement.

"We are seeing this improve our ability to attract new users to longer-tenured specialties, while also allowing us to more rapidly scale new specialties," he continued.

Executives said they expected full-year sales of $1.37 billion to $1.4 billion. That was better than a forecast in May for $1.2 billion to $1.23 billion.

For the second quarter, the company reported net income of $13.3 million, or 6 cents a share, contrasting with a net loss of $7.2 million, or 3 cents a share, in the same quarter last year. Revenue jumped 52% year over year to $315.6 million.

Analysts polled by FactSet expected Hims & Hers to earn 4 cents a share, on revenue of $304.2 million.

Shares of Hims & Hers are up 100.5% so far this year.

https://www.morningstar.com/news/marketwatch/20240805718/shares-of-hims-hers-known-for-hair-loss-treatments-and-viagra-rally-amid-market-panic

Mortgage rates plunge to lowest level in over a year amid recession fears

 Average 30-year rate falls to lowest level since April 2023, according to Mortgage News Daily

Mortgage rates have plunged to their lowest level in over a year. But with fears of a recession mounting, is it a good time to buy a house? Not necessarily, one expert says.

"A lot of people want to dive in with 30-year rates declining, but at the end of the day, we still have a housing market that's overly elevated as a whole," Todd Stankiewicz, a certified financial planner and president and chief investment officer of Harrison, N.Y.-based Sykon Capital, told MarketWatch.

With home prices still at a record high and the median-priced home near $400,000, buyers should not let the direction of mortgage rates drive their decision to buy a house, he said. "Don't try to buy it because it's a good deal. Don't try to rush into it because rates came down. You've got to be patient," Stankiewicz said.

His word of caution comes at a time when markets are in turmoil.

Global stock markets are sinking as investors view the weak July jobs report as a sign that a widely-recognized indicator called the Sahm rule has been triggered, indicating that the U.S. economy could be entering a recession.

The rule was named after Claudia Sahm, but the economist said she hadn't seen enough evidence yet that a recession is certain. "We are not in a recession now," Sahm told CNBC, "but the momentum is in that direction... a recession is not inevitable and there is substantial scope to reduce interest rates."

30-year rate falls to lowest level since April 2023

Since mortgage rates move based on what the market expects, the possibility of the Federal Reserve cutting rates as the economy slows pushed the 30-year rate down over the past week.

Initially, the 30-year fell due to the Fed putting a September rate cut on the table on Wednesday, and then it fell again after the jobs report on Friday. As of Thursday, the 30-year average rate was at 6.48%, the lowest level since May 2023, according to data from Intercontinental Exchange.

The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage fell further on Monday, to 6.34%, which was the lowest level since April 2023, according to Mortgage News Daily. The site surveys lenders on a daily basis.

"We could see additional interest-rate declines if the [economic] data continue to support the narrative of a weakening economy, but today's data didn't offer additional support," Ralph McLaughlin, a senior economist at Realtor.com, told MarketWatch. The service side of the economy rebounded in July, countering recession talk.

(Realtor.com is operated by News Corp subsidiary Move Inc., and MarketWatch is a unit of Dow Jones, which is also a subsidiary of News Corp.)

Income required to buy a $400,000 house at current mortgage rates

Yet for many buyers, a drop in rates is a big development, as housing affordability has deteriorated significantly over the past few years. In May, housing affordability fell 7% from a year before, as measured by the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta's Home Ownership Affordability Monitor.

Buying a median-priced $383,000 house in May with an annual salary of $81,000 would eat up 44% of a household's income, which is considered to be a financial burden, according to the Atlanta Fed.

If a home buyer wanted to comfortably afford a house with a median listing price of about $440,000 as of July, they would need to earn an annual income of $90,000, according to calculations by Realtor.com.

The calculations assume that the buyer's monthly housing payment would only be a third of their income. Their monthly housing costs would be around $2,500, assuming a down payment of 20%, a 30-year rate of 6.3%, as well as taxes and insurance.

To be sure, "an economic downturn isn't necessarily bad news for buyers," McLaughlin said, based on a 2023 survey of visitors to its site.

About 36% buyers indicated then that a recession would make them somewhat more likely to purchase a home, McLaughlin said, with that share being even higher among first-time buyers at 42%, and 32% among repeat buyers.

And if the U.S. economy enters a recession and a buyer's income is not impacted and is "relatively secure," he added, "a recession could present advantages for homebuyers, such as higher inventory, lower rates and a slower moving market."

But buying a house should also be a decision that is based on one's finances and risk tolerance, with a focus on whether one can pay their mortgage versus getting a good rate or price, Mark Palim, deputy chief economist at Fannie Mae, told MarketWatch.

"I would really not try to time the market," he added. "I wouldn't try to time home prices or rates. I would look at my personal budget, my personal circumstances... [and if] you're comfortable enough to ride out whatever happens in the economy."

Stankiewicz also advised home buyers to factor long-term needs and a variety of scenarios. "What ultimately people should be focusing on is, is the home right for them? Is it right for their family, and do they see them living there for, you know, seven to 10 years?" Stankiewicz said. "Is it right for their financial situation going forward?"

Low housing inventory still a problem in some parts of the nation

Lower mortgage rates could also free up more housing inventory across the nation, Fannie Mae's Palim said.

Higher interest rates discourage homeowners from moving, particularly those who have ultra-low mortgage rates. A move could necessitate them taking on financing at an interest rate that's double what they presently have.

Consider this: For a homeowner who still has an outstanding balance of $200,000 and a rate of 3.5% on their mortgage, buying a house of equal value at a new rate of 7% would mean their monthly payment would increase by 38%, which would add up to $110,000 over the remaining life of the loan, according to a working paper titled "Household Mobility and Mortgage Rate Lock," circulated by the National Bureau of Economic Research on Monday.

That "creates a large disincentive to move," the researchers added. Higher interest rates prevented roughly 800,000 moves from happening between the third quarter of 2022 and second quarter of 2023, the researchers found. "For households moving between July 2022 and June 2023, the average rate gap was about 2.7 percentage points, which corresponded to a difference in annual payments of $4,928," they wrote.

With homeowners staying put, the inventory of homes for sale has remained low in many parts of the U.S. Housing inventory is 32% below pre-pandemic averages, according to a monthly report from ICE, with "stubbornly low" levels in the Northeast.

'Fixated on the American Dream' versus weighing costs of homeownership

Home buyers eager to snap up lower rates should also be aware of the rising cost of owning property. Homeowners have been especially challenged by the cost of utilities, which includes electricity, gas, water and sewage, as well as homeowners insurance, and real-estate taxes, according to a recent survey by Fannie Mae.

Aspiring homeowners should factor those costs in before committing to a home, Stankiewicz said. "People become so fixated on the American Dream, owning a house," he said. But they sometimes ignore the "other costs that come along with it," he added.

So even though mortgage rates are falling and people might feel compelled to buy now versus wait when they can afford to, they should not "get too caught up in that," Stankiewicz added, and "buy a home that's not right for them at the wrong time."

https://www.morningstar.com/news/marketwatch/20240805374/mortgage-rates-plunge-to-lowest-level-in-over-a-year-amid-recession-fears-is-now-a-good-time-to-buy-a-house

Investors frustrated as failures plague brokerage platforms

 Online brokerages were hit with widespread technical disruptions Monday as users rushed to trade amidst a sharp market downturn, driven by fears of a US recession.

Customers of Charles Schwab and Fidelity were unable to log into their accounts during a period of significant market volatility, with Wall Street’s main indexes plummeting at the opening amid a triple-whammy of weak economic data, disappointing quarterly earnings from big tech companies, and geopolitical tensions.

Multiple media outlets chronicled reports from panicked and frustrated retail traders as they took to social media. Many voiced their complaints on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, with some threatening to switch to other brokerages.

“What’s scaring people more than the fact that the market is selling off is that Fidelity’s and Schwab’s trading platforms crashed today,” Jason Britton, president and chief investment officer at Reflection Asset Management, told Reuters. “Those are the things that cause real panic – when people can’t see what their portfolios are doing.”

Technical issues can hit trading platforms at any time, but they can be exacerbated by extreme market volatility, leading to concerns about the brokerages’ capacity to handle high trading volumes. Retail investors, especially those looking to “buy the dip” or sell off their holdings, the time they lose during those outages can feel like missed opportunities.

At the height of the disruptions, Downdetector.com, the outage-monitoring website that collates status reports from multiple sources including user submissions, reported nearly 14,500 users experienced issues with Schwab, while over 3,600 users reported problems with Fidelity.

Schwab acknowledged the issue on its official X account, stating, “A technical issue experienced by some clients has been resolved. We apologize for the inconvenience.”

Fidelity issued its own announcement via X, confirming, “We are aware some customers experienced intermittent issues earlier today. This is now resolved.”

Robinhood Markets, another popular platform among retail investors, resumed overnight trading after a brief pause earlier in the day. Vanguard also reported service disruptions but stated the issues had been resolved by the afternoon.

Meanwhile, Interactive Brokers disclosed that as of mid-day Monday it hadn’t received any indication of system-wide outages.

“As of 11 a.m. ET, we have executed 5 million trades, and on Friday, we had 5.9 million trades, which was already a busy day,” executive vice president of marketing and product development, Steve Sanders said in a statement.

As global equity markets faced another significant drop, with the Dow, S&P 500, and Nasdaq all down over 2 percent in late afternoon trading, the SEC said it was keeping an eye on the situation.

“We are actively monitoring for the orderly functioning of markets,” a spokesperson for the federal securities regulator told Reuters.

This is the second major outage for brokerages in recent weeks, following similar disruptions in July during the CrowdStrike outage that affected numerous trading platforms.

https://www.investmentnews.com/investing/news/investors-frustrated-as-failures-plague-brokerage-platforms-256046