$EFX #News – While not entirely surprising given the demands from politicians, The Hill reports that The Federal Trade Commission on Thursday announced that it had launched an investigation into the Equifax breach that left sensitive information for 143 million Americans exposed to hackers.
“The FTC typically does not comment on ongoing investigations,” FTC spokesman Peter Kaplan said in an email.
“However, in light of the intense public interest and the potential impact of this matter, I can confirm that FTC staff is investigating the Equifax data breach.”
It is extremely rare for the agency to publicly confirm an investigation.
As The Hill notes, Congress has also been scrutinizing the credit reporting agency. Multiple committees have announced hearings on the breach and on Wednesday the House Commerce Committee invited Equifax CEO Richard Smith to testify before on the company’s handling of the crisis.
Remember what happened when JPMorgan had to go before congress because of the London Whale losses. It was a golden opportunity to sell puts to motivated buyers. We should see a lot of negative news flow on $EFX this fall, but I smell opportunity if you stay far enough out of the money and trade small.
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