Verizon: Fewer than 500 were breachedBIRMINGHAM, Ala. — A Verizon Wireless spokeswoman says it appears that “fewer than 500 customers” had their private information accessed in 2014 in a federal computer breach case involving a former Verizon Wireless network technician.Federal prosecutors say the ex-employee, Daniel Eugene Traeger, used company computers to obtain customers’ private call records — plus data showing where customers’ phones were — and then sold them to an unnamed private investigator. He worked in the Birmingham, Alabama, area.Court records don’t say how many customers were affected.But Verizon Wireless spokeswoman Kate Jay said in a statement to The Associated Press that it appears the information of fewer than 500 customers may have been accessed in 2014.

Ruling blocks health care mergerHARRISBURG — A federal appeals court has reversed an earlier ruling clearing the way for a proposed merger between PinnacleHealth System and Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center.The 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals granted an injunction sought by the Federal Trade Commission and Pennsylvania attorney general’s office.Hershey and Pinnacle said in a joint statement Tuesday that they were disappointed and would carefully review the decision.The agencies say the deal would consolidate control of nearly two-thirds of south-central Pennsylvania’s health care market, which could mean higher costs and lower quality of care.Penn State officials say they believe the merger will increase patient access to more kinds of medical services in a larger area.

Yellen to face heat over Wells FargoWASHINGTON — Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen, who has been in the hot seat over the central bank’s interest-rate policy, now has another headache: Wells Fargo.Yellen is likely to face sharp questions from a House committee today over whether federal banking regulators fell down on the job by not detecting practices at Wells Fargo that allegedly had the nation’s second largest bank opening millions of accounts without customers’ permission.Yellen is scheduled to testify before the House Financial Services Committee on the Fed’s responsibilities to supervise the nation’s largest banks.

Wells Fargo execs lose tens of millionsWASHINGTON — Wells Fargo says CEO John Stumpf and the executive who ran the bank’s retail banking division will forfeit tens of millions of dollars in pay as the bank tries to stem a scandal over its sales practices.The independent directors at the nation’s second-largest bank said Tuesday that Stumpf will forfeit $41 million in stock awards, while former retail banking executive Carrie Tolstedt will forfeit $19 million of her stock awards, effective immediately. Both are also giving up any bonuses for 2016, and Tolstedt will not receive severance or other compensation in connection with her retirement, the bank’s directors said.