On the network: Roads, refineries and other infrastructure have taken a beating in the Texas and Louisiana regions hit by Harvey—but cellphone networks so far remain largely functional. One reason: Big carriers brought in supplemental equipment and backup power, and turned to drones to diagnose problems. All told, the devastating storm knocked out fewer than 400 of the 7,804 cell towers in the affected counties; just 329 remained down as of Wednesday. By contrast, Hurricane Katrina disabled more than 1,000 cell towers in 2005 and AT&T customers experienced a major outage during the widespread flooding in southeast Louisiana last year. Read more from The Associated Press.
Tight supply: Fewer people nationwide signed contracts to buy homes in July, the fourth decline in the past five months. The decrease likely reflects the worsening shortage nationwide of homes being listed for sale. The National Association of Realtors pending home sales index fell 0.8% in July to 109.1. The index has slipped 1.3% over the past 12 months. The decline suggests that home-buying has begun to stall because fewer homes are on the market. Read more from The Associated Press.
Without permission: Wells Fargo’s accounts scandal is getting larger, as the bank will refund more customers for charges they should not have incurred after expanding its review of improper sales practices, Reuters reports. The bank plans to return $2.8 million to 1.4 million additional customers who appear to have had consumer and small business accounts opened without permission. It will return $910,000 to about 528,000 people who may have been enrolled in online billpay services without permission—a newly disclosed problem. The findings come nearly a year after Wells Fargo reached a $190 million settlement with regulators over phony accounts. Read more from Reuters.
