Business briefing: Tweet could have Tesla's Musk in trouble again

The Federal Trade Commission on Wednesday told consumers affected by the Equifax data breach that they are unlikely to get the full $125 cash payment that many sought. Equifax last week reached a $700 million settlement over the massive 2017 data breach that exposed the personal information of 147 million people. The bulk of that money is intended for consumers who were affected by the breach. The company provided several forms of relief under the agreement, including the option of credit monitoring or in lieu of that, a cash payment of up to $125. But the FTC said on an update to its website Wednesday that "public response to the settlement has been overwhelming" and millions of people visited the claims site in the first week alone. Because those payments come from a fixed pot of $31 million, if more people apply than there are full funds for, then the amount each person gets will drop as the pool of money is distributed proportionally. Consumers had the choice of 4 years of free credit monitoring from all three credit reporting agencies, which would be provided by Experian. Or if someone already has credit-monitoring services in place, they could opt for the cash.

An explosion and fire at an Exxon Mobil oil refinery in Texas on Wednesday left 37 people with minor injuries, in the latest of a series of petrochemical industry blazes this year in the Houston area. The fire began after an explosion at approximately 11:07 a.m. at an Exxon Mobil plant in Baytown, about 25 miles east of Houston. The facility processes light hydrocarbons including propane and propylene, materials used to make plastic and industrial products. Jason Duncan, the plant manager, said many of those hurt suffered minor burns and all were being treated at a local clinic. All employees at the plant had been accounted for, officials said. Right after the explosion, the fire sent large plumes of black smoke into the sky. By Wednesday afternoon, the smoke had lessened. Duncan said the fire had been isolated and contained but had not yet been extinguished.

The country's biggest TV networks — ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox — have sued Locast, a streaming service that transmits their broadcasts for free, in federal court in New York. The companies said in the suit, filed Wednesday, that Locast is violating their copyrights and asked for its service to be shut down. Locast has held that under the law, it is allowed to stream the networks without paying them because it is a nonprofit. The networks are suing because Locast threatens their business model, and they said that Locast is acting on behalf of Dish and AT&T, which owns DirecTV. Cable and satellite TV companies pay TV stations; the TV stations then pay the networks, which are owned by Walt Disney Co., CBS Corp., Comcast Corp and Fox Corp. These fees paid by cable and satellite companies have climbed from under a billion a decade ago to more than $11 billion expected this year.

About 24,000 Disney and Eddie Bauer baby sleepers are being recalled on concerns that infants could roll over and suffocate on them. No injuries were reported for the sleepers, but similar ones by other brands have been linked to deaths after infants rolled over from to their backs while unrestrained. In April, Fisher-Price recalled 4.7 million infant sleepers after more than 30 babies died in them over a 10-year period. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission said anyone who owns the Disney and Eddie Bauer sleepers, which were both made by Dorel Juvenile Group, should stop using them and reach out to Dorel for a refund.