Google, owned by Alphabet, had been accused of exploiting loopholes in Apple’s Safari and Microsoft’s Internet Explorer browsers to help advertisers bypass cookie blockers.

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The settlement approved in February 2017 by U.S. District Judge Sue Robinson in Delaware called for Google to stop using cookies for Safari browsers and to pay the $5.5 million mainly to the plaintiffs’ lawyers and six groups, including some with prior Google ties, to research and promote browser privacy.

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But in Tuesday’s decision, Judge Thomas Ambro said the settlement raised a “red flag” and possible due-process concerns because it broadly released claims for money damages. He also called the awards to the privacy groups “particularly concerning.” The case was returned to the Delaware court.

— Reuters

RETAIL

Barneys New York files for bankruptcy

Barneys New York has filed for bankruptcy protection from creditors and laid out plans to shutter most of its department stores after getting squeezed by rising rents and fewer visitors to its luxury fashion stores.

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The Chapter 11 filing in New York allows the retail chain to stay open while it seeks to sell a slimmed-down business and negotiate with landlords.

The company, owned by billionaire investor Richard Perry, said it has secured $75 million from affiliates of Hilco Global and Gordon Brothers Group to help meet its financial commitments.

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“Like many in our industry, Barneys New York’s financial position has been dramatically impacted by the challenging retail environment and rent structures that are excessively high relative to market demand,” chief executive Daniella Vitale said in a statement.

Barneys’s proposed bankruptcy loan would allow it to repay $50 million of debt and provide $25 million to help facilitate a sale in the next 60 days, court papers show.

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— Reuters

LENDING

N.Y. joins probe of payroll advance firms

The payroll advance industry is under investigation by New York’s financial regulator and other states over whether its companies are charging usurious interest rates and engaging in potential violations of payday lending laws, the regulator said.

New York, joined by financial regulators from 10 other states and Puerto Rico, sent letters to payroll advance companies requesting information, the New York Department of Financial Services said.

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Payroll advances are a type of loan that gives consumers access to wages they have earned ahead of when they receive their paychecks.

Some of the companies, which operate through websites and apps, appear to charge membership fees, “tips” and other types of fees that add up to the equivalent of usurious and other illegal interest rates, the regulator said.

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— Reuters

Also in Business

Mastercard agreed to buy a payments platform owned by Denmark-based Nets for $3.19 billion, using its biggest-ever acquisition to help extend a push into faster payments. With the purchase, Mastercard is getting an electronic billing platform and clearing and instant payment services, according to a statement. The company said the purchase will hurt profit for as long as two years after it is completed, which is expected in the first half of 2020.

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An Apple software subsidiary said it is changing its name and has made an acquisition. The unit known as FileMaker, whose tools help business users make custom apps without having to write as much computer code as a from-scratch app, will now be called Claris International. Claris has been an Apple subsidiary since the 1980s. Claris also said it has acquired Stamplay, an Italian start-up that helps app makers weave data from cloud-based programs such as Slack and Box into their custom applications.

— From news reports

Coming today

3 p.m.: Federal Reserve releases consumer credit data for June.