Target, stung by a massive credit-card security breach, is taking the unusual step of offering a 10% discount Saturday and Sunday in its U.S. stores at the height of the holiday rush, its CEO announced.
In addition, the company says it is going to offer free credit monitoring to customers who could be at risk from the breach.
In another development, the nation's largest bank, JPMorgan Chase, said Saturday that it was putting limits on about 2 million debit cards used at Target during the period in which the fraud was perpetrated. Those customers were told in an email and on the website they could only use their cards for no more than $100 in cash withdrawals and $300 in total purchases per day.
The actions come after the Minneapolis-based mass-market retailing giant disclosed Thursday that about 40 million credit and debit card accounts were stolen starting with the Thanksgiving weekend. Patrons who swiped credit cards at Target stores from Nov. 27 to Dec. 15 could be at risk.
Hot Wireless Telecom Stocks For 2016: Hornbeck Offshore Services(HOS)
Hornbeck Offshore Services, Inc., through its subsidiaries, operates offshore supply vessels (OSVs), multi-purpose support vessels, and a shore-base to provide logistics support and specialty services to the offshore oil and gas exploration and production industry primarily in the United States and Gulf of Mexico. It operates in two segments, Upstream and Downstream. The Upstream segment owns and operates fleets of the U.S.-flagged OSVs that support deepwater and ultra-deepwater exploration, development, production, construction, installation, maintenance, repair, and enhanced oil recovery requirements of the oil and gas industry. This segment also owns conventional OSVs, work class ROVs, and a shore-base facility located in Port Fourchon, Louisiana. In addition, it provides vessel management services for other vessels owners, which include crewing, daily operational management, and maintenance activities. The Downstream segment owns and operates a fleet of ocean-going tug s and tank barges that transport petroleum products, primarily in the northeastern United States, the Gulf of Mexico, the Great Lakes, and Puerto Rico. These tugs and tank barges provide coastwise transportation of refined and bunker grade petroleum products, as well as offer other services, including the support of deepwater well testing and other applications for refining, marketing, and trading companies. As of December 31, 2009, Hornbeck Offshore Services owned and operated a fleet of 47 new generation OSVs, and 9 double-hulled barges and 10 ocean-going tugs. The company was founded in 1997 and is headquartered in Covington, Louisiana.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Traders Reserve]
For investors who want a piece of this developing trend, Transocean and Seadrill are two of the bigger players in this arena. Other offshore drillers/rig operators are Noble (NE) and Ensco (ESV). Companies that provide services to offshore drillers and benefit from increases in exploration and drilling activity are Gulfmark Offshore (GLF), Hornbeck (HOS), Seacor (CKH) and Tidewater (TDW).
- [By Ben Levisohn]
“There will be blood,” one analyst noted this morning about Hornbeck Offshore Services (HOS) –but his observation could apply to just about the entire offshore-services sector, as Atwood Oceanics (ATW), Diamond Offshore (DO) and Ensco (ESV) tumble.
Top Forestry Stocks To Own For 2015: Guggenheim CurrencyShares Euro Trust (FXE)
Guggenheim CurrencyShares Euro Trust, formerly CurrencyShares Euro Trust, is a grantor trust. The Trust issues shares (the Shares) in blocks of 50,000 (a Basket) in exchange for deposits of euro and distributes euro in connection with the redemption of Baskets. The investment objective of the Trust is for the Shares to reflect the price of euro plus accrued interest. The Shares are intended to offer investors an opportunity to participate in the market for the euro through an investment in securities. The Shares are bought and sold on NYSE Arca. The Shares are backed by the assets of the Trust, which does not hold or use derivative products. The Trust holds euro and, from time to time, issues Baskets in exchange for deposits of euro and distributes euro in connection with redemptions of Baskets.
The Sponsor is Rydex Specialized Products LLC. The Bank of New York Mellon serves as the Trustee. JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A., London Branch is the Depository. The Depository maintains two deposit accounts for the Trust, a primary deposit account which may earn interest and a secondary deposit account which does not earn interest (Deposit Accounts). The secondary deposit account is used to account for interest received and paid out on creations and redemptions of Baskets. The secondary account is also used to account for interest, if any, earned on the primary deposit account, pay Trust expenses and distribute any excess interest to Shareholders on a monthly basis.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Ben Levisohn]
The euro has dropped about 0.8% against the dollar, while the CurrencyShares Euro Trust ETF (FXE) has dropped 0.7% to $136.71 and the Currency Shares Japanese Yen Trust ETF (FXY) has fallen 1%. The ProShares UltrasShort Euro ETF (EUO) has gained 1.3% to $16.77, while the ProShares UltraShort Yen (YCS) has gained 1.9% to $66.58.
- [By Richard Cox]
Elsewhere, similar market reactions could were seen after last week's monetary policy meeting at the European Central Bank [ECB]. The ECB also did little to signal changes to its own stimulus programs, which was not a total surprise, given the fact that the bank reduced interest rates by 25 basis points to new all-time lows at 0.75% at last month's meeting. The main potential for surprise, however, came from the possibility that the central bank would announce the implementation of negative interest rates (the rate paid to commercial banks when holding money). Since this would have been a bearish outcome for the EUR/USD, markets have since bought the Euro, pushing the CurrencyShares Euro Trust ETF (FXE) higher.
Top Forestry Stocks To Own For 2015: Health Net Inc. (HNT)
Health Net, Inc., through its subsidiaries, provides managed health care services. The company offers commercial health care products, such as health maintenance organization plans through contracts with participating network physicians, hospitals, and other providers; preferred provider organization plans that provide coverage for services received from health care provider; and point of service plans. It also provides Medicare products, including Medicare advantage plans with and without prescription drug coverage; and Medicare supplement products that supplement fee-for-service Medicare coverage. In addition, the company offers Medicaid and related products; indemnity insurance products; auxiliary non-health products, such as life, accidental death and dismemberment, dental, vision, and behavioral health insurance; and other specialty services and products comprising pharmacy benefits, behavioral health, dental, and vision products and services, as well as managed care products for hospitals, health plans, and other entities. Further, it engages in government-sponsored managed care federal contract with the Department of Defense under the TRICARE program in the North Region; and other health care, mental health, and behavioral health government contracts. The company provides administrative services comprising provider network and referral management, medical and disease management, enrollment, customer service, clinical support service, and claims processing service to military health system eligible beneficiaries. It serves approximately 5.4 million individuals in the United States through group, individual, Medicare, Medicaid, the U.S. Department of Defense, and Veterans Affairs programs. Health Net, Inc. was founded in 1979 and is headquartered in Woodland Hills, California.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Roberto Pedone]
Health Net (HNT) is an integrated managed care organization that delivers managed health care services through health plans and government-sponsored managed care plans. This stock closed up 2.9% at $32.51 in Thursday's trading session.
Thursday's Volume: 1.17 million
Three-Month Average Volume: 665,534
Volume % Change: 65%From a technical perspective, HNT jumped higher here right above its 50-day moving average of $31.37 with above-average volume. This stock has been uptrending for the last few weeks, with shares moving higher from its low of $29.11 to its intraday high of $32.80. During that move, shares of HNT have been consistently making higher lows and higher highs, which is bullish technical price action. That move is starting to push shares of HNT within range of triggering a big breakout trade. That trade will hit if HNT manages to take out some near-term overhead resistance levels at $33.61 to its 52-week high at $33.70 with high volume.
Traders should now look for long-biased trades in HNT as long as it's trending above its 50-day at $31.37 and then once it sustains a move or close above those breakout levels with volume that's near or above 665,534 shares. If that breakout hits soon, then HNT will set up to enter new 52-week-high territory, which is bullish technical price action. Some possible upside targets off that breakout are $38 to its three-year high at $41.22.
- [By Brian Stoffel]
Will it carry through?
Other Fools have already covered much about this topic. Keith Speights wondered aloud if the ultimate winners would be companies that chose to participate in the plan -- like WellPoint (NYSE: WLP ) and Health Net (NYSE: HNT ) �-- or those that opted not to.
Top Forestry Stocks To Own For 2015: ManpowerGroup(MAN)
ManpowerGroup provides workforce solutions and services worldwide. The company offers permanent, temporary, and contract recruitment services; assessment and selection services; training and development services; outsourcing services; and workforce consulting services. It also provides professional resourcing and project-based workforce solutions in the information technology, finance, and engineering fields; talent and career management workforce solutions; and talent based outsourcing services, managed services, recruitment process outsourcing services, borderless talent solutions, and strategic workforce consulting services. The company was founded in 1948 and is headquartered in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Rick Munarriz]
ManpowerGroup (NYSE: MAN ) �
Naturally there's plenty of hiring out there for jobs that don't involve wearing uniforms that Cintas cleans and replenishes every week or so. That's where staffing specialists kick in as a great dipstick for the economy.� - [By Jonathan Buck]
The prospects of Adecco, which competes with the likes of� Manpower (MAN) and Randstad Holding (RANJY), are closely tied to growth in gross domestic product, so an improvement in the economic outlook for Europe is good news. In the euro zone, comprising the 17 countries that use the common currency, GDP shrank 0.4% in 2013, according to forecasts. It is expected to grow 1.1% in 2014. That�� an important turnaround: the euro zone has seen positive growth in on two of the past five years.
- [By Jonathan Yates]
When looking at small cap stocks, it is useful to compare the company with others that have expanded in both share price and size. For those considering investing in the $100 billion staffing industry, the growth of TrueBlue (NYSE: TBI) shows what could be the potential path for Labor SMART (OTCBB: LTNC), as both operate in the $29 billion demand labor sector. Other firms have done well in the staffing industry include Paychex (NASDAQ: PAYX) and ManPower Group (NYSE: MAN).
- [By Dan Burrows]
Staffing stocks like Manpower Group (MAN), Robert Half International (RHI) and Kelly Services (KELYA) have put up market-beating to market-crushing gains over the last year, boosted by accelerating strength in the job market.
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