The Federal Reserve made its announcement for the FOMC policy meeting Wednesday afternoon, swinging markets from up to down — and back to up initially. The long and short of the matter is that a "considerable time" remained and a path the end of bond buying was clear. All in all, our view is that The Federal Reserve wants to remain more dovish than hawkish. Janet Yellen is not yet willing to rock the boat.
The FOMC trimmed bond buying by $10 billion per month, down to $15 billion per month — $5 billion in mortgage-backed securities and $10 billion in Treasuries.
"Considerable time" remains in the statement — "The Committee continues to anticipate, based on its assessment of these factors, that it likely will be appropriate to maintain the current target range for the federal funds rate for a considerable time after the asset purchase program ends, especially if projected inflation continues to run below the Committee's 2 percent longer-run goal, and provided that longer-term inflation expectations remain well anchored."
The FOMC said that inflation has been running below its longer-run objective. Longer-term inflation expectations have remained stable.
The Committee maintained its existing policy of reinvesting principal payments from agency debt and agency mortgage-backed securities in agency mortgage-backed securities and of rolling over maturing Treasury securities at auction.
This meeting in particular has been one of the most highly speculated events in the market due to potential language changes over how long rates would remain at or near zero. The Fed did signal that the bond buying is ending at the next meeting — "If incoming information broadly supports the Committee's expectation of ongoing improvement in labor market conditions and inflation moving back toward its longer-run objective, the Committee will end its current program of asset purchases at its next meeting."
The Fed was also set to release its quarterly forecasts at the same time as this announcement. It turns out that of the 17 officials, 1 called for a rate hike in 2014 and 2 called for rate hikes out in 2016 — the rest were stuck in 2015. Outlook targets were set as follows:
The Fed now sees GDP growth of 2.0% to 2.2% in 2014, down from 2.1% to 2.3% in June.
Fed sees unemployment down around 5.9% to 6.0% in late 2014, down from 6.0% to 6.1% in June.
The last important forecast was unchanged from June — inflation of 1.5% to 1.7% in 2014.
All in all, the view here is that Fed is not trying to rock the boat. This is more dovish than hawkish, and the only real significant view is setting a finite end to the already lower bond buying.
Gene Duncan/Disney/AP
A "cool" new attraction will be coming to Disney's (DIS) Epcot in Florida, but it may prove to be as initially controversial as it will ultimately be popular.
The Internet was buzzing among Disneyphiles when the news broke late last week. Purists complained that another iconic attraction was going away, fearing that Epcot's World Showcase will now be overrun with young fans dressed up as Anna, Elsa and other characters from the movie. Others are looking forward to the move.
With "Frozen" ringing up nearly $1.3 billion in ticket sales during its theatrical run since premiering last November to become Disney's highest-grossing animated feature of all time, it's easy to see why there's no shortage of excitement. However, it's safe to say that Norway isn't very happy, and not just because there will be one fewer reason for Epcot guests to venture into the tourism-boosting pavilion through the next year and change of construction.
Seething Under the Midnight Sun
The days were numbered for Maelstrom, a short boat ride that explores Norway with nods to Vikings, trolls and offshore oil drilling. It may have been one of only two actual rides in the World Showcase half of Epcot, which features several country pavilions -- and the only one that ever commands much of a queue -- but it was also longing for an update.
A news report out of Norway in July discussed the country's reluctance to funding the pavilion, rightfully predicting that Maelstrom could close as soon as October to make way for the "Frozen"-themed ride. Norway was reportedly resisting Disney's request to pay roughly $9 million to update the pavilion.
However, a more controversial nugget beyond the international tussle taking place behind the scenes to preserve the integrity of the pavilion is that "Frozen" doesn't take place in Norway. Animators may have headed out to Norway to capture the Scandinavian surroundings and way of life, but Disney's story takes place in the fictional town of Arendelle. Some will argue that replacing a ride filled with spell-casting trolls and an enchanted tree won't suffer from going down the rabbit hole of make-believe, but at least the trolls are part of Norwegian folklore. "Frozen" is Disney's handiwork, based loosely on Danish author Hans Christian Andersen's "The Snow Queen."
Can this really remain a Norwegian pavilion when its biggest draw will be a place that likely doesn't belong in Epcot's World Showcase or Epcot at all? Epcot attracted 11.2 million guests last year, according to Themed Entertainment Association, making it Florida's second most popular theme park after the original Magic Kingdom. Can Disney afford to lose the park base that values authenticity in the pursuit of fans of "Frozen" who may not be as excited about the property in two years?
Let It Go
Disney has been relentless in milking "Frozen" since it smashed full-length-feature animation records 10 months ago. Some of the longest lines at the Walt Disney World resort haven't been for its classic thrill rides. It's young costumed girls with their families waiting sometimes several hours to take a photo with the film's princess sisters, Anna and Elsa.
The most extreme milking is taking place at Disney's Hollywood Studios in Florida, where a parade, skating rink, singalong show,and nighttime fireworks show have been added this summer and extended through the end of this month. Last week's announcement of Maelstrom's replacement also accompanied news that the singalong and snow-play areas would be extended and expanded beyond Sept. 28.
Disney's also releasing a new animated short, "Frozen Fever," that will hit theaters next year, and it wouldn't be a surprise if this replaces the movie that guests can watch on the way out of the soon-to-be-former Maelstrom ride.
Disney's making Norway and theme park purists angry, but there appears to be more money to be made by delighting fans of "Frozen" in their place.
Motley Fool contributor Rick Munarriz owns shares of Walt Disney. The Motley Fool recommends and owns shares of Walt Disney. Try any Motley Fool newsletter service free for 30 days. Find new ways to earn high yields withour free reporton dividend stocks.
AP/The Saginaw News/Jeff SchrierA Meijer store in Birch Run, Mich.
A major supermarket chain has agreed to pay $2 million to settle federal charges alleging the company sold a dozen different products that had previously been recalled over safety issues, including some that started fires and were blamed in infant deaths, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission said on Wednesday.
It's against federal law to sell a product whose recall has been announced by the CPSC. The CPSC said its investigation found that Meijer stores sold about 1,700 such items to consumers.
The privately held company, which didn't admit wrongdoing in agreeing to the settlement, said that it relied on a third-party contractor to ensure that recalled products were not distributed to its stores, and believed that safeguards were in place that should have prevented the continued sale of recalled products. Meijer has agreed to put its own system in place to ensure that recalled products are removed from its stores and supply line.
Meijer stores sold the recalled products between April 2010 and April 2011, the CPSC said.
NEW YORK -- The stock market rose Wednesday after the Federal Reserve told investors to expect low interest rates for a while yet, pushing the Dow Jones industrial average to a record high.
After drifting along for most of the day, stocks marched higher after the U.S. central bank released a statement signaling little change in its interest rate policy. The gains were broad, with seven of the 10 industry groups of the Standard & Poor's 500 index ended up, led by materials stocks.
The Fed statement put to rest an anxious waiting game among investors that has left the S&P 500 moving between small gains and losses for a week. A rise in the short-term rates that the Fed controls has triggered stock drops in the past.
"The Fed is not going to take the punch bowl away," said Brad McMillan, chief investment officer for Commonwealth Financial. "They didn't want to spook the market."
In its statement, the central bank retained language in that it plans to keep short-term rates low "for a considerable time" after it ends its monthly bond purchases in November. For many investors, that meant the first hike won't come until the middle of next year.
The Dow (^DJI) rose 24.88 points, or 0.2 percent, to end at 17,156.85 - its 16th record high this year. The S&P 500 (^GPSC) edged up 2.59 points, or 0.1 percent, to 2,001.57, falling short of its own closing high of 2,007.71 from Sept. 5. The Nasdaq composite (^IXIC) was up 9.43 points, or 0.2 percent, to 4,562.19, still well below its dot-com era peak.
Shares of home builders jumped after builder confidence in the market for new homes rose to its highest level in nearly nine years. Miami-based Lennar (LEN) rose nearly 6 percent, the most in the S&P 500 index.
In economic news, U.S. consumer prices edged down in August, the first monthly drop since the spring of 2013, as gasoline, airline tickets and clothing prices all fell. It was the latest evidence that inflation remains under control, one of the factors the Fed uses in its decisions on rates.
DuPont (DD) surged $3.42 to $69.25, or 5.2 percent, the biggest gain in the Dow by far. Investors bought the stock on news that activist investor Nelson Peltz had sent a letter to the company's board suggesting it split in two. His Trian Fund Management LP said it has been in private talks with DuPont for more than a year to boost shareholder value and improve its financial performance.
Gold, which was flat minutes before the Fed news on interest rates, ended down 80 cents, or 0.1 percent, to $1,235.90 an ounce. Silver rose 1.3 cents, or 0.1 percent, to $18.73 an ounce. Copper fell 2.3 cents, or 0.7 percent, to $3.14 a pound.
In government bond trading, the yield on the 10-year Treasury note edged up to 2.62 percent, from 2.59 percent late Tuesday. The yield has moved between a high of 3 percent and a low of 2.34 percent this year.
What to Watch Thursday:
At 8:30 a.m. Eastern time, the Commerce Department releases housing starts for August, and the Labor Department releases weekly jobless claims.
At 10 a.m., the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia releases its September survey of manufacturing conditions in the Mid-Atlantic region, and Freddie Mac releases weekly mortgage rates.
These major companies are scheduled to release quarterly financial statements:
Aram Boghosian/The Boston Globe/Getty Images
The next hot restaurant initial public offering could be a company that wouldn't mind playing games with you. Dave & Buster's -- the chain of gargantuan restaurants with enclosed arcades and game rooms -- filed to go public earlier this month. If everything goes as planned, it will begin trading later this year under the ticker symbol PLAY on the Nasdaq exchange.
There's more to Dave & Buster's than a D&B logo on the outside and a group of adults reliving their childhood at the video game arcade on the inside. Let's go over several of the reasons you may want to consider buying into the upcoming IPO.
1. Dave & Buster's Is Growing Quickly
One thing to watch for in assessing eatery IPOs is to make sure that they're not going public as an exit strategy. Investors were burned last year by chasing the once-hot IPOs of sandwich baker Potbelly (PBPB) and pasta tosser Noodles & Co. (NDLS) while store-level popularity was actually peaking.
Growth is accelerating at Dave & Buster's. Revenue may have inched just 5 percent higher last year, but sales have soared nearly 17 percent through the first half of this fiscal year.
2. It's Been Here Before
This isn't the first time that Dave & Buster's will be a publicly traded company. Investors were able to bet on the company's success until it was taken private by Wellspring Capital Management in 2006. It was then sold to Oak Hill Capital Partners four years later in a $570 million transaction, and now that firm is taking it public.
This may not seem like much of a selling point. Some will argue that it reveals a tendency to quit. However, it can also be viewed as a company that is already used to the market's quarterly expectations, with the experience to navigate through Wall Street's fickle tastemakers.
3. Dave & Buster's Offers Diversity From Volatile Food Prices
One of the biggest potential setbacks for a restaurant operator is the volatility of food prices. Costs of key menu components go up and down, and sometimes even market darlings have a hard time passing along increases to their customers.
Dave & Buster's is lucky in that regard. Food sales made up just 33.6 percent of the company's revenue. A little more than half of its revenue comes from the amusements and other diversions that it makes available throughout its buildings, with the remaining 15.2 percent coming from beverages. This obviously comes in handy relative to traditional operators whenever chicken, pork and dairy prices spike. In fact, food and beverage costs swallowed up just 12.2 percent of Dave & Buster's revenue last year.
4. Comps Remain Positive
Another thing for restaurant IPO investors to watch is comparable-restaurant sales. Some companies are hitting the market just as their popularity is starting to peak. That's not the case here. Dave & Buster's has come through with increases of 1 percent, 3 percent and 2.2 percent through the past three years. And there's a 5.2 percent gain through the first six months of the fiscal year.
5. Dave & Buster's Is Starting to Think Small
One knock on Dave & Buster's is that it may be getting too big. With 69 locations, where will the future D&B's go? Even major cities really can't handle more than one or two locations without seemingly cannibalizing sales.
Well, Dave & Buster's has responded by opening smaller locations in smaller markets. It's eyeing sites with 25,000 to 35,000 square feet, well below its current average of 47,000 square feet. They may generate less revenue, but they are also cheaper to build out and run. The return on investment remains the same for the small and large properties.
Given the scalable nature of this model -- and that it's one in which operating profits have been growing faster than revenue -- Dave & Buster's could be worthy of its PLAY ticker symbol.
Motley Fool contributor Rick Munarriz and the Motley Fool have no position in any of the stocks mentioned. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. To read about our favorite high-yielding dividend stocks for any investor, check out our free report.
No matter where you land, there will be organizations, big and small, international and local, in need of a helping hand. Some programs may offer reimbursement, while others may charge a volunteer fee. But volunteering isn't about the money. This is about meeting new people in your new home, giving something back to the community that has welcomed you and creating an opportunity for you to practice the new language you may be struggling to learn.
In fact, volunteer opportunities could be a driving agenda. You could pick where you would like to reinvent your life overseas by identifying a particularly appealing volunteer opportunity somewhere and following it.
Some volunteer opportunities require little to no skill, while other groups seek professional volunteers. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention offers positions to retirees interested in using their professional skills in a job overseas. Say you've worked at a chemical company all your life. Through the CDC, you could volunteer your skills in a country that needs assistance in that area.
Volunteering can also be a chance to develop a new skill. Uvolunteer.org has positions in Costa Rica, Argentina, Peru and Nicaragua that offer a chance for volunteers to teach while they learn and study Spanish.
Most volunteer positions are offered through sponsoring companies, typically non-governmental or religious organizations. In Chiang Mai, Thailand, Helping Hands, which provides support to the Thai hill tribes, Huen Nam Jai, which assists street children, and Vieng Ping, an orphanage and nursing home, are always in the market for new volunteers, as is Granada Street Kids, with programs for street kids in this Nicaraguan colonial city.
Depending on the organization and the program, you usually must commit to anywhere from a few weeks to a few years. Often the longer you sign on for, the more interesting the work you are given.
Since 2004, the Fundacion Bolivar has been helping foreigners, both resident and visiting the country, to share their time, talents and experience with people in Ecuador who can benefit. The non-profit group is active in Quito, Cuenca, the jungle, the Galapagos and on the coast. Their efforts are focused on education and environmental conservation.
The programs are highly customizable. You can volunteer on your own, with your family or with a group of friends. You could organize a two-week program to include your children or grandchildren over one of their school breaks. Some programs include home stays with indigenous families in the north of the country where you could spend a couple of weeks helping them to manage their farms or other activities related to generating a livelihood.
Or you could volunteer as a teacher's aid or even a teacher in a village school. It's not necessary that you have experience or any special qualifications. It's difficult for these remote schools to find teachers, and foreign retirees are very welcome to teach primary-age children.
The Fundacion Bolivar offers 24/7 support for its volunteers. If you're coming to Ecuador specifically to participate in a Fundacion Bolivar program, you'll be met at the airport and delivered to accommodation for your getting acquainted and language study transition period.
Here are other ideas to get your imagination working. You could:
Join a marine mammal monitoring program in Mexico.
Work on marine life conservation in the Seychelles.
Teach terrestrial wildlife preservation in Kenya.
Join a wildlife conservation effort in the Ecuadorian Amazon or Costa Rica.
Assist tutoring or mentoring teens in other countries.
Assist at daycare centers to provide academic and emotional support to children.
Or you could keep your volunteer work search low-key and very local and ask around when you arrive in your new home. In Panama City, where I've been living for the past six years, I've become involved with the Fatima Parish in a barrio known as San Felipe. This long-established Catholic parish operates an orphanage, daycare and before- and after-school programs intended to help keep the local kids off the streets. They're always looking for hands to help.
A friend, a retiree with a long career in the music industry, is volunteering in local Panama public schools, teaching the kids to play musical instruments he imported to the country with him.
B Christopher/Alamy
Used cars and scams go together like old bread and mold: You have to be vigilant to avoid problems.
That's why most buyers take test drives, and smart ones ask a mechanic to give their potential purchase a once-over to be sure the vehicle is what they're expecting. However, the usual precautions won't catch a title washing scam. "It is a paper scam that has physical consequences," said Chris Basso, public relations manager of Carfax.com, in an interview with DailyFinance. "Con men are altering vehicle documents and taking advantage of state laws that differ when it comes to branded titles."
You Say 'Salvage'; I Say 'Rebuilt'
At the heart of the issue are cars that have taken major damage, like being flooded or rebuilt after a major accident. When a car has such significant issues, its value drops, often to half of what an unharmed vehicle of the same mileage, age, model and apparent condition would be worth. To clue buyers in, states have created so-called "branded title" documents that include on them terms such as "salvage," "flood" or "rebuilt." When you buy a car, look at the title for such a status.
Title washing works like this. First, the con artists either physically alter the first title (i.e., good old fashioned forgery), use stolen blank titles to forge a non-branded title (more forgery) or simply move the car to another state that does not use the same branding language.
Next, the cons, often using false identities, register the car in the second state. The new registry either doesn't know about the problem as reported in the first state, or it literally can't use the same branding language (because of differing state regulations) and so leaves it off the new title.
Voila! A car that was clearly branded as damaged goods in one state is taint-free in another.
The Damage Is Hidden
"[States] process so many [titles] in one day that some of these can easily sneak through," Basso said. "[The crooks are] able to get a clear title, and they're selling those cars to buyers [who are] are unaware the vehicle had major damage in the past."
By changing the apparent status of the car, the fraudsters effectively double its value. Some unsuspecting victim then pays too much. And there are a lot of potential dupes. As Edmunds.com notes, 18,722,399 used cars were sold in this country the first half of 2014 alone.
Carfax traces the history of titles by vehicle Identification number, so its reports can register the transition from a branded to a clear title. About 800,000 vehicles -- found in every state -- have titles that have likely been washed, mostly by individuals, according to the company. Although some people may have washed titles unintentionally, the "overwhelming majority" are the result of someone trying to fool a buyer.
To avoid a title wash scam, insist on looking at the physical title. "You want to see if the seller's name on the title matches the [name of the person] selling it to you," Basso said. "Oftentimes these people aren't the registered owners of the car." By creating false identities, crooks make it impossible to trace the transaction back to them. Basso also suggested using a used car information service (Carfax charges $39.99 for one version) to discover any indications that a title has been washed.
Detroit's Shinola continuously searches out opportunities to work with American suppliers. Not only does this help to reverse the course of globalization one watch at a time, but it increases awareness for the concept of buying more locally. And, specifically, for bringing manufacturing back to Detroit, Michigan.
While not all components Shinola uses to manufacture its watches are produced in the U.S.A. (at this time, it is simply not a possibility), the company's management is bound and determined to find ways to make more and more of them in North America. And many of the parts used already are.
Some examples are the leather straps that come from Hadley Roma in Largo, Florida and the Horween leather from Illinois that is combined with the paper from Ann Arbor, a suburb of Detroit that is also home to the University of Michigan, to make the brand's journals and notebooks.
This fall, Shinola premieres five new Runwell watches on rubber straps. Since the brand's formal introduction at Baselworld 2013, it has introduced various models for both men and women, culminating in the recently released Runwell chronograph.
Now some of these models are available on sporty rubber straps. But before we go into the models themselves, let's take a look at the source of these straps.
Shinola developed a custom formula for the nitrile rubber together with its partner Stern Manufacturing, which is located in Staples, Minnesota. Developing something on its own rather than buying a component "off the rack," so to speak, helps achieve a defined and refined look - which can often aid in positively characterizing the product's overall visuals. Custom-created straps also help to constitute the expected feel of Shinola's well thought-out products.
Shinola.comShinola's 48 mm Runwell Sport Chronograph with orange rubber strap (coming soon to Shinola.com)
The straps are created using a nitrile rubber base, which is a synthetic rubber that often comprises the industry standard for watch straps. Stern mixes and molds the rubber entirely in-house in Staples.
These straps are not only water-resistant - making them great companions for swimming and water sports - but also resistant to oil, sweat, chemicals, heat, and cold. They have high tensile strength yet great flexibility, giving the strap a solid yet supple feel, and good tear resistance. This also makes them quite comfortable to wear.
Shinola.comThe Shinola Runwell Sport with black Minnesota-made rubber strap (available soon at Shinola.com)
Stern Manufacturing, founded in 1969, made its name producing industrial-strength rubber items that are built to withstand harsh environments. Stern's expertise paired with Shinola's standards of refinement resulted in premium rubber straps that are built to last.
Shinola.comThe 42 mm Shinola Runwell Sport Chronograph with black rubber strap (available soon at Shinola.com)
These five new rubber-outfitted Runwell watches will be available in Shinola's online boutique later this month, retailing between $675 for the time-only models and $875 for the chronographs. Most remarkable in this price class is that Shinola offers a lifetime guarantee on the working parts of all its watches.
Getty ImagesRetire by 30! Become financially independent in five years! From magazines to books to websites, tips for ways you can begin your retirement early are available in abundance. It's certainly an appealing idea. After all, who wouldn't like the idea of no longer having to spend the majority of their days working for The Man, sitting in a cubicle, eating tuna fish sandwiches for lunch. (Actually, I'd probably still eat tuna sandwiches even if I were retired.)
All of these authors and supposed gurus claim their advice will make it possible for anyone to retire early, even if they aren't currently bringing in a huge income. And the common answer for us middle-classers who aren't bringing in massive paydays is budgeting -- extreme budgeting. For example, some will suggests that all you have to do is find a way to live on 25 percent of your income and save the other 75 percent.
In theory, such an extreme lifestyle choice may seem doable, even desirable, if the result is retirement at age 35. But if you're considering trying to take that path to early retirement, here are a few reasons you might want to reconsider.
It's Not Sustainable
One of the pitfalls of extreme budgeting is burnout. When my husband and I were paying off our student loans, our budget was tight. And we found ourselves hating that budget because it had no wiggle room. That said, even then, we were by no means practicing extreme budgeting. We found it essential to factor in $20 a week apiece in personal spending money, a short and inexpensive yearly vacation, new old clothing when needed (hello, thrift shops!), and eating out (which usually meant takeout) once a month. Those small splurges kept us on track to continue saving. With extreme budgeting, there is no room for anything but the bare necessities, which is a plan that's generally set up to fail.
You're Not Living in the Present
Because the demands of extreme budgeting mean you'll be living on so little, what will you be living for in your day-to-day life? Sure, maybe you'll be able to retire 15 or even 25 years early, but think about those 10 to 15 years of never spending your money on anything. Is it really worth it to not go on a real vacation for 15 years? Is it worth it to not buy gifts for your spouse's birthday or Christmas or anniversary, for years and years? And if you have children, is it worth it for them to not be able to experience any extracurricular activities or sporting events because of the costs involved? It's one thing if you really don't have the money to enjoy as many of life's simple pleasures as you might wish, but inflicting that on yourself is like taking your quality of life, crumpling it into a little ball, and throwing it in the nearest garbage can.
Life After Retirement: It Doesn't Get Any Better Than This
OK, so let's say, despite all odds, you're successful in your quest to retire at age 30 -- OK, 40. Congrats! Now what? The retirement nest egg you've built didn't have the extra decades to benefit from compound growth that the accounts of those retiring in their 60s enjoyed. So that tight budget you've been living under the last 10 or 15 years? It will just continue, with the only difference being that you won't be going into the office each day. And most of those who claim to have "retired early" continue to find ways to earn money post-retirement, even if the work isn't full time. Otherwise, their quality of life would plummet, even with the extreme budgeting they have to continue.
Maybe you'd be able to claim that although you're still earning money with your labor in your "retired" state, you don't have to work if you don't want to. Well, yes, but would you be able to support the kind of life you want otherwise?
Add it up: While extreme budgeting in the name of achieving of early retirement may sound appealing, the reality is that the drawbacks far outweigh the benefits.
If you really hate working to the degree that you'd consider extreme budgeting for 15 years worth it, maybe the real answer is to find a different job or career. Better yet, if what you really hate is working for someone else, spend your free time finding a path toward working for yourself. Extreme budgeting and early retirement shouldn't have to be the only option. You can do better.
Justin Sullivan/Getty ImagesApple CEO Tim CookBy Arnab Sen
Apple (AAPL) is making strong efforts to assuage users' fears after taking the heat in the celebrity photo leak scandal that emerged over the Labor Day weekend.
Apple CEO Tim Cook provided details of how the company handles users' personal information and reassured customers about Apple's commitment toward their privacy, in a letter published on its website.
"We don't build a profile based on your email content or web browsing habits to sell to advertisers. We don't "monetize" the information you store on your iPhone or in iCloud. And we don't read your email or your messages to get information to market to you," Cook wrote in the letter.
Apple has never worked with any government agency to give access to its products, services and servers and would never do that in the future, Cook added.
After the leak of racy celebrity photos, cybersecurity experts and mobile developers called out inadequacies in Apple's and, more generally, cloud-services security.
Some security experts faulted Apple for failing to make its devices and software easier to secure through two-factor authentication, which requires a separate verification code after users log in initially.
Cook, in his letter, encouraged customers to use the two-step verification process and said it now protects all the data stored in iCloud along with protecting Apple ID account information.
Cook said users would get updates on privacy at the company at least once a year and about any significant change to its policies.
Last week, Apple unveiled a watch, two larger iPhones and a mobile payments service in an effort to revive the technology company's reputation as a wellspring of innovation.
Daniel Acker/Bloomberg via Getty ImagesBy Lucia Mutikani
WASHINGTON -- Housing starts and permits fell in August, but upward revisions to the prior month's data suggested the housing market continued to gradually improve.
Groundbreaking declined 14.4 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual 956,000-unit pace, the Commerce Department said on Thursday. July's starts were revised to show a 1.12-million unit rate, the highest level since November 2007, instead of the previously reported 1.09-million unit rate.
Economists polled by Reuters had forecast starts slipping to a 1.04-million unit rate last month.
Housing is clawing back after suffering a setback following a spike in mortgage rates last year. It, however, remains constrained by a relatively high unemployment rate and stringent lending practices by financial institutions.
A survey Wednesday showed homebuilder sentiment hit its highest level in nearly nine years in September and builders reported a sharp pick-up in buyer traffic since early summer.
Groundbreaking for single-family homes, the largest part of the market, fell 2.4 percent in August to a 643,000-unit pace. That followed a hefty 11.1 percent increase in July.
Starts for the volatile multifamily homes segment tumbled 31.7 percent to a 313,000-unit rate in August.
Last month, permits fell 5.6 percent to a 998,000-unit pace. July's permits were revised slightly up to a 1.06-million unit rate. Economists had expected them to slip to a 1.05-million unit pace in August.
Permits for single-family homes fell 0.8 percent to a 626,000-unit pace in August. Permits in the U.S. South, where more than half of single-family construction occurs, hit their highest level since April 2008.
Permits for multifamily housing declined 12.7 percent to a 372,000-unit pace.
Saving is about discipline, and the best way to save is to start small and be consistent. To figure out how much you can save, you need to first identify where you spend your money and develop a financial plan or budget that can help build long-lasting savings. In fact, you'll be surprised how quickly you can save $1,000 by the end of the year, by reducing or eliminating some expenses for three months and stashing that money away. That extra money can be put toward an emergency fund or your retirement savings.
The 10 savings steps below will hardly inhibit your current lifestyle and, if practiced, will provide you with some extra money as you head into 2015.
1. Save your loose change. Putting aside 50 cents a day over the course of a year will allow you to save nearly 40 percent of a $500 emergency fund, according to AmericaSaves.org. Most people may think it's not worth it to put aside two quarters a day, but the reality is, many people can put away 50 cents a day, and the numbers show that it adds up over time.
If you start Oct. 1, by the end of the year, you will have saved $46.
2. Drive sensibly and safe. Have your money go the extra mile by driving sensibly. What does this mean? Staying calm, cool and collected on the road, because aggressive driving (think: speeding, rapid acceleration and excessive braking) can lower your gas mileage by 33 percent on the highway and 5 percent around town, according to fueleconomy.gov. With the price of gas around $3.40 a gallon for the national average, if you drive sensibly, you can save at least $0.17 a gallon in town (and up to $1.12 a gallon on the highway).
On average, you'll buy around 133 gallons by the end of the year, for a savings of at least $23 to nearly $150.
3. Shop for groceries and save on gas. Check your local grocery stores for gas rewards programs for another way to cut down on your gas bill. Some allow you to earn one point for every dollar you spend, and for every 100 points you earn, you'll save 10 cents a gallon at the pump. According to the USDA, the average four-member family (on a moderate-cost budget) spends about $245 a week at the grocery store, meaning your card could save you nearly 25 cents a gallon at the pump. AAA figured out in 2012 that the average American goes through about 533 gallons of gas a year.
If you use a fourth of that amount (133 gallons) by the end of the year (and buy an average amount of groceries for a family of four a week), you'll save about $33 or more on gas.
4. Look for cheaper car insurance. A 2013 survey by NerdWallet found American drivers are overpaying an average of $368 each year for car insurance. NerdWallet analyzed car insurance quotes for 1,000 Zip codes across the U.S. The wide range of quotes available even in one Zip code shows there are opportunities for drivers to find substantial savings by comparison shopping. For example, in Stockdale, Texas, a hypothetical 40-year-old married male driver with a clean driving record would typically pay $1,436 for auto insurance, but the cheapest premium offered in his area is $1,045, a savings of 27 percent, or $391. To find out which car insurance discounts apply to you, Insure.com's car insurance discounts tool gives an overview of the discount landscape among large insurers in each state.
Over just three months, changing car insurance could save you $92.
5. Turn down your thermostat. Turn down your thermostat to 68 degrees this winter. You can save energy -- and money -- by setting your thermostat to 68 degrees while you are awake, then setting it lower while you're asleep or away from home. According to the U.S. Department of Energy, by turning your thermostat back 10 to 15 degrees for eight hours, you can save 5 percent to15 percent on your heating bill. The average cost for heating homes with natural gas -- what nearly half the country uses -- was $663 last winter.
By lowering your thermostat from now until the end of the year, you will save from $17 to $50.
6. Sell your old smartphone. With the launch of the Apple (AAPL) iPhone 6, you may be ready to turn in your old iPhone. Or maybe you decide you can live with a cheaper phone. The iPhone 5 is still the most popular of the iPhones, but maybe it's time to sell yours. You can go through Apple's Reuse and Recycling program and get an Apple Store Gift Card, but if you want cash, try a reseller, like NextWorth or Gazelle.
You could get as much as $170 for a 16GB AT&T (T) iPhone 5 in good condition on NextWorth, but the price drops for phones with scuffs, scratches and water damage.
7. Brown-bag your lunch. The typical American buys lunch nearly twice a week and spends about $10 each time. According to Visa (V), only 30 percent of us never eat lunch out. So if you're one of the people who spends $20 a week on lunch, brown-bagging it for the rest of the year and spending half that amount on groceries will save you $140 by year-end.
8. Skip the theater and wait for the DVD. From movie tickets to the cost of a bucket of popcorn, going to the movies can be a pricey experience. Entertainment is an expense that can easily be delayed. So instead of catching the latest-and-greatest flick once a month, perhaps skipping the theaters and waiting for your movie to show up on DVD is an option. The National Association of Theater Owners says the average movie ticket price was $8.13 last year.
If two of you go once a month, skipping these movies would amount to $48 in savings by year-end. Skip the $6 each for a large soda and $8 for a large popcorn to share, and that's another $20 in savings each time you go, for a total savings of $108.
9. Drink water from the tap. Drink water -- not soda, iced tea, Gatorade or even bottled water -- just plain old tap water, which costs less than $1 a year. If you drink only bottled water, you'll spend about $1,400 or more to get a year's worth of drinking water. If you don't like the taste of tap water, buy a water-filter pitcher. Keep a refillable bottle at work and in the car. And although eliminating eating out altogether could save you a bundle, it can be a hard habit to cut out completely. So just cut back on drinks -- order only tap water instead of beer, wine, soft drinks, coffee or tea.
Bottled-water drinkers will save $350 by year-end.
10. Cancel your cable, or at least negotiate a discount. Cable isn't a "necessity," but it's a basic household expense that can be easily bargained down with a relatively quick call. The average cost of cable TV each month is $64.41, according to the FCC. With taxes, surcharges and fees, most monthly bills round out to $80. If you're bold enough to cancel your cable altogether, you'll save around $240 in the last three months of the year.
And when we add up these 10 savings tactics ...
Your total savings by year-end amounts to ...
At least $1,252!
Note: In running the numbers for this savings exercise we gave you two weeks to get your act together. The total savings assumes you procrastinate for the rest of September and start saving on Oct. 1. But why wait? You can save even more if you start saving with the 50 cents, and more of these thrifty measures, today.
NEW YORK -- Pizza Hut is testing out a lighter pizza in two U.S. markets as it seeks to freshen up its menu and regain its footing against competitors.
The tests of the "Skinny Slice" pies began this week at several dozen restaurants in Toledo, Ohio, and West Palm Beach, Florida. The pies simply use less of the same dough used for regular pies and are lighter on the toppings, said Doug Terfehr, a Pizza Hut spokesman.
Several fast-food and restaurant chains have turned to lighter offerings over the years as a way to update their images, with varying degrees of success. Burger King (BKW), for instance, recently said the majority of its U.S. restaurants would stop offering lower-calorie french fries less than a year after the so-called "Satisfries" were introduced.
The test by Pizza Hut comes as the chain fights to win back market share. Last year, Pizza Hut sales fell 2 percent at U.S. locations open at least a year. Domino's (DPZ), by contrast, saw the figure rise 5.4 percent while Papa John's (PZZA) saw sales rise 4 percent in North America.
Darren Tristano, a restaurant analyst with industry tracker Technomic, noted that Pizza Hut may be suffering in part because it's the biggest player and has the most to lose at a time when the pizza business overall is seeing moderate growth of about 2 percent to 3 percent a year.
But he also noted that the chain has failed to "evolve its product," while Papa John's has played up its quality and Domino's improved its pizza. Pizza Hut is owned by Yum Brands (YUM), which also owns Taco Bell and KFC.
Pizza Hut's test varies in the two markets. In Toledo, customers can create their own Skinny Slice pies with up to five toppings, with each slice having 300 calories or less. In West Palm Beach, customers can pick from one of six pre-determined pies, with each slice having 250 calories or less.
The Skinny Slice pies are intended as a lighter version of Pizza Hut's hand-tossed crusts; a plain slice of the regular hand-tossed pie has 300 calories, according to the chain's website. A slice of the pan pizza has 350 calories and a slice of the "Thin 'N Crispy" has 260 calories.
Pizza Hut also rolled out "Fit n' Delicious" pies more than a decade ago that had even fewer calories than the new Skinny Slice pies by going lighter on toppings. If the test proves successful, the Skinny Slice pies would replace the Fit N' Delicious pies, which are still available on request, Terfehr said in an email.
Other pizza chains have tinkered with alternative crusts as well. Domino's introduced a gluten-free crust in 2012 that is still on the menu. During the Atkins craze, Domino's also tested a whole wheat crust but ultimately abandoned the idea.
"It did not take us very long to learn that people did not want that from Domino's," said Chris Brandon, a Domino's spokesman.
Paul J. Richards, AFP/Getty ImagesFederal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen
By MARTIN CRUTSINGER
WASHINGTON -- The Great Recession showed that a large number of American families are "extraordinarily vulnerable" to financial setbacks because they have few assets to fall back on, Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen said Thursday
Yellen said a Fed survey found that an unexpected expense of just $400 would force the majority of American families to borrow money, sell something or simply not pay.
"The financial crisis and the Great Recession demonstrated, in a dramatic and unmistakable manner, how extraordinarily vulnerable are the large share of American families with few assets to fall back on," Yellen said in a Washington speech.
For many lower-income families without assets, the definition of a financial crisis is a month or two without a paycheck, or the advent of a sudden illness or some other unexpected expense.
She said the bottom fifth of households by income -- about 25 million households -- had median net worth in 2013 of just $6,400, and many of these families had nothing saved or negative net worth, meaning their debts were greater than their assets.
Yellen said that the Fed's 2013 Survey of Consumer Finances, an in-depth analysis of family wealth, found that the next one-fifth of households had a net worth of only $27,900 in 2013 and that both of the bottom two-fifths of households had seen declines in net worth since the Fed's last survey in 2010. She said one reason for this decline was that incomes for these families had continued to decline.
"For many lower-income families without assets, the definition of a financial crisis is a month or two without a paycheck, or the advent of a sudden illness or some other unexpected expense," Yellen said.
Her remarks were delivered by video to a conference sponsored by the Corporation for Enterprise Development, a national nonprofit organization that seeks to expand economic opportunity for low-income families.
Yellen said that families with assets can treat financial setbacks as a "bumps in the road. Families without these assets can end up, very suddenly, off the road."
She said that the Fed wanted to promote efforts to encourage families to take small steps that could over time lead to the accumulation of assets.
Yellen said nothing in her brief remarks about the Fed's interest rate policies. The Fed on Wednesday concluded a two-day meeting in which it kept interest rates at a record low and retained language in its statement that rates should remain low for a "considerable time" after its bond purchasing program comes to an end in November.
Yellen told reporters at a news conference after the meeting that she felt while there had been improvements in the economy, the job market still faced a number of problems, including weak wage growth.
Getty Images
WASHINGTON -- Average long-term U.S. mortgage rates surged this week, marking their largest one-week gain this year.
Mortgage company Freddie Mac said Thursday the nationwide average for a 30-year loan jumped to 4.23 percent from 4.12 percent last week. The average for a 15-year mortgage, a popular choice for people who are refinancing, rose to 3.37 percent from 3.26 percent.
At 4.23 percent, the rate on a 30-year mortgage is at its highest level since the week ended May 1, though it is still at a historically low level.
Mortgage rates often follow the yield on the 10-year Treasury note. The 10-year note traded at 2.62 percent Wednesday, up sharply from 2.54 percent a week earlier. It was trading at 2.63 percent Thursday morning. Bond yields rise when bond prices fall.
The increase in the yield on the benchmark Treasury bond was stoked by speculation in financial markets that the Federal Reserve might abandon its nearly 6-year-old policy of keeping short-term rates at record lows. But at their meeting this week that ended Wednesday, Fed policymakers decided to keep the low rates, at least for a few more months.
To calculate average mortgage rates, Freddie Mac surveys lenders across the country between Monday and Wednesday each week. The average doesn't include extra fees, known as points, which most borrowers must pay to get the lowest rates. One point equals 1 percent of the loan amount.
The average fee for a 30-year mortgage was unchanged from last week at 0.5 point. The fee for a 15-year mortgage also remained at 0.5 point.
The average rate on a five-year adjustable-rate mortgage rose to 3.06 percent from 2.99 percent. The fee was stable at 0.5 point.
For a one-year ARM, the average rate fell to 2.43 percent from 2.45 percent. The fee held at 0.4 point.
Monkey Business Images
Being a hotel room attendant may well be the hardest job in the lodging industry; it may also be the one that gets the least guest recognition. Marriott International (MAR) is hoping to change that. The hospitality giant is starting to leave envelopes in guest rooms, encouraging them to leave a tip or even a note of appreciation.
This is a big deal. Marriott is placing these prominent pleas for service gratuities in more than 160,000 rooms across thousands of hotels.
Marriott's move is being done in partnership with Maria Shriver's A Woman's Nation, a nonprofit that aims to ensure that the value of women in the workplace and beyond is recognized and respected. The Envelope Please initiative hopes to place gratuity-seeking envelopes in service categories dominated by women. Hotel housekeeping is one such environment, and Marriott is the initiative's first hotel partner.
Maid to Order
Gratuities are part of the lodging experience. When a valet gets your car, you tip. When a bellman helps you with your luggage, you tip. When room service delivers your blueberry pancakes for breakfast, you tip. You are also expected to tip your room attendant for tidying up, but the genesis of Shriver's movement was that she found that most people don't.
One could argue that some guests don't tip because they don't interact with their room attendants. It's not like a valet handing you your keys or a bellman meeting you upstairs with your suitcase. However, many overnight guests also probably don't know that tipping is encouraged. These envelopes should change that. It should also make it easier for a housekeeper to recognize it as a gratuity, rather than having to assume that a few bucks left on the dresser are intended to be a tip.
The American Hotel and Lodging Association suggests that guests should leave $1 to $5 per night, depending on the class of the hotel. The association also suggests tipping daily since it's rarely the same person that's cleaning your room every day over a prolonged stay.
Welcome to Marriott
From a business perspective, this is a brilliant move by Marriott. It watches over more than 4,000 hotels across the planet, and anyone running a hotel will tell you that hiring and retaining a staff of room attendants is one of the hardest aspects of managing a property.
It's hard to find good help, but this move should help Marriott with retention and make it more attractive to prospective hires.
The publicity around the move will also help highlight that room attendants do rely on tips, just like nearly everyone working in hotels. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that maids and housekeepers in the travel industry make just $21,800 a year.
Yet the need to tip room attendants is not universally known, and it's apparently rarely practiced. Travel reviews aggregator TripAdvisor reports that less than a third of American travelers tip their room attendants. That figure is likely to increase at Marriott, even if the envelopes merely suggest leaving a daily tip. And if the move leads to maids and housekeepers from other hotels jumping ship to Marriott to improve their earning potential, it's a safe bet that Marriott won't be the last major hotelier to do this.
Motley Fool contributor Rick Munarriz has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. To read about our favorite high-yielding dividend stocks for any investor, check out our free report.
Meat, fish and other perishables you put in your fridge don't have a very long shelf life the way they're packaged. That's why you could be saving thousands of dollars a year just by vacuum sealing your food.
Vacuum-sealing helps keeps flavor in and bacteria out, so you can store your food up to five to six times longer. For example, fish generally lasts four months in the freezer, but when vacuum-sealed, it will last two years.
Meat will typically stay good for five months, but it will last up to three years if you use the vacuum sealer. That's five to six times longer than regular old freezer bags.
And it doesn't stop in your freezer. Vacuum sealing works on foods that you keep in your fridge, as well. Lettuce, for instance, gets soggy pretty fast. That's why so much of it is thrown out and not used. However, when it's sealed it can last for two to three weeks. Meanwhile, cheese can last for up to eight months.
So, if you're looking for a way to save money, vacuum seal these items and keep your food, and your budget, from going bad.
Claims made marketing the Pro Form ab Glider -- including ads and infomercials featuring talk show host Elisabeth Hasselbeck -- were "bogus" and violated a previous order by the Federal Trade Commission to not make trumped-up weight loss claims, the FTC announced Thursday.
ICON Health & Fitness, along with related businesses, agreed to pay $3 million in penalties to settle the charges. The ads claimed using the ab Glider for three minutes a day would cause significant weight loss. In 1997, the company was told that it could not make claims about its products that could not be substantiated or were not reflective of the "typical user's experience."
"The FTC is committed to protecting consumers from bogus weight-loss claims, whether they're for dietary supplements, exercise equipment or any other type of product," Jessica Rich, director of the FTC's Bureau of Consumer Protection, said in a statement. "Just because time has passed since an order was entered doesn't mean a manufacturer can ignore the order and return to its old tricks."
3 Minutes Isn't Enough
From 2010 through 2013, the company ran an advertising campaign promoting the ab Glider. In one commercial, Hasselbeck is shown working out and boasting of how three minutes on the machine is the equivalent of doing 100 sit-ups and will lead to weight loss. She proclaims: "When I say the ab Glider works, it works!" Endorsements all claim major weight loss due to the device.
"None of the consumers providing testimonials achieved their results using the ab Glider for only three minutes a day or by using only the ab Glider without engaging in other exercise or dieting," the FTC complaint said.
Under the settlement, the 1997 order is wiped out, and a new set of limits will be placed on the company that will last for 20 years, the FTC said.
Tomohiro Ohsumi/Bloomberg via Getty Images Larry Ellison, CEO of Oracle, is giving up that role to become chairman and chief technology officer.
SAN FRANCISCO -- Oracle (ORCL) co-founder Larry Ellison is ending his 37-year reign as CEO of the business software maker that he co-founded and is handing over the job to his two top lieutenants, Safra Catz and Mark Hurd.
As part of the changing-of-the-guard announced Thursday, Ellison will become Oracle Corp.'s chairman and chief technology officer. Jeff Henley, the company's chairman for the past decade, becomes vice chairman.
Ellison, 70, is likely to continue to play an influential role at Oracle, given his leadership position on the board and his stature as the company's largest individual shareholder.
The shake-up nevertheless opens a new phase in Oracle's history. The Redwood Shores, California, company is trying to adapt to the technological upheaval that is causing more of its corporate customers to lease software applications stored in remote data centers instead of paying licensing fees to install programs on machines kept in their own offices.
Before their promotions, Catz and Hurd were Oracle's co-presidents and had been working closely with Ellison for years. Catz is a former investment banker, while Hurd is best known as the former CEO of Hewlett-Packard Co.
Hurd stepped down from HP four years ago after that company's board raised questions about his expense report. Ellison ridiculed HP for its treatment of Hurd, a close friend, and hired him at Oracle.
Ellison, now one of the world's richest men, founded Oracle Corp. in 1977 with $1,200 of his own money. He was its chairman from May 1995 to January 2004.
REDWOOD SHORES, CA -- (Marketwired) -- 09/18/14 -- The Oracle (NYSE: ORCL) Board of Directors today announced that it has elected Larry Ellison to the position of Executive Chairman of Oracle's Board and appointed him the company's Chief Technology Officer. Jeff Henley, who has served as Oracle's Chairman for the last 10 years, was appointed Oracle's Vice Chairman of the Board.
The Oracle Board also promoted both Safra Catz and Mark Hurd to the position of CEO, Oracle Corporation. All manufacturing, finance, and legal functions will continue to report to Oracle CEO, Safra Catz. All sales, service and vertical industry global business units will continue to report to Oracle CEO, Mark Hurd. All software and hardware engineering functions will continue to report to Oracle Chairman and CTO, Larry Ellison.
"Safra and Mark will now report to the Oracle Board rather than to me," said Larry Ellison. "All the other reporting relationships will remain unchanged. The three of us have been working well together for the last several years, and we plan to continue working together for the foreseeable future. Keeping this management team in place has always been a top priority of mine."
"Larry has made it very clear that he wants to keep working full time and focus his energy on product engineering, technology development and strategy," said the Oracle Board's Presiding Director, Dr. Michael Boskin. "Safra and Mark are exceptional executives who have repeatedly demonstrated their ability to lead, manage and grow the company. The Directors are thrilled that the best senior executive team in the industry will continue to move the company forward into a bright future."
NEW YORK -- Home Depot (HD) said Thursday that a data breach that lasted for months at its stores in the U.S. and Canada affected 56 million debit and credit cards, far more than a pre-Christmas 2013 attack on Target (TGT) customers.
The size of the theft at Home Depot trails only that of TJX Cos' (TJX) heist of 90 million records disclosed in 2007. Target's breach compromised 40 million credit and debit cards.
Home Depot, the nation's largest home improvement retailer, said that the malware used in the data breach that took place between April and September has been eliminated.
It said there was no evidence that debit PIN numbers were compromised or that the breach affected stores in Mexico or customers who shopped online at Homedepot.com. It said it has also completed a "major" payment security project that provides enhanced encryption of customers' payment data in the company's U.S. stores.
But unlike Target's breach, which sent the retailer's sales and profits falling as wary shoppers went elsewhere, customers seem to have stuck with Atlanta-based Home Depot. Still, the breach's ultimate cost to the company remains unknown. Greg Melich, an analyst at International Strategy & Investment Group, estimates the costs will run in the several hundred million dollars, similar to Target's breach.
"This is a massive breach, and a lot of people are affected," said John Kindervag, vice president and principal analyst at Forrester Research. But he added, "Home Depot is very lucky that Target happened because there is this numbness factor."
Customers appear to be growing used to breaches, following a string of them this past year, including at Michaels, SuperValu and Neiman Marcus. Home Depot might have also benefited from the disclosure of the breach coming in September, months after the spring season, which is the busiest time of year for home improvement.
And unlike Target, which has a myriad of competitors, analysts note that home-improvement shoppers don't have many options. Moreover, Home Depot's customer base is different from Target's. Nearly 40 percent of Home Depot's sales come from professional and contractor services. Those buyers tend to be fiercely loyal and shop a couple of times a week for supplies.
Home Depot on Thursday confirmed its sales-growth estimates for the fiscal year and said it expects to earn $4.54 a share in fiscal 2014, up 2 cents from its prior guidance. The company's fiscal 2014 outlook includes estimates for the cost to investigate the data breach, providing credit monitoring services to its customers, increasing call center staffing and paying legal and professional services.
However, the profit guidance doesn't include potential yet-to-be determined losses related to the breach. The company said it has not yet estimated costs beyond those included in the guidance issued Thursday. Those costs could include liabilities related to payment card networks for reimbursements of credit card fraud and card reissuance costs. It could also include future civil litigation and governmental investigations and enforcement proceedings.
"We apologize to our customers for the inconvenience and anxiety this has caused, and want to reassure them that they will not be liable for fraudulent charges," Home Depot's chairman and CEO, Frank Blake, said in a statement. "From the time this investigation began, our guiding principal has been to put our customers first, and we will continue to do so."
The breach at Home Depot was first reported on Sept. 2 by Brian Krebs of Krebs on Security, a website that focuses on cybersecurity.
Target's high-profile breach pushed banks, retailers and card companies to increase security by speeding the adoption of microchips in U.S. credit and debit cards. Supporters say chip cards are safer, because unlike magnetic strip cards that transfer a credit card number when they are swiped at a point-of-sale terminal, chip cards use a one-time code that moves between the chip and the retailer's register. The result is a transfer of data that is useless to anyone except the parties involved. Chip cards are also nearly impossible to copy, experts say.
Target has been overhauling its security department and systems and is accelerating its $100 million plan to roll out chip-based credit card technology in all of its nearly 1,800 stores. Home Depot said it will be activating chip-enabled checkout terminals at all of its U.S. stores by the end of the year.
The Federal Reserve made its announcement for the FOMC policy meeting Wednesday afternoon, swinging markets from up to down — and back to up initially. The long and short of the matter is that a "considerable time" remained and a path the end of bond buying was clear. All in all, our view is that The Federal Reserve wants to remain more dovish than hawkish. Janet Yellen is not yet willing to rock the boat.
Meat, fish and other perishables you put in your fridge don't have a very long shelf life the way they're packaged. That's why you could be saving thousands of dollars a year just by vacuum sealing your food.
