Economic Growth in January Suggests Continued Expansion

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Jin Lee/Bloomberg via Getty ImagesThe Conference Board says economic growth in January was held back by severe winter weather in many parts of the U.S. WASHINGTON -- A measure of the U.S. economy's health posted a moderate gain in January, suggesting that the economy will continue to expand in the first half of this year. The Conference Board reported Thursday that its index of leading indicators rose 0.3 percent last month following no change in December and a solid 0.9 percent increase in November. The index is designed to signal economic conditions over the next three to six months. Conference Board economist Ken Goldstein said the January advance reflects an economy that is expanding moderately. But he said growth was held back over the past two months by severe winter weather in many parts of the country. "If the economy is going to move on to a faster track in 2014 compared to last year, consumer demand and especially investment will need to pick up significantly from their current trends," Goldstein said. The advance in January was aided by fewer applications for unemployment benefits and strength in financial indicators. This strength offset weakness from a decrease in applications for building permits and fewer hours worked in manufacturing.

IndyFilmCorp Gets a Monkey Off its Back. Here Comes Forward Progress. (IFLM, LGF, DIS)

The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) needs to look over its shoulder. For that matter, Lions Gate Entertainment Corp. (NYSE:LGF) may want to do the same. There's a little company called Independent Film Development Corporation (OTCMKTS:IFLM) that could become a big threat to both of those major players soon, now  that a nagging monkey is officially off its back.

What could a relatively unknown independent film and television outfit like Independent Film Development Corporation do that was a real threat to a name like The Walt Disney Company, or even the lesser-established Lions Gate Entertainment Corp.? Answer: You might be surprised. Remember, when Walt Disney got the ball rolling back in the late 30's, life didn't get easy - nor did the money start to flow in earnest - until the 50's. Prior to that, Disney was largely just another company being held together by sheer willpower. As for Lions Gate Entertainment, prior to huge success as the brains and marketing firepower behind the Twilight movie franchise and a stroke of luck with television's MadMen, Lions Gate wasn't exactly a name that stopped people in their tracks either. Point being, never say never. One good show or movie could literally change everything, the way Cinderella did for The Walt Disney Company in 1950.

But is Independent Film Development Corporation - aka IndyFilmCorp - going to attack on the television and film front, or the theme park front (where none have yet to dethrone Disney)? Despite the moniker, it's the theme park industry that makes IFLM such an interesting stock right now.

Just for the record, Independent Film Development Corporation really is an independent film company. Though it doesn't have the library that a name like Lions Gate Entertainment has - at least not yet - it's got a decent library, and has proven its chops in the arena. It's the producer of the Autograph celebrity biography series, and it owns the rights to the perennially popular Three Stooges shorts, just to drop a few names. It's not film and television that's apt to put IFLM on the map, however. No, the reason The Walt Disney Company needs to be particularly worried is because IndyFilmCorp is planning a new kind of theme park that could make DisneyLand and DisneyWorld look like a schoolyard playground.

Times are changing. So are tastes. Technology has a lot to do with that, whether you're talking about the realism seen on the big and small screen, or the telecommunications technologies that keep all of us connected to, well, everything, all the time. Most consumers have seen, heard, and done it all, if not in real life, then at least digitally. That's what makes it tough for Disney's theme parks to "wow' guests year in and year out. Independent Film Development Corporation has a plan, however, to actually get the adrenaline pumping for theme park guests again. It's going to immerse visitors in an experience that combines special effects with state-of-the-art film technologies that don't just show an amusement park patron something interesting, but lets them live it.... perhaps wondering if what they're seeing may well be real, and not some stage-show.

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In other words, IndyFilmCorp is planning to build a theme park that crosses the "cute" line that Disney wouldn't (and won't) cross to enter the place in people's minds where "holy @#$%" will be a common response. Some of the planned attractions at the park being planned for the 500-acre property in the Catskills, New York, are a water flume ride that feels like a journey through the River Styx (with a narrow, splash-filled escape from Hades), a haunted house with ghosts rendered as holograms rather than just a light shining through cardboard cutouts, and instead of lovable cartoon characters walking around the park passing out hugs, guests at the IndyFilmCorp amusement park will catch a glimpse of Bigfoot lurking around the park's tree-laden areas.

Intense? Yes, but that's the point. Consumers want more intensity, and they want help suspending their beliefs of what they know to be real... something most theme parks like Disney can't quite do, as they lack the visual, movie-caliber special effects that Independent Film Development Corporation plans to make a part of the park.

So what, pray tell, is such a big deal all of a sudden? Per this morning's press release, IFLM was victorious in a key court case against a former partner. The end result of that courtroom victory is the cancellation of what would have been a disadvantageous funding deal, plus an award of a little more than $200,000 in cash. The real benefit of the court case, however, is that the company can now focus on the development of the first of what could be many such theme parks rather than worry about arguing things out in a court room. From here, investors and observers can probably expect to see more frequent progress updates on the theme park front. That's always helpful for the underlying stock.

For more information on the theme park concept, here's the company's letter to shareholders unveiling the idea.

The Millionaires' Club: Congress loves these 10…

The wealth effect is in full force on Capitol Hill. For the first time in history, the majority of Congress members are millionaires. Both political parties made significant gains in their median net worth, and continue to hold positions in some of America's most well-known companies.

Of 534 current members of Congress, at least 268 had an average net worth of $1 million or more in 2012, according to a new report by the Center for Responsive Politics and the latest disclosures filed by Congress in 2013. In the previous year, only 257 members had a median net worth of at least $1 million. Senators are generally better off than House members. The median net worth for all House members totaled $896,000, compared to $2.7 million for senators.

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"Members of Congress have long been far wealthier than the typical American, but the fact that now a majority of members — albeit just a hair over 50% — are millionaires represents a watershed moment at a time when lawmakers are debating issues like unemployment benefits, food stamps, and the minimum wage, which affect people with far fewer resources, as well as considering an overhaul of the tax code," explains the CRP.

Although real estate was the most popular investment on Capitol Hill, many members held positions in stocks. Let's take a look at the 10 most popular stocks held by Congress.

CONGRESS' MOST POPULAR STOCKS

1. General Electric (GE)
Number of members invested: 74
Performance since start of 2013: Up 28.4%

2. Wells Fargo (WFC)
Number of members invested: 58
Performance since start of 2013: Up 34.4%

3. Microsoft (MSFT)
Number of members invested: 57
Performance since start of 2013: Up 34.9%

4. Procte! r & Gamble (PG)
Number of members invested: 57
Performance since start of 2013: Up 18.3%

5. Apple (AAPL)
Number of members invested: 52
Performance since start of 2013: Up 0.1%

6. Bank of America (BAC)
Number of members invested: 51
Performance since start of 2013: Up 44.4%

7. JPMorgan Chase (JPM)
Number of members invested: 49
Performance since start of 2013: Up 33%

8. International Business Machines (IBM)
Number of members invested: 45
Performance since start of 2013: Down 2.2%

9. Cisco Systems (CSCO)
Number of members invested: 44
Performance since start of 2013: Up 13%

10. AT&T (T)
Number of members invested: 44
Performance since start of 2013: Down 0.3%

Wall St. Cheat Sheet is a USA TODAY content partner offering financial news and commentary. Its content is produced independently of USA TODAY.

Netflix rings in the new year with new content

If you are a faithful Netflix user, you may have noticed on Jan. 1 that some movies and television shows were no longer listed as streaming options.

Among the prominent titles that disappeared were Titanic, Flashdance, Top Gun, and Braveheart.

Netflix spokeswoman Jenny McCabe says there is no glitch in the system. Every month, as the licenses of movies and television shows expire, they are replaced by new content.

"Titles come and go … it's just part of life," McCabe told USA TODAY Network. "We usually re-license movies and television shows that people are regularly watching, and we choose to not re-license those that people are not watching."

The good news for Netflix users is a number of movies and television shows have been added as streaming options.

Below is a list of many of the titles added since Jan. 1. Happy streaming!

Dexter: Seasons 5-8
Duplex
Drinking Buddies
Good Ol' Freda
Jack Reacher
The Talented Mr. Ripley
American Psycho
Raging Bull
Thelma And Louise
West Side Story
What's Eating Gilbert Grape
Big Trouble in Little China
Breakfast at Tiffany's
Bull Durham
Red Dawn
Mousehunt
Spaceballs
Star Trek: The Motion Picture
Amelie
Grapes of Wrath
Planes, Trains, and Automobiles
Children of a Lesser God
Tora! Tora! Tora!
Ghost
Play It Again, Sam

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Edmunds: Life changes can open new opportunities

We never know when or how things will occur to change the course of our lives. And sometimes these changes can lead to the kind of business that can provide service to others while healing our own wounds.

Chris Mabon was living her childhood dream; married to Jeff, a great guy who started his own business so that he could spend quality time with his family. She had two handsome athletic teenage sons, Andrew and Connor, a comfortable and cozy suburban home and the family mascot, a yellow lab retriever named Jake. As far as Chris was concerned, all was right with the world.

On Christmas Eve 2006, Chris, her mother and the boys were busy making holiday cookies. Jeff was an avid cycler and decided that he would take advantage of the unusually warm and sunny day and take a bicycle ride.

Within 90 minutes after he left home Chris got a call from police officers informing her that Jeff had suffered a fatal heart attack while riding his bike. Twenty-two years of marriage came to an abrupt end and left her with a couple of new titles: widow and single mother.

Chris said, "For several days I was completely numb, and I felt like my sons and I were completely alone in the world without Jeff. And then I started to notice that things were being taken care of around me. Friends that I had not seen in years along with neighbors were coming in a steady stream to help with housework, help with plans for the memorial service as well as words of comfort and support and for days foods of all kinds came in great supply."

"I started to realize that some of these people I hadn't seen in ages and some barely knew me. But all had a common goal; to reach out and show loving kindness to a family that felt broken and sad at the most celebrated time of the year.

"After things settled down I reflected on that unforgettable holiday period and I began to realized that I had put friends and relationships on the back burner while trying to keep up with my life as wife, mom, housekeeper and all of t! he many tasks that go along with the job. And yet they were all there lending love and a helping hand."

Chris said that she began to wonder how many other women had put their connection to friends and their lives on hold to fulfill the many responsibilities of a devoted wife and mother.

After reviewing her own life situation and reading a report about the importance of women maintaining connections to their gal pals for health and wellness, Chris created a workshop/seminar program titled Good Friends are Comfort Food For The Soul. The program is designed to identity five types of friends to enhance the well-being in a woman's life, and it encourages women to keep regular connections to friends and helps them to make the necessary connections.

Chris said that it wasn't her intention to start a business, however once she got rolling on doing workshops and giving talks on friendship connections, word started to spread and she found herself caught up with an entrepreneurial spirit.

Chris said that she had asked herself a number of times after the loss of Jeff what was the purpose of her life. She said that one of those very important five friends that she has identified in her program told her that we all come here to do two things: to serve humanity and to grow in our own personal potential.

Chris said that she is in the friendship business and her audience constantly tells her how much her work has helped them and she said that she has grown by leaps and bounds while running her business.

She is currently working on her first book titled Comfort Food. The book is full of delicious recipes from the people who brought food and comfort during her tough time and essays and tips on how to reach out and keep the connection to friends.

Visit Chris's website at www.christinemabon.com.

The Renewed Dominance of Natural Gas

While many sectors suffered mightily during the market's recent decline, utilities largely held their value (See Chart A). But as the economy continues to improve, utility investors are starting to become more selective, shifting their focus toward earnings quality and prospects for future growth.

That's led to a renewed focus on utilities that are developing or benefiting from high-growth natural gas plays. Diversified firms that have regulated utilities while also participating in the natural gas value chain are seen as superior to pure-play electric utilities because they offer both stability and exposure to growth via rising natural gas demand from a resurgent US economy.

Chart A: Utilities Preserved Wealth During the Market's Recent Selloff

Created with YCharts

In addition to beating the market since the beginning of the year, diversified energy utilities, such as MDU Resources Group Inc (NYSE: MDU), Dominion Resources Inc (NYSE: D) and Sempra Energy (NYSE: SRE), significantly outperformed pure-play or predominantly all-electric utilities, such as Duke Energy Corp (NYSE: DUK) and Entergy Corp (NYSE: ETR), by as much as several percentage points (See Chart B).

Interestingly, among top performers, there was no dominant strategy for exploiting natural gas demand, as these firms were involved in all aspects of the value chain–from exploration and production to distribution and storage. These companies have not only been benefiting from a natural gas surplus, but also from the pressing need to expand US energy infrastructure to deliver this newfound bounty to businesses and households.

Chart B: Diversified Energy Utilities Outperformed Electric-Only Peers

Created with YCharts

The abundance of natural gas resulting from the shale revolution could even be a catalyst for US economic renewal, as various sectors of the economy will increasingly rely on the commodity, while there's also substantial demand for natural gas overseas.

For example, on the domestic front, cheap natural gas is giving various chemical manufacturing industries a new lease on life. According to industry experts, these companies now have a 10-year competitive advantage over their foreign peers. Low natural gas prices have also reduced costs for non-chemical manufacturing firms, enough so that some companies are moving their operations back to the US.

And given proposed environmental mandates to reduce carbon and other emissions, power companies are expected to rely more heavily on natural gas, especially once they have to shutter coal-fired plants to meet more stringent standards.

According to the US Energy Information Administration (EIA), annual natural gas consumption is projected to rise from 25.6 trillion cubic feet (Tcf) in 2014 to 31.6 Tcf in 2040. In the near term, however, demand is forecast to fall by 1.6 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d) in 2014, or about 2.2 percent year over year, because of the projected 4.6 percent decline in heating degree days and lower natural gas use by the electric power sector. In 2015, natural gas consumption is expected to increase by 1.4 Bcf/d due to greater demand from the industrial and electric power sectors.

At the sector level, the EIA forecasts that the increase in natural gas prices will cause a decline in demand for the commodity's use in electric power generation, from 22.3 Bcf/d in 2013 to 21.7 Bcf/d in 2014. But as retirements of coal power plants accelerate in 2015 in response to the implementation of the Mercury and Air Toxics Standards, natural gas consumption will start to rise again, climbing to 22.6 B! cf/d in 2! 015, and continue to increase over the ensuing years.

Natural Gas: A Long-Term Investment Trend

Even as natural gas prices spiked recently in response to extremely cold weather in the Northeast and other parts of the US, most forecasters predict that prices will level off and remain just above historical lows in the near term. April natural gas futures are trading near $4.60 per MMBtu, well below the high of $5.74 per MMBtu that the spot price hit in early February. That being said, natural gas analysts do not believe prices will fall to the lows seen in 2012.

While diversified energy utilities have been among the beneficiaries of the short-term jump in natural gas prices, investors should focus on the long term. US demand for natural gas is on a steady upward trend, as more and more households, businesses and utilities are projected to switch to natural gas. And once sufficient infrastructure is in place to export liquefied natural gas (LNG) overseas, that will add to overall demand.

According to the EIA, power generation will be responsible for the largest share of demand growth, as usage in the sector rises from 9.3 Tcf in 2012 to 11.2 Tcf in 2040, with a portion of the growth attributable to the retirement of 50 gigawatts of coal-fired capacity by 2021.

In fact, natural gas will eventually overtake coal to provide the largest share of US electric power generation. By 2040, the EIA predicts natural gas will account for 35 percent of total electricity generation, while coal will account for 32 percent.

And as previously noted, low natural gas prices have also fueled demand in the industrial sector, particularly among petrochemical manufacturers. Industrial shipments are forecast to grow 3 percent annually over the next 10 years, before slowing to a rate of 1.6 percent annually thereafter. Bulk chemicals and metals-based durables account for much of the increased growth in industrial shipments in the most recent forecast.

The higher level of industrial ! shipments! leads to more natural gas consumption (including lease and plant fuel) in the US industrial sector, increasing from 8.7 quadrillion British thermal units (Btu) in 2012 to 10.6 quadrillion Btu in 2025.

Subscribers to Utility Forecaster can see which Portfolio recommendations are leveraged to this long-term trend in the full Portfolio Update at our website.

General Motors Stock Running Low on Momentum Fuel

2013 was a great year for the automotive industry as a stronger economy pushed many to buy new cars, while an improved European market had a similar effect on car sales across the Atlantic. Hopes were pretty high for a solid 2014 too, though with recent data some are wondering if that will really be the case.

These concerns have really been centered on the January car sales report which came in far below expectations. Most major automotive manufacturers saw plunging sales which were largely blamed on the frigid weather across much of the Midwest, and the intense snow in much of the Northern part of the country.

Yet while many viewed the weather as a culprit for the lax sales, luxury brands actually saw a pretty decent January. BMW, Mercedes-Benz, and Audi all saw gains for the month (year-over-year), while Nissan and Fiat Chrysler both saw double digit increases from the previous year.

To me, this suggests that more than the weather was at play for the January figures, and that a shifting demand picture could really be hurting some car makers this year. This is particularly true for General Motors (GM), as the company saw one of the biggest declines in sales for the month, with total sales slumping 12% (year-over-year).

GM in Focus

This is quite the disappointment for GM as the company had seen a smooth ride for much of 2013, and it finally broke free from the 'Government Motors' label as the U.S. Treasury sold off the rest of its stake in the automotive giant. However, thanks to its weak January sales and a sluggish earnings report, 2014 isn't shaping up too well.

In the firm's most recent earnings release GM was expected to post earnings of 88 cents a share. However, the company saw just 67 cents in profits, a miss of over 23%, and the first such miss since the December 2012 quarter.

Even more troubling was the miss on sales for GM, as this represented the first such miss since the June 2012 quarter. While it was barely a miss—shy by 0.83%– it does suggest that the company is having trouble meeting expectations. And when you throw in the weak January numbers, investors have to be feeling a little wary about GM's stock in the near term.

GM Estimates

With this backdrop, it isn't too surprising to note that analysts have been slashing their estimates for General Motors stock, pretty much across the board. All new estimates in the past 30 days have been lower for the current quarter, while the same trend has been seen for the current year and next year time frames as well.

Thanks to these declining estimates, the consensus has been sliding for General Motors stock  pretty much across the board. In fact, the current quarter has seen the consensus slide from $1.04 per share 30 days ago to the current level at just 78 cents a share, suggesting that analysts are becoming increasingly bearish on the firm's near term prospects.

This drop in expectations has led GM to a Zacks Rank #5 (Strong Sell), meaning it is in roughly the bottom 5% of all stocks that we cover. And with a poor Zacks Industry Rank for the automotive domestic sector—bottom 30%– the broader space isn't looking too hot either.

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Better Pick

With such a poor industry rank, solid companies in the domestic automotive sector are hard to come by. However, there is one top Ranked company in the space which could be a great selection for those who want to stay in the space, Tesla Motors (TSLA).

Tesla currently has a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) and earnings estimates have been surging in recent sessions for this firm, pushing year-over-year growth expectations for this year up over 100%. And since it is in the luxury car market, it could survive the bad weather better than the low-to-mid market focused GM, and thus be a better near term selection for automotive stock investors.

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ExxonMobil: The Bad News is in the Stock…or Maybe Not

If investors were hoping to hit black gold with ExxonMobil (XOM) this year, they’ve been horribly disappointed.

Associated Press

ExxonMobil’s shares have dropped 11.1% so far this year, after reporting disappointing earnings and declining production. It’s also underperformed both ConocoPhillips (COP), which has fallen 8.5% this year,  and Chevron (CVX),which is off  10.7%, though neither have exactly sparkled this year either.

Argus analyst Michael Burke, however, argues that the market is overreacting to ExxonMobil’s bad news. He writes:

We think that investors have become too pessimistic about the company's production profile (47% gas in 4Q) and that this negative sentiment is reflected in the stock's current valuation. In our view, ExxonMobil will remain the global energy leader, and a superior allocator of capital, as demonstrated by its leading returns on invested capital. We also believe that the company's exceptionally strong financial position, as indicated by its AAA credit ratings, will enable it to return excess cash to shareholders. In short, we believe that [ExxonMobil] will put capital to work in the most productive manner possible, and that it will return undeployed capital to shareholders through dividends and buybacks. Although [ExxonMobil] shares are trading at a premium to peers based on P/E, price/book, and price/sales, we believe that these premiums are warranted given the company's low debt, strong cash flow, and healthy operating margins. Our $104 target price implies a multiple of 12.9-times our 2014 EPS estimate and a potential 12-month return of 19%, including the dividend.

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Oppenheimer’s Fadel Gheit and Robert Du Boff think ExxonMobil’s problems could just be starting:

[ExxonMobil], like the rest of its peers, is facing an uphill battle maintaining, let alone growing, its production, as the low-hanging fruit has already been picked. Higher capital spending, rising costs, and increasing government take have squeezed earnings and reduced returns. Lower oil prices could dim [ExxonMobil's] earnings outlook as access to economically attractive energy resources is becoming more difficult and costly. At $90 oil and $5 natural gas, [ExxonMobil] could not internally fund its share buyback, and at $80 oil it has to borrow to fund CAPEX and dividends. We think [ExxonMobil] should abandon setting production targets and focus instead on growing its per-share metrics. In our view, its primary objective should be value, not volume.

Shares of ExxonMobil have gained 0.1% to $89.94 at 1:55 p.m., while ConocoPhillips has risen 0.5% to $64.66 and Chevron has advanced 0.2% to $111.47.

Electronic Arts founder Hawkins: New iPad app w…

Trip Hawkins assembled the team that got millions of players hooked on the Madden NFL video game franchise. Now, more than 20 years later, he is focused on your kids: He wants to teach them how to be better people.

Founder of the seminal video game studio Electronic Arts, Hawkins now co-leads If You Can, a small group of developers and educators working to bring a subscription-based iPad adventure game to life. Based on the concept of "emotional intelligence," made popular in the mid-1990s by journalist and author Daniel Goleman, the new game is called simply IF…

Hawkins says the game will debut at the end of January and be aimed at kids ages 6 to 12. The first chapter will be free to play, but after that he hopes to entice parents to sign up for a monthly subscription.

Goleman's best-selling 1995 book Emotional Intelligence popularized the idea that a child's ability to control his or her impulses, delay gratification, persist in the face of setbacks and generally be a more empathetic person could be bigger factors in his or her success than raw intelligence. More recently, educators — including the influential KIPP charter schools — have focused much of their college-completion efforts on kids' ability to show "grit" in everyday life.

Hawkins, a father of four kids aged 9 to 20, says the lessons are valuable, but that teaching them in a classroom isn't so easy. And he doesn't expect to see parents asking their kids to study the concepts after school.

"You have to meet people where they're at," he says. "Where are our kids right now? They've got their fingers on a device."

While players work through each level, the game assesses 20 skills behind the scenes, including self-awareness, resilience, empathy, the ability to listen and to manage emotions, among others. From time to time, game characters even encourage players to put down the game and try out their skills in the real world.

IF… looks like your typical colorful adventure title, with players dropp! ed into the imaginary village of Greenberry and given the choice of playing as a dog or cat. But in this particular world, something isn't right. The village is a mess and everyone's fighting. Hawkins likens it to the scenes in It's a Wonderful Life in which Jimmy Stewart sees what his hometown would be like if he'd never been born.

"We start out with the town being trashed," he says. It's up to players to set things right.

Trash actually plays a role in the game — players are encouraged to pick up trash in the game world, something Hawkins has done, with little fanfare, for years in real life. As an illustration of how small acts can have big effects, he recalls that at a recent presentation at his daughter's school, she surprised him by telling the crowd how her dad picks up trash, even though he'd never called attention to it or asked his kids to follow his lead. She loved the idea, she told the crowd, and had started doing it herself.

Hawkins actually gets a little emotional in the retelling, saying, "I had never heard that — and here it was radiating out to this group. It's one of those things where you realize that every little bit you can do makes a difference and creates these ripple effects that are much bigger, and possibly more profound, than you had imagined."

If You Can website: http://www.ifyoucan.org

Busting a credit card hacker

Maksym Yastremsky was one of the world's most prolific credit card hackers.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) In 2007, Ukrainian Maksym Yastremsky was the most prolific credit card hacker in the world. He'd stolen over 40 million cards from mostly U.S.-based retailers. He'd cost credit card companies over $11 million.

In 2008 he was arrested in Turkey after the U.S. Secret Service infiltrated his network. Here's how they did it:

Flashback to 2004, when the Secret Service -- which handles currency crimes -- got wind of a criminal ring using stolen credit cards to buy high end electronics in the Los Angeles area.

Rather than bust the ring outright, they struck a deal. The ring leader would introduce an undercover Secret Service agent to the source of his stolen credit cards under the guise that the agent was a new partner in the criminal ring. Naturally, the idea was to move up the food chain, and ultimately nab the cyber criminals at the heart of the hacking underworld.

"So what I ended up doing was communicating via instant message and I started talking to people in South East Asia," said the undercover agent, in an exclusive interview with CNN.

  Tracking a cyber criminal

As part of the ruse, the agent explained that he needed all the tools to start a new ring that used phony cards to make purchases -- the machines to make the cards, the special plastic to make them out of and, most importantly, the stolen card numbers. For those, he was connected with Yastremsky.

"He had the most recent, the largest credit card data," said the agent. "Often times I knew about the breaches before they were ! being reported. These people were my friends online and they were selling me their new databases as they were getting them straight from the breach."

Yastremsky worked with a variety of hackers to steal the data -- sometimes placing malware directly on the networks at major retailers. As soon as you'd swipe your card, the criminals would have your info.

To solidify the burgeoning relationship -- and to help build the criminal case -- it was decided that the agent would meet with Yastremsky in person. Up until then their meetings had only been online, and Yastremsky was known only by his internet handle -- Maksic.

"We met numerous times in South East Asia, and several times in the Middle East," said the agent, who still works for the Secret Service. "It was business and a mixture of just, of being a friend. We wore towels, beachwear, hung out at the beach, rode wave-runners, went parasailing."

When the Secret Service decided it had enough information, a plan was hatched to make the arrest. It would take place in Turkey, with the help of Turkish police. The Secret Service agent and Yastremsky were there together staying at a resort, and the plan was to go out clubbing that night.

"We just came back home and when we came back to the hotel, the police were in place and they arrested us as we walked back onto the resort," said the agent, who was also arrested to maintain cover. "I did the first thing that came natural -- I just started lying to the police."

During his whole time undercover, the agent said he never really felt threatened.

"They just seemed like regular individuals, people that you would see on the street, people that you would see on the subway," he said. "None of them came off as looking like a mafia figure or the next big criminal."

Yastremsky is now serving 30 years in a Turkish prison on charges related to the credit card thefts.

Since 2008 there have been many new instances of credit card! theft --! most recently the 40 million credit cars that were compromised through a breach at Target.

While it seems like such cases are on the rise, the Secret Service says that's not necessarily the case.

"It's probably a bias to say they are coming fast and furious," said Ed Lowery, head of the criminal investigative division at the Secret Service. "It just so happens we have three that have all come to light in recent history."

-- With reporting from CNN's Drew Griffin, Patricia DiCarlo and Elizabeth Nunez.

-- Send tips to CNN Investigations

American Airlines, United Continental, Delta Air Lines Heading Higher, Barclays Says

Airline stocks–from American Airlines (AAL) and United Continental (UAL) to Southewest Airlines (LUV) and Delta Air Lines (DAL)–have shown little of the weakness that has dragged down the stock market this year. Can they keep heading higher?

Bloomberg

Yes, says Barclays’ David Fintzen, who became the latest analyst to boost his bullish outlook and raise his price targets on the group today–despite American Airlines’ 34% gain this year, United Continental’s 17% rise, Southwest Airlines’ 9.5% advance and Delta Air Lines’ 8.1% increase.

Fintzen explains why:

Given the recent run in the stocks, we thought it a good time to go back to some of our valuation work to again 'kick the tires' on the sector. As we thought more about valuation, one of the critical points in determining when airlines reach 'fair value' is some thought around earnings power through a cycle. What we've done below is flesh out our view of long-term margin potential for each of the large airlines, and then apply 1990s average valuation to get to rough upside potential over the next year. In the relatives, we've assumed some convergence of margins, although we'd expect a debate over our assumptions. We've also put a premium in higher free cash airlines and discounts where we think long-term earnings power is a bit less clear.

Putting aside the relatives, in aggregate, we get to another 18% upside potential in airlines. That assumes (honestly not by design) that 2014 looks like a mid-cycle year, and applying average 1990s valuation (~6.9x EV/EBITDAR). That would put long-term margin potential at just about the same level as the 1990s and apply a multiple that reflected an industry chronically destroying capital (albeit sustainably) and generating no free cash. In short, we think our multiples and likely our margins could prove conservative.

Fintzen raised his target on Delta to $38 from $34, his target on Southwest Airlines to $26 from $22, American’s target to $38 from $30 and his target on United Continental to $50 from $38.

Delta Air Lines shares are 1.4% higher while Southwest  is up 1.5%. American Airlines is 0.5% higher and United Continental is ahead by 0.4%.

Why the holidays matter to your career

While the holidays are all about spending time with friends and family, it's also a great time to make new business contacts and reconnect with old ones – even those disguised as a cousin or an uncle.

Research indicates half or more of all jobs are gotten through informal channels – family, friends, colleagues, friends of friends. There's also plenty of opportunities to build stronger relationships with coworkers and maybe get to know the boss a little better.

In this week's Money Quick Tips video, USA TODAY contributor Regina Lewis looks at how to leverage the holiday season to set yourself up for a successful 2014.

MONEY QUICK TIPS: Money-saving strategies for holiday shopping

Regina Lewis is a national television contributor and host of USA TODAY's "Money Quick Tips" videos. Follow her on Twitter: @ReginaLewis.

Previous Money Quick Tips:

Five benefits of a 529 college savings plan

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