Business news in brief

QUOTE OF THE DAY “You’re talking about having to build up a massive amount of infrastructure to support any kind of offshore development.” Gary Gentile, senior editor for oil news at trade publication Platts, on a push to develop Atlantic Coast oil fields Article, 1D

Target: Justice Department investigating

NEW YORK - Target Corp. said Monday that the Justice Department is investigating the security breach at the retailer that’s being called the second-largest such occurrence in U.S. history.

The Justice Department declined to comment on whether it’s investigating Target, the nation’s second-largest discounter.

Target also said it’s teaming up with the U.S. Secret Service in its own investigation. Target said the Secret Service has asked the company not to share many of the details of the investigation.

Additionally, Target said it held a conference call with the state attorneys general Monday.

The investigations and call come after Target said data connected to about 40 million credit- and debit-card accounts were stolen beginning over the Thanksgiving weekend.

Ex-Wal-Mart executive to be clinic’s CEO

After working as a private-practice lawyer, colonel of the Arkansas State Police and as a Wal-Mart executive, Tom Mars has been named chief executive officer of Steadman Clinic and the nonprofit Steadman Philippon Research Institute. The Steadman Clinic is an internationally known orthopaedic facility in the ski-resort towns of Vail and Frisco, Colo. Specialists treat a number of knee, hip, shoulder, elbow, hand, spine, foot and ankle injuries.

Mars left Bentonville-based Wal-Mart Stores Inc. in March after about four years as executive vice president and chief administrative officer. He was the retail giant’s general counsel from 2007-09.

He was once a clinic patient and served on the research center’s board of directors under owners Drs. J.

Richard Steadman and Marc Philippon. Calls to Mars and the doctors were unsuccessful.

Treasury-bill rate mixed at weekly sale

WASHINGTON - Interest rates on short-term Treasury bills were mixed in Monday’s auction, with rates on three-month bills rising to the highest level in three weeks and rates on six-month bills unchanged.

The Treasury Department auctioned $32 billion in three-month bills at a discount rate of 0.070 percent, up from 0.065 percent last week. Another $27 billion in six-month bills was auctioned at a discount rate of 0.090 percent, unchanged from last week.

The three-month rate was the highest since three-month bills averaged 0.075 percent Dec. 3.

The discount rates reflect that the bills sell for less than face value. For a $10,000 bill, the three-month price was $9,998.23 while a six-month bill sold for $9,995.45.

That would equal an annualized rate of 0.071 percent for the three-month bills and 0.091 percent for the six-month bills.

Separately, the Federal Reserve said Monday that the average yield for one-year Treasury bills, a popular index for making changes in adjustable rate mortgages, edged down to 0.13 percent last week from 0.14 percent the previous week.

  • The Associated Press

U.K. opens bribery inquiry at Rolls-Royce

LONDON - Britain’s Serious Fraud Office said Monday that it had “opened a criminal investigation into allegations of bribery and corruption at Rolls-Royce,” the maker of jet engines and other power systems.

The government agency responsible for prosecuting large-scale corruption and other crime is stepping up a long-running inquiry into the company, which is one of the largest in Britain. The agency had spent about a year examining the evidence before its director, David Green, decided there were sufficient grounds to go ahead with a criminal investigation.

The case threatens to tarnish the reputation of one of Britain’s few world-leading technology companies. Rolls-Royce engines power 30 types of civil airliners as well as 24 military engine programs. The company is also a major maker of turbines for the power and energy industries.

Financial analysts were not expecting immediate fallout. “This news isn’t a surprise and should not detract from a company with such a healthy long-term outlook,” said Ben Bourne, an aerospace analyst at Liberum Capital, a London brokerage.

Washington governor meets with Airbus

SEATTLE - Gov. Jay Inslee has met with an Airbus executive to discuss how Washington state and the Boeing rival can work together.

A spokesman for Inslee confirmed Monday that the private meeting occurred in October during an aerospace conference. Inslee spokesman David Postman said the governor talked with Airbus Americas Chief Executive Officer Barry Eccleston for about 20 minutes.

Washington has a 100-year history with Boeing but has been expanding its relationship with Airbus in recent months. State officials traveled to the company’s U.S.

headquarters and signed a five-year confidentiality agreement to further explore business opportunities.

Officials said they are always looking for ways to increase aerospace employment in Washington.

Postman emphasized the Airbus talks have no connection to Boeing’s looming decision on where it will build the new 777X plane.

  • The Associated Press

U.S. oil price drops below $99 per barrel

NEW YORK - The price of oil slipped a bit Monday after gaining more than $2 last week.

Benchmark U.S. oil for February delivery dropped 41 cents to close at $98.91 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Trading was thinner than usual because of Christmas.

Last week, oil rose nearly 3 percent, largely because of signs of improvement in the U.S. economy. Positive economic news and a corresponding increase in demand have some analysts predicting that oil will soon top $100 a barrel for the first time since Mid-October.

Higher oil prices are showing up at the gas pump. The nationwide average price for a gallon of gas is up to $3.25, according to AAA. That’s 2 cents more than a week ago and on par with average prices at this time last year. In Arkansas, the average price of a gallon of gasoline Monday was $3.00, according to AAA.

  • The Associated Press

Business, Pages 24 on 12/24/2013

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