Home Depot

Home Depot has revealed a new set of ambitious financial targets it expects to achieve in three years by focusing on a uniquely Home Depot strategy called, “interconnecting retail.”

The Home Depot Inc. has reached a contingent settlement with MasterCard International Inc. over the home improvement giant's massive 2014 data breach, according to a new report. The Atlanta Business Journal says that while a contingent deal with MasterCard International appears to have been reached, other financial institutions suing the retailer say they want more information. [Atlanta Business Journal]

Of all the major big-box retailers, only one has a digital IQ ranking in the “genius” range.

According to the new Big Box Digital IQ Index from business intelligence firm L2 Inc., Home Depot stands along among big-box chains with a genius-level digital IQ score of 144. IQ scores measure performance in four key areas of site and e-commerce, digital marketing, social media, and mobile and tablet.

Lowe's pointed to a favorable economy and improved productivity while reporting third-quarter results that beat expectations.

The company reported net earnings of $736 million for the quarter ended Oct. 30, up 25.8% from the same period a year ago. Sales for the quarter were up 5.0% to $14.4 billion.

Marketing and merchandising changes at Target Corp. are paying off as the retailer reported better than expected traffic and sales in the third quarter.

For the quarter ended Nov. 1, Target reported a same-store sales increase of 1.9%. Net sales rose 2.1% to 17.6 billion.

Profit rose to $549 million, or 87 cents per share, up from $352 million, or 55 cents per share in the year-ago period. Not including one-time items, the company earned 86 cents per share, which was in line with Wall Street expectations.

Starbucks is the number one retailer employer in the United States when it comes to fostering a happy workplace.

That’s according to a survey by CareerBliss, which analyzed the key factors that impact workplace happiness. Ace Hardware, Ikea, Apple and Barnes & Noble round out the CareerBliss top five.

“The employee reviews on CareerBliss rank Starbucks as the number one retail employer in the United States when it comes to employee happiness,” said Heidi Golledge, co-founder of CareerBliss.

Atlanta-based Home Depot reported steady growth of transactions for its DIY and pro customers in third quarter 2015, leading the way to net sales of $21.8 billion, up 6.4% from the same quarter last year.

Net earnings for the world's largest home improvement retailer jumped 12.2% to $1.725 billion.

"During the quarter, we saw broad-based growth across our geographies and product categories, led by growth in transactions from both our DIY and pro customers," said Craig Menear, CEO and president.

Popularity and resale value do not always correlate when it comes to gift cards.

Visa is tops in a ranking of the gift cards expected to be most popular this holiday season.

Rounding out the top 10: American Express; iTunes; Wal-Mart; Target; Starbucks; Netflix; eBay and Google Play. The ranking is from CardHub, a credit card comparison Web site owned by Evolution Finance.