I received an e-mail telling me I need to buy a health insurance card that shows I have coverage under Obamacare or I will have to pay a penalty. The e-mail looked legitimate, but it asked for my credit card number. Is it a scam?
SEE ALSO: The Top 10 ScamsYes, it�� a scam -- and a growing one, too. Even though the Affordable Care Act requires people to have health insurance in 2014 or pay a penalty, there is no special card they need to buy. This is just one of the many ways that crooks are trying to take advantage of misconceptions and misinformation about the upcoming changes so that they can get your credit card number, bank-account information or cash (see Get Ready for Obamacare for details about the new law�� requirements).
In May, the Federal Trade Commission received more than 1,100 complaints about impostors claiming to be from Medicare and calling consumers to ask for personal or financial information -- often telling them that they are required to provide the information because of Obamacare. The FTC has also received 200 complaints about other Affordable Care Act��elated scams over the past three years. ��CA scams are a top priority for the FTC, and we expect to receive more consumer complaints about them when the health insurance exchanges get started,��says Frank Dorman, of the FTC Office of Public Affairs. Local organizations are hearing from a lot of people, too: The California Senior Medicare Patrol receives calls almost daily about potential scams.
Here are five scams to watch out for.
Best Valued Stocks For 2015: Amira Nature Foods Ltd (ANFI)
Amira Nature Foods Ltd., incorporated on February 20, 2012, is a provider of packaged Indian specialty rice, with sales in over 40 countries. It generates the majority of its revenue through the sale of Basmati rice, a long-grain rice grown only in certain regions of the Indian sub-continent. The Company sells its products, primarily in emerging markets, through a distribution network. It sells its Amira brand in more than 25 countries. The Company sells its Amira branded products to Indian retailers such as Bharti Wal-Mart, Big Bazaar, Metro Cash & Carry, Spar, Spencer's Retail, Star Bazaar (Tesco in India) and Total and retailers, such as Carrefour, Costco, Jetro Restaurant Depot, Lulu's and Smart & Final, and through the foodservice channel. It participates across the entire rice supply chain from the procurement of paddy to its storage, aging, processing into rice, packaging, distribution and marketing. In June 2013, the Company announced that it has launched Amira branded products in the United Kingdom. In January 2014, Amira Nature Foods Ltd acquired Basmati Rice GmbH.
The Company operates an automated and integrated processing and milling facility that is located in the vicinity of the key Basmati rice paddy producing regions of northern India. The facility spans a covered area of 310,221 square feet, with a processing capacity of 24 metric tons of paddy per hour. During the year ended March 31, 2012, 34% of its revenue was derived from sales in India, and 50.3% was derived from sales in the Europe, Middle East and Africa region, or EMEA, 14.3% was derived from sales in the Asia Pacific region, and 1.4% was derived from sales in North America.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Jeremy Bowman]
What:�Shares of�Amira Nature Foods� (NYSE: ANFI ) were looking healthier today, gaining as much as 11% after the company named a new chief financial officer last night.
- [By Jeremy Bowman]
What: Shares of Amira Nature Foods (NYSE: ANFI ) were looking rotten today, falling as much as 12% after reporting earnings this morning.
- [By Roberto Pedone]
A consumer goods player that's starting to trend within range of triggering a big breakout trade is Amira Nature Foods (ANFI), a global provider of packaged Indian specialty rice, with sales in over 40 countries. This stock has been in play with the bulls over the last three months, with shares up 25%.
If you take a look at the chart for Amira Nature Foods, you'll notice that this stock has been uptrending strong for the last five months, with shares soaring higher from its low of $7.44 to its recent high of $17.41 a share. During that uptrend, shares of ANFI have been making mostly higher lows and higher highs, which is bullish technical price action. Shares of ANFI have started to break out above some key near-term overhead resistance levels today at $15.92 to $16.25 a share. That move is quickly pushing shares of ANFI within range of triggering another big breakout trade.
Traders should now look for long-biased trades in ANFI if it manages to break out above its all-time high of $17.41 a share with high volume. Look for a sustained move or close above that level with volume that hits near or above its three-month average action of 226,387 shares. If that breakout triggers soon, then ANFI will set up to enter new all-time-high territory, which is bullish technical price action. Some possible upside targets off that breakout are $25 to $27 a share.
Traders can look to buy ANFI off any weakness to anticipate that breakout and simply use a stop that sits right below its 50-day at $15.03 a share or around more key near-term support at $14.72 a share. One could also buy ANFI off strength once it starts to clear $17.41 a share with volume and then simply use a stop that sits a comfortable percentage from your entry point.
Hot Consumer Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Oxford Industries Inc.(OXM)
Oxford Industries, Inc. engages in designing, sourcing, and marketing apparel products primarily in the United States and the United Kingdom. The company?s apparel products comprise a portfolio of company-owned lifestyle brands, as well as company-owned and licensed brands of tailored clothing and golf apparel. Its owned and licensed brands include Tommy Bahama, Lilly Pulitzer, Ben Sherman, Billy London, Oxford Golf, Nickelson, and Arnold Brant. The company also holds licenses to produce and sell various categories of apparel products under the Kenneth Cole, Dockers, and Geoffrey Beene brand names. Its primary product line includes the Tommy Bahama brand men's and women's sportswear and related products for affluent men and women with age of 35 and older; the Lilly Pulitzer brand women's and girl's dresses, sportswear, and other products for young women, young mothers and their daughters, and women; the Ben Sherman brand men's sportswear and related products for men ages 25 to 40; and branded and private label men's suits, sport coats, suit separates, and dress slacks. In addition, the company licenses its Tommy Bahama, Lilly Pulitzer, and Ben Sherman brand names for various products categories, including apparel, accessories, footwear, watches, jewelry, luggage, rugs, wall coverings, fragrances and toiletries, shampoos and soaps, gift products, furniture, ceiling fans, stationery, bedding and home fashions, and table top accessories. Further, it operates restaurants under the Tommy Bahama brand name. It distributes company-owned lifestyle branded products through department stores, specialty stores, company-owned and licensed retail stores, and its e-commerce Websites; and branded and private label tailored clothing products through department stores, specialty stores, national chains, specialty catalogs, mass merchants, and Internet retailers. Oxford Industries, Inc. was founded in 1942 and is based in Atlanta, Georgia.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By John Kell and Lauren Pollock var popups = dojo.query(".socialByline .popC"); ]
Oxford Industries Inc.(OXM) said its fiscal fourth-quarter earnings nearly tripled as the apparel company reported sales growth at its Tommy Bahama and Lilly Pulitzer brands.
- [By Roberto Pedone]
One potential earnings short-squeeze candidate is men's apparel products player Oxford Industries (OXM), which is set to release numbers Tuesday after the market close. Wall Street analysts, on average, expect Oxford Industries to report revenue of $243.48 million on earnings of 98 cents per share.
If this company can manage to beat or meet Wall Street's earnings estimates this quarter, then it would mark the biggest quarterly gain in the last six quarter.
The current short interest as a percentage of the float for Oxford Industries is not able at 5.7%. That means that out of the 14.31 million shares in the tradable float, 817,000 shares are sold short by the bears. The bears have also been increasing their bets from the last reporting period by 3.8%, or by about 29,000 shares. If the bears are caught being too aggressive into a solid quarter, then shares of OXM could soar higher post-earnings as the bears rush to cover some of their bets.
From a technical perspective, OXM is currently trending above its 200-day moving average and just below its 50-day moving average, which is neutral trendwise. This stock recently sold off hard from its August high of $69.29 to its low of $61.10 with higher-than-average volume flows. Shares of OXM have now started to rebound a bit off that low of $61.10 with strong upside volume flows. That move is quickly pushing shares of OXM within range of triggering a near-term breakout trade.
If you're bullish on OXM, then I would wait until after its report and look for long-biased trades if this stock manages to break out above its 50-day moving average at $65.77 a share to more resistance at $65.93 a share with high volume. Look for volume on that move that hits near or above its three-month average action of 103,286 shares. If that breakout triggers, then OXM will set up to re-test or possibly take out its 52-week high at $69.28 a share. Any high-volume move above that level will then give OXM a chance t
- [By Dan Caplinger]
Oxford Industries (NYSE: OXM ) will release its quarterly report on Tuesday, and investors have stayed optimistic about the apparel company's prospects, bidding the shares to all-time record highs in the past few months. With expectations for growth in Oxford earnings so high, though, investors need to be careful not to let the company's stock price get ahead of its fundamental business prospects.
Hot Consumer Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Lifetime Brands Inc.(LCUT)
Lifetime Brands Inc. designs, sources, and sells branded kitchenware, tabletop, and other products primarily in the United States. It offers kitchenware products, including kitchen tools and gadgets, cutlery, cutting boards, bakeware, and cookware; and tabletop products, such as dinnerware, flatware, and glassware. The company also provides home solutions that comprise products, such as food storage, pantry ware, spices, and home d�or products. In addition, it manufactures sterling silver products. The company owns or licenses various brands, including Farberware, Mikasa, KitchenAid, Pfaltzgraff, Cuisinart, Elements, Melannco, Wallace Silversmiths, Kamenstein, Pedrini, Towle, V&A, and Royal Botanic Gardens Kew. Lifetime Brands Inc. serves mass merchants, specialty stores, national chains, department stores, warehouse clubs, supermarkets, off-price retailers, and Internet retailers, as well as direct consumers through its Pfaltzgraff, Mikasa, Housewares Deals, and Lifetim e Sterling Internet Websites. The company was founded in 1945 and is headquartered in Garden City, New York.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By John Udovich]
On Wednesday, small cap kitchen stock Everyware Global Inc (NASDAQ: EVRY) surged 52.94% after announcing an amendment to extend its forbearance agreement with lenders until July 15 that could give the company�time to find a long-term financing solution���meanings its worth taking as closer look at the stock along with potential peers Libbey Inc (NYSEMKT: LBY) and Lifetime Brands Inc (NASDAQ: LCUT).
- [By John Udovich]
Everyone is familiar with�the Tupperware brand from�consumer products stock Tupperware Brands Corporation (NYSE: TUP) and you are probably familiar with the brands�of mid cap stock Jarden Corp (NYSE: JAH) along with small cap stocks Libbey Inc (NYSEMKT: LBY) and Lifetime Brands Inc (NASDAQ: LCUT); but what about the stocks themselves? Chances are, their brands or products are right under your nose at home and you probably don�� know anything about the mid cap or small cap stock behind them.
Hot Consumer Stocks To Invest In Right Now: San Miguel Brewery Hong Kong Ltd (MBR)
San Miguel Brewery Hong Kong Limited is a Hong Kong-based company engaged in the manufacture and distribution of bottled, canned and draught beers. The Company operates in two segments: The Hong Kong operation mainly represents the manufacture and distribution of own brewed beer products and distribution of imported beer products in Hong Kong and overseas, and the mainland China operation mainly represents the manufacture and distribution of own brewed beer products in the southern part of the People�� Republic of China and overseas. Its subsidiaries include Best Investments International Inc., Hongkong Brewery Limited, Ravelin Limited, San Miguel (Guangdong) Limited, Guangzhou San Miguel Brewery Company Limited, San Miguel Shunde Holdings Limited and San Miguel (Guangdong) Brewery Company Limited. Advisors' Opinion:- [By Geoffrey Seiler]
This was a solid quarter from Aetna, highlighted by much stronger-than-expected results from its Commercial and Medicaid segments. The rebound in the Medicaid medical benefits ratio (MBR) was particularly notable.
Hot Consumer Stocks To Invest In Right Now: XO Group Inc (XOXO)
XO Group Inc. (XO Group), formerly The Knot, Inc., is a media and technology company. The Company is engaged in the business of weddings, pregnancy and everything in between, providing young women with the information, products and advice to guide them through the transformative events of their lives. Its family of brands began with the wedding brand, The Knot, and it also include WeddingChannel.com, The Nest, The Bump and Ijie.com. XO Group has its presence in all media from the Web to social media and mobile, magazines and books, and video - and social platforms. XO Group has businesses in online sponsorship and advertising, registry services, ecommerce and publishing.
The Company has a network of Websites under several different brands, TheKnot.com, the wedding Website, WeddingChannel.com, the wedding registry site and wedding vendor review site with nearly 350,000 reviews, TheNest.com, a site for newlyweds and new couples, and TheBump.com, a pre-natal and pregnancy Website. These sites offer content and services tailored to the engaged, newly married, and pregnant audiences. Weddings, nesting, and first-time pregnancy are information-intensive events requiring research, planning, and decision-making.
The sites provides future brides and grooms with databases that draw on thousands of articles about weddings, including planning advice, etiquette, Q&As, real wedding stories, tips on getting engaged, fashion, beauty, grooms, the wedding party, and honeymoons. TheNest.com offers information and resources on merging bank accounts and making dinner, with searchable databases for recipes, home decor, and real estate. For couples who are getting ready for a baby, the same urgent need for information surfaces, which the Company provides at TheBump.com with baby naming tools, nursery decor ideas, and a host of health and development-related information. Each of the content areas offers articles, ideas, hundreds of photo slideshows, and videos, all covering a wide range of styles,! perspectives, budgets, traditions, lifestyles and ethnicities.
Active Community Participation and Social Networking
The community areas on XO Group websites generate member involvement through message boards, blogs, and personalized interactive services. Women who are planning their weddings actively seek forums to exchange ideas and ask questions. The community areas feature 24-hour activity.
User-Generated Content
Through blogs, message boards, and photo-posting features, all XO Group sites feature many forms of user-generated content related to the particular interests of its audience. Recent brides post wedding photos, vendor reviews, and their own wedding advice for future brides. Recent home purchasers post home-buying stories, before and after photos, and photos of their own home decor ideas. Pregnant women post chronicles of their pregnancies, reviews of their doctors, photos of their nurseries, and stories of their newborns at key developmental stages.
Interactive Tools
TheKnot.com offers, personalized wedding planning tools, including checklists, budgeters, guest list managers, calendars, and reminder services. An online scrapbook gives users the ability to save favorite dresses, articles, photos, vendors, honeymoons, wedding supplies, and other planning information. After a couple�� wedding day, these personalized tools are automatically converted to its newlywed Website, TheNest.com, to help them organize their new life as a married couple. The guest list manager is used to track thank-you notes, and couples receive an entirely new checklist and budgeter to help them organize their newlywed to-dos and finances. On TheBump.com, it offers checklists, budget tools, a baby name tool, and tools to track everything from ovulation to breastfeeding. These tools are also available on mobile platforms, which provide its users the ability to modify budgets and check off tasks from the convenience of their mobile phones. !
The Company offers personal pregnancy and baby websites through TheBump.com. XO Group Websites offers tools to assist with shopping for key elements of a wedding. Its wedding planning sites highlight a searchable bridal gown database with more than 5,000 gown images from over 200 designers, plus searchable databases for bridesmaid, mother-of-the-bride, and flower girl dresses, bridal accessories, engagement and wedding rings and tuxedos. The sites also offer search tools for honeymoon resorts, jewelry, and tabletop products. Local Resource Listings
The local resource areas on XO Group websites provide access to the local wedding market through online regional guides that host nearly 21,000 local vendors who display over 28,000 profiles, highlighting offerings for reception halls, bands, florists, caterers and other wedding-related products and services across 85 local markets in North America.
One-Stop Registry Shopping Service
WeddingChannel.com is the registry site online. Its patented registry aggregation service offers couples and their guests one place to view all their gift registries via a registry system that searches approximately 4.5 million registries from many retail partners, including Macy��, Crate & Barrel, Williams-Sonoma, Bed, Bath & Beyond, Target, Amazon.com, Tiffany & Co., JCPenney and others. TheBump.com uses the same patented registry aggregation service to focus on baby registries, including Target, Buy Buy Baby, Diapers.com, Pottery Barn Kids and more.
The Company integrates informative content with online shops that feature an array of attendant gifts, favors, and supplies that relate to the wedding itself, as well as apparel, toys, gifts, and other goods for babies. It sells directly to consumers through its integrated shopping destinations, The Knot Wedding Shop, the WeddingChannel Store and The Bump Baby Shop. These online stores offer over 4,000 products, including cocktail napkins, wedding bubbles and bells, candy! and cook! ies, ring pillows, toasting flutes, reception decorations, table centerpieces, goblets and glasses, garters, and unity candles.
Broadband Video Content
The Knot TV is a continuous video stream that includes a range of wedding content, including shows about choosing a creative cake, hiring the videographer, planning dream honeymoons and learning about real weddings across the country. It produces video on demand content for The Knot, The Nest, and The Bump brands, covering everything from wedding fashion to home tours to mommy advice. The Knot TV On Demand provides video content from bridal fashion runway shows for brides to watch when they want, including programs on the trends in dresses, silhouettes, necklines, and accessories. Its video content is also distributed to MSN.com video, YouTube, and Sling Media. The Knot TV also features live programming with limited runs of The Knot LIVE, a weekly magazine format show.
Informative E-mail
Members of XO Group Websites subscribe to newsletters and e-mail updates, many of which are targeted with information for members in a specific stage of the wedding planning process. Other newsletters and e-mails are focused on specific topics, including honeymoon deals and personalized e-mails containing relevant local information or offers, such as bridal events or dress sample sales. E-mails are also sent to members of The Nest and The Bump with sponsored promotions and information about their stage of pregnancy or the age of their newborn.
Niche Website Network and Sister Sites
The Company also owns and operates a network of targeted websites that offer services of interest to its core audience of engaged couples. These include niche weddings sites such as ChineseWeddingsbyTheKnot.com, BeachWeddingsbyTheKnot.com, GayWeddingsbyTheKnot.com and over 300 other sites tailored to the searched-for wedding destinations and themes. The sites features local listings, forums, real wedding photos an! d local p! lanning advice.
The Company sells both the national and local editions of The Knot Weddings magazines through newsstands, bookstores, and on its Website, and it distributes local editions of The Bump pregnancy guide to doctors��offices across the country. It also offers a library of books complementing the content on its lifestages websites.
The Knot Weddings National Magazine
It publishes The Knot Weddings magazine four times a year. It features hundreds of dresses from the industry�� top designers. Also featured is an array of photos of wedding party attire and accessories, including bridesmaid, mother-of-the-bride, and flower girl dresses, as well as veils, shoes, and tuxedos.
The Knot Weddings Local Magazines
It publishes regional wedding magazines semi-annually in 17 markets in the United States. The Knot�� regional magazines combine national editorial content with up-to-date, region-specific information, including sections featuring real weddings within the market, making these publications a must-have wedding planning companion for engaged couples.
The Bump Magazine
A pocketbook-sized magazine for first-time moms, The Bump magazine features local resources and modern advice from its editors and nationally-recognized experts.
The Company sells both the national and local editions of The Knot Weddings magazines through newsstands, bookstores, and on its Website, and it distributes local editions of The Bump pregnancy guide to doctors��offices across the country. It also offers a library of books complementing the content on its lifestages Websites. It publishes The Knot Weddings magazine four times a year.
The Company publishes regional wedding magazines semi-annually in 17 markets in the United States. The Knot�� regional magazines combine national editorial content with up-to-date, region-specific information, including sections featuring real weddings within the ! market, m! aking these publications a must-have wedding planning companion for engaged couples.
A pocketbook-sized magazine for first-time moms, The Bump magazine features local resources and modern advice from our editors and nationally-recognized experts. Distributed at no charge through OB/GYN offices in 20 markets nationwide, The Bump magazine is specifically designed to connect first-time parents with the information and resources they need to prepare for a baby. It publishes The Bump magazine semi-annually.
The Company offers a library of up-to-date wedding books authored by itsChief Content Officer Carley Roney and published by divisions of Random House and Chronicle Books. Its first three-book wedding planning series published by Random House�� Broadway Books includes The Knot Ultimate Wedding Planner, The Knot Complete Guide to Weddings in the Real World, and The Knot Guide to Wedding Vows and Traditions. These books feature information on everything a bride and groom need to know when planning their wedding and includes worksheets, checklists, etiquette, and answers to frequently asked questions. Its gift book series published by Chronicle Books includes The Knot Book of Wedding Gowns, The Knot Book of Wedding Flowers, The Knot Guide for the Mother of the Bride, and The Knot Guide for the Groom. Its second planning series, published by Random House�� Clarkson Potter, includes The Knot Guide to Destination Weddings, The Knot Book of Wedding Lists and The Knot Bridesmaid Handbook.
The Company offers a series of books for The Nest brand published by Clarkson Potter. The first book in the series, The Nest Newlywed Handbook, goes on the topics of interest to the newlywed, from changing its name to deciding how to divide up the daily chores. The second title, The Nest Home Design Handbook, is a four-color, photo-filled book on home decoration and design.
The Company competes with Brides magazine (published by Conde Nast), Bridal Guide (published by RFP LLC) ! and Marth! a Stewart Weddings.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Jake L'Ecuyer]
Leading and Lagging Sectors
Non-cyclical consumer goods & services shares climbed around 0.22 percent in trading on Friday. Leading the sector was strength from American Public Education (NASDAQ: APEI) and XO Group (NASDAQ: XOXO). In trading on Friday, telecommunications services shares were relative laggards, down on the day by about 0.41 percent. - [By Wallace Witkowski]
Shares of XO Group Inc. (XOXO) fell 16% to $10 on light volume after the weddings and pregnancy website operator reported adjusted earnings of 2 cents a share on revenue of $32.6 million, and appointed current president Michael Steib as the new chief executive, replacing David Liu, who will continue on as chairman.
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