Tjx Companies Inc

TJX Cos. said it and Fifth Third Bancorp had agreed to settle class-action lawsuits brought on behalf of customers in the U.S., Puerto Rico and Canada who were victims of a criminal intrusion into TJX's computer system. Under the settlement, customers of TJX stores who had their driver's license or other identification information stolen after making returns without a receipt are being offered two to three years of credit monitoring and identity theft insurance and the cost of replacing IDs.

Retail giant TJX Cos. agreed Tuesday to pay $9.75 million to 41 states including California to settle an investigation of a massive data breach that jeopardized millions of payment card numbers. TJX, the parent company of the T.J. Maxx and Marshalls discount clothing chains, will pay $7.25 million in settlement and investigation costs. In addition, $2.5 million will go to create a data security fund for those states. California's share is $624,393.

You didn't get just low prices at T.J. Maxx and Marshalls, you also had a good chance of getting your credit card information and other personal data stolen. You can hardly live without credit and debit cards these days, but there are steps that can be taken to ward off the perils of identity theft, privacy experts say, even if caused by a giant information leak from some remote, windowless computer center. The stakes are high.

TJX Cos. said its fiscal first-quarter profit rose 8% as budget-conscious shoppers taking advantage of bargains at its discount retail outlets helped boost sales. The operator of stores such as T.J. Maxx, Marshalls and HomeGoods also expects to meet or beat Wall Street's second-quarter profit expectations. TJX shares rose $1.09, or 3.9%, to $29.03. The company, which is based in Framingham, Mass., said earnings climbed to $209.2 million, or 49 cents a share, for the three-month period ended May 2, up from $193.

Toll Bros. Inc. said its profit more than doubled in its latest quarter on continued strong demand and backlog for the company's luxury homes. The Horsham, Pa.-based company said net income rose to $110.2 million, or $1.33 a share, for the fiscal first quarter ended Jan. 31. That's up from the previous year's $50.1 million, or 62 cents a share. Revenue rose 67% to $999.1 million. Analysts were looking for earnings of about $1.15 a share, according to a Thomson First Call survey.

* TJX Cos., which operates the T.J. Maxx and Marshalls chains, said its earnings for the second quarter rose to $123.1 million, or 25 cents a share, from $118.2 million, or 23 cents, a year earlier. Sales rose 7% to $3.6 billion.

TJX Cos., owner of T.J. Maxx and Marshalls stores, said second-quarter net income fell 4.1% as the company took bigger markdowns to clear inventories of men's clothing and home furnishings. Net income fell to $118.2 million from $123.3 million a year earlier, the Framingham, Mass.-based company said. Net income per share was unchanged at 24 cents. Sales rose 12% to $3.4 billion, boosted by higher sales of women's fashions, jewelry and accessories. Shares of TJX fell 35 cents to $21.

TJX Cos., a discount retailer that operates the T.J. Maxx and Marshalls stores, said an unauthorized intrusion into its computer systems might have occurred beginning in July 2005, almost a year earlier than the company previously believed. Credit and debit card data from transactions in the U.S., Puerto Rico and Canada between January 2003 and June 2004 may have been compromised, Framingham, Mass.-based TJX said.

Federated Department Stores Inc., the largest U.S. department store operator, reported higher-than-expected third-quarter earnings, citing reductions in expenses. The Cincinnati-based owner of Bloomingdale's and Macy's said profit rose 53% to $105.1 million, or 48 cents a share, from $68.7 million, or 32 cents, a year earlier. Revenue rose 3.8%, to $3.75 billion from $3.61 billion. Same-store sales, or sales at stores open at least a year, rose 3.1%.

TJX Cos., owner of the T.J. Maxx and Marshalls chains, said fiscal fourth-quarter profit exceeded preliminary results after it cleared last season's merchandise with fewer markdowns than planned. Net income in the quarter ended Jan. 31 dropped to $250.7 million, or 58 cents a share, from $301.1 million, or 66 cents, a year earlier. Earnings excluding some one-time items were 55 cents a share, TJX said. The Framingham, Mass., company said Feb. 5 that adjusted profit would be 50 cents to 51 cents a share.

TJX Cos., which operates the T.J. Maxx and Marshalls stores, reported a 6% decline in third-quarter profit as unfavorable exchange rates and a tough economy crimped results for the discount apparel retailer. The company also forecast a lower-than-expected fourth-quarter profit and cut its fiscal 2009 outlook. Profit declined to $235.8 million for the three-month period ended Oct. 25. That compares with $249.5 million in the year-earlier period.

TJX Cos., the owner of the T.J. Maxx and Marshalls chains, said second-quarter profit more than tripled as cash-strapped consumers bought reduced-price clothes and shoes. Net income climbed to $200.2 million, or 45 cents a share, as revenue increased 7.1% to $4.62 billion. Profit in the year-earlier period was $59 million, or 13 cents.

TJX Cos. said its fiscal third-quarter profit rose 8%, and the off-price retailer slightly boosted its earnings forecast for the fourth quarter. The company also outlined long-term plans to expand by nearly 1,000 stores, and TJX's shares rose nearly 4%. The owner of more than 2,500 discount stores, including T.J.

At least 94 million Visa and MasterCard accounts may have been exposed to potential fraud in a data breach at TJX Cos., nearly double the previous estimate by the discount retailer. The figure was included in court filings this week that cited executives from the credit card associations. The filings in a bank case against TJX indicated that fraud-related losses involving Visa cards alone range from $68 million to $83 million, spread across 13 countries.

TJX Cos. said it and Fifth Third Bancorp had agreed to settle class-action lawsuits brought on behalf of customers in the U.S., Puerto Rico and Canada who were victims of a criminal intrusion into TJX's computer system. Under the settlement, customers of TJX stores who had their driver's license or other identification information stolen after making returns without a receipt are being offered two to three years of credit monitoring and identity theft insurance and the cost of replacing IDs.

Groups representing 300 banks plan to file a class-action lawsuit against U.S. retailer TJX Cos. over a security breach involving data from millions of credit and debit cards. The lawsuit, to be filed today in U.S. District Court in Boston by the Massachusetts Bankers Assn., will seek at least "tens of millions of dollars" in damages, said Bruce Spitzer, a spokesman for the association. Framingham, Mass.-based TJX, which operates the T.J.

Groups representing 300 banks plan to file a class-action lawsuit against U.S. retailer TJX Cos. over a security breach involving data from millions of credit and debit cards. The lawsuit, to be filed today in U.S. District Court in Boston by the Massachusetts Bankers Assn., will seek at least "tens of millions of dollars" in damages, said Bruce Spitzer, a spokesman for the association. Framingham, Mass.-based TJX, which operates the T.J.

You didn't get just low prices at T.J. Maxx and Marshalls, you also had a good chance of getting your credit card information and other personal data stolen. You can hardly live without credit and debit cards these days, but there are steps that can be taken to ward off the perils of identity theft, privacy experts say, even if caused by a giant information leak from some remote, windowless computer center. The stakes are high.