U.S. government officials were working closely with top U.S. fuel pipeline operator Colonial Pipeline on Sunday to help it recover from a ransomware cyberattack that forced the company to shut a critical fuel network supplying populous eastern states, Reuters' Laila Kearney reports. While the U.S. government investigation is in the early stages, a former U.S. official and two industry sources said the hackers are likely a professional cybercriminal group and that a group called DarkSide was among potential suspects, the author notes, adding that cybersecurity company FireEye (FEYE) has also been brought in to respond to the attack, according to two industry sources. Publicly traded companies in the space include BP (BP), Chevron (CVX), ConocoPhillips (COP), Exxon Mobil (XOM), Royal Dutch Shell (RDS.A) and Total (TOT).Reference Link

Big cultural changes usually bring big fashion changes, and as COVID-19 pandemic in the U.S. looks to be nearing an end, style shifts are in the air again, which is great news for U.S. fashion retailers, Teresa Rivas writes in this week's edition of Barron's. A new wardrobe may mean different things to different consumers, but the desire for freshness will drive sales for a wide swath of retail, and will serve as a springboard for the strongest brands to keep growing, even after the frenzy fades. Among the likely prime beneficiaries are Nike (NKE), TJX Cos. (TJX), Revolve Group (RVLV), and American Eagle Outfitters (AEO), the author notes. Reference Link

Online car marketplace Auto Trader Group, which started as a print magazine, has found important avenues of growth that have been overlooked by investors, adding services that include helping customers get financing and is considering lucrative transportation services that move vehicles around the country from seller to buyer, Rupert Steiner writes in this week's edition of Barron's. The company is also using data in an impressive way, which means the stock should be seen as a technology play, rather than as a media stock, the author adds, pointing out that Auto Trader collects data from online visitors that it then uses to match sellers and buyers for both new and used cars. After recent underperformance, Auto Trader stock could now be a good buy, Steiner says. Reference Link

Prices of corn, wheat, and other agricultural commodities have been soaring but some agricultural stocks have not been keeping pace, which creates a buying opportunity in shares of companies like Corteva (CTVA) and FMC (FMC), Al Root writes in this week's edition of Barron's. The author notes that Deere (DE) and Corteva trade for about 21 times estimated 2021 earnings, in line with the S&P 500, while AGCO (AGCO) and FMC trade at 16 and 15 times estimated 2022 earnings, respectively. Fertilizer producers Mosaic (MOS) and Nutrien (NTR) trade at 19 and 15 times, respectively. Reference Link

Sell in May and go away usually refers to the entire stock market, and right now it also applies to Tesla's (TSLA) stock, Al Root writes in this week's edition of Barron's. The stock looks stuck and the next big catalyst to drive shares higher isn't on the horizon, the author notes. Bull hope for more U.S. EV purchase incentives. Tesla's driver-assistance feature-called Autopilot-could also be cleared in the Texas crash that generated bad PR recently, the publication adds. Those will help balance out recent concerns over emission credits, which Tesla earns for producing more than its fair share of zero-emission vehicles, after Stellantis (STLA) announced it would purchase fewer of them from Tesla, Root says, pointing out that true catalysts look further out in the distance, with Tesla's new German plant being one. Reference Link

New enterprise applications are powering a hard-drive renaissance, and that's good news for Seagate Technology, the only remaining pure play bet, Eric Savitz writes in this week's edition of Barron's. Seagate has been making drives for more than four decades, and investors have been skeptical throughout, with business at times being criticized as too competitive, commoditized, wildly cyclical, and obsolete. Those worries have made Seagate one of the cheapest stocks in tech land, which still holds true today, the author contends. Reference Link