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February 24, 2014 Dillard’s CEO William T. Dillard II voiced disappointment in the retailer’s gross margin performance despite what he called a profitable fourth quarter.  Although comparable sales gew 2%, the retailer said lower-than-expected sales necessitated heavy markdowns. The company reported a net income of $119.1 million for the quarter and fiscal 2014, a 26%... Read more »

February 25, 2014 Though the average size of new homes keeps getting bigger, there is more to this home buying trend than meets the eye, according to Census Bureau data presented by the National Association of Home Builders during the International Builders’ Show in Las Vegas. “The average home size has continued to rise for... Read more »

February 26, 2014 Sales of newly built, single family homes rose 9.6 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 468,000 units in January from an upwardly revised pace of 427,000 units in the previous month, according to data released today by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the U.S. Census Bureau. ... Read more »

The Home Depot Announces Fourth Quarter & Fiscal 2013 Results; Increases Quarterly Dividend By 21 Percent And Provides Fiscal Year 2014 Guidance Sales for fiscal year 2013 were $78.8 billion, an increase of 5.4 percent from fiscal year 2012. Excluding the 53rd week in the prior fiscal year, sales for fiscal year 2013 increased 7.2... Read more »

February 24, 2014 Dillard’s, Inc. announced operating results for the 13 and 52 weeks ended February 1, 2014, including record fiscal year earnings per share adjusted for certain items of $6.99 versus $6.33 in the prior year.  Summary of the Company’s Fourth Quarter Performance A 2% increase in comparable store sales Diluted earnings per share... Read more »

February 20, 2014 Slightly lower median home prices along with uptick in mortgage rates contributed to housing affordability holding steady in the fourth quarter, according to the National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Opportunity Index, released today. In all, 64.7 percent of new and existing homes sold between the beginning of October and end... Read more »

February 19, 2014 Due largely to unusually severe weather across much of the nation, housing starts fell 16 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 880,000 units in January, according to newly released figures from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the U.S. Census Bureau.  Meanwhile, single-family permits, which are often... Read more »

February 20, 2014 Walmart knew fourth quarter results announced Thursday morning were going to be bad and its outlook weak, so it gave investors something more substantial to digest by announcing plans to double the number of small format stores it will open this year and an increased omnichannel focus. Just four months after announcing... Read more »

February 19, 2014 More Americans this year are expected to put their tax returns in the bank.  According to the National Retail Federation’s Tax Returns Survey conducted by Prosper Insights & Analytics, 46% of those expecting a refund this year will put their money into savings, up from 44% last year and the highest percent... Read more »