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November 6, 2014 Markets in 59 of the approximately 350 metro areas nationwide returned to or exceeded their last normal levels of economic and housing activity in the third quarter of 2014, according to the National Association of Home Builders/First American Leading Markets Index (LMI), released today. This represents a year-over-year net gain of seven... Read more »

November 5, 2014 Walgreens reported October sales of $6.8 billion, an increase of 6.9% from the comparable year-ago period. Prescriptions filled at comparable stores increased by 3.6% in October and increased 4.1% on a calendar day-shift adjusted basis, meeting analyst expectations.  “Script growth for the chain drug stores likely grew in the low-to-mid-single-digit range again... Read more »

November 5, 2014 Online labor demand continues on a slow growth trend in 2014 Most states and MSAs showed small gains in October Online advertised vacancies rose 11,700 to 5,083,600 in October, according to The Conference Board Help Wanted OnLine (HWOL) Data Series, released today.  The September Supply/Demand rate stands at 1.83 unemployed for each... Read more »

November 4, 2014 Tailwinds from specialty pharmacy and increased generic utilization lifted CVS Health up on Tuesday, as the company posted net revenues of $35 billion, representing an increase of 9.7% for the three months ended September 30. “I’m very pleased with our strong results in the third quarter, which reflect better than expected revenue... Read more »

November 4, 2014 Sales continued to decline at Office Depot in the third quarter, but CEO Roland Smith said excellent execution allowed operating profits to more than double. Total company sales on a pro-forma basis to reflect the merger of Office Depot and Office Max declined 3% to $4.1 billion during the period ended September... Read more »

November 4, 2014 U.S. households plan to spend an average of $538 on gifts this holiday season, up slightly from $528 last year, The Conference Board reports today.  About 8 percent of consumers say they plan to spend more this year on holiday gifts, while approximately 32 percent plan to spend less.  The remaining 60... Read more »

October 31, 2014 A growing economy, rising household formations, low mortgage rates and pent-up demand will help single-family housing production to rev up in 2015, while a growth in renters will keep the multifamily market at cruising altitude or higher, according to economists who participated in yesterday’s National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) 2014 Fall... Read more »

October 31, 2014 Dollar General has extended the deadline for Family Dollar shareholders to approve a buyout while it continues to recommend a “no” vote on a competing proposal from Dollar Tree. Dollar General said it extended its tender offer to acquire all outstanding shares of Family Dollar for $80.00 to December 31 from October... Read more »

October 24, 2014 Temperatures are forecast to trend warmer than last year and normal across the Northern Plains and Northeast.  The South will be warmer than last year, but not too far from normal.  The West will trend cooler than last year with much greater precipitation in the Pacific Northwest.  In fact, much of the... Read more »