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July 28, 2014 WTI expects August 2014 temperatures to trend similar to last year for the U.S. as a whole.  Much of the East will trend warmer than last year with the Southeast also trending warmer than normal.  Summer clearance promotions will see the biggest returns during the first three weeks of the retail month... Read more »

July 22, 2014 Lowe’s plans to build a customer support center in Indianapolis, a move that will create up to 1,000 new jobs by 2016. The world’s second largest home improvement retailer plans to invest $20.5 million to purchase, renovate and equip a 140,000 sq. ft. office facility at Intech Park 12, 6620 Network Way,... Read more »

July 24, 2014 The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) Remodeling Market Index (RMI) rose three points to 56 in the second quarter of 2014, regaining the momentum built in 2013.  This is the fifth consecutive quarter for an RMI reading above 50. An RMI above 50 indicates that more remodelers report market activity is... Read more »

July 28, 2014 Dollar Tree said it would acquire Family Dollar in a transformational cash and stock deal valued at $8.5 billion to create a company with more than 13,000 stores and annual sales of $18 billion. The deal was unanimously approved by the boards of both companys and involves Dollar Tree paying Family Dollar... Read more »

July 24, 2014 Supervalu posted $5.23 billion in net sales for the first quarter, a decrease of 0.1% from $5.24 billion last year; but president and CEO Sam Duncan expressed confidence in the company’s performance, saying it is off to a solid start across business segments. “Our first quarter results reflect the investments we are... Read more »

July 25, 2014 Real gross domestic product (GDP) decreased at an annual rate of 2.9 percent in the first quarter of 2014 after increasing 2.6 percent in the fourth quarter of 2013.  Both private services and goods-producing industries contributed to the decrease, while the government sector increased slightly.  Durable-goods manufacturing; wholesale trade; and agriculture, forestry,... Read more »

July 24, 2014 Sales of newly built, single-family homes fell 8.1 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 406,000 units in June, according to newly released data by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the U.S. Census Bureau.  Sales numbers for May were revised downward to 442,000. “The numbers are a... Read more »

July 24, 2014 Growth in home improvement activity is expected to peak during the second half of 2014 and then begin to ease heading into next year, according to the Leading Indicator of Remodeling Activity (LIRA) released today by the Remodeling Futures Program of Harvard University.  Revised estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau show the... Read more »

July 24, 2014 Walmart named Greg Foran president and CEO of its U.S. stores division to replace Bill Simon, who is leaving the company after an eight-year run. Foran is a relative newcomer at Walmart, who joined the company in October 2011 and by March of 2012 had been elevated to the role of president... Read more »