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February 27, 2014 Weather Trends International expects March 2014 to trend similar in temperature to last year and below normal for the U.S. as a whole.  The month starts out with cold, possibly record-breaking in the North, along with some potentially snowy and/or icy weather as a storm system moves through.  Colder trends linger into... Read more »

February 25, 2014 The Conference Board Consumer Confidence Index, which had increased in January, fell moderately in February.  The Index now stands at 78.1, down from 79.4 in January.  The decline was driven by the Expectations Index, which dropped to 75.7 from 80.8.  The Present Situation Index, by contrast, climbed from 77.3 to 81.7. “Consumer... Read more »

February 25, 2014 Despite an 11% profit increase in the fourth quarter, sales at Macy’s missed forecasts as ongoing winter storms hurt the retailer’s results in January. Macy’s reported net income of $811 million during the fourth quarter, up 5% from $730 million in the same period a year earlier.  Sales dropped 1.6% to $9.2... Read more »

February 26, 2014 Severe winter weather was no match for Lowe’s in the fourth quarter.  The company reported sales of $11.7 billion, up 5.6% from the same quarter last year, as comps increased 3.9%.  The company also posted fourth-quarter net earnings of $306 million, up 6.3%. “During the quarter, we delivered solid performance in core... Read more »

February 25, 2014 Although the Home Depot’s overall sales missed analysts’ expectations, the retailer said the calendar shift, which resulted in one fewer week in the fourth quarter compared to the prior year quarter, affected its results. The world’s largest home improvement retailer reported fourth quarter total sales of $17.7 billion, down 3% from the... Read more »

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 »