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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 »

February 19, 2014 A week after rival Home Depot announced plans to hire 80,000 seasonal spring employees, Lowe’s announced its plans to hire approximately 25,000 seasonal employees at its U.S. stores for the busy spring season. Seasonal jobs available are focused on customer support and include cashiers, lawn and garden employees, loaders and stockers. The... Read more »

February 20, 2014 The Conference Board Leading Economic Index for the U.S. increased 0.3 percent in January to 99.5, following no change in December, and a 0.9 percent increase in November. “The U.S. Leading Economic Index continues to fluctuate on a monthly basis, but the six-month average growth rate has been relatively stable in recent months,... Read more »

February 19, 2014 Ace Hardware’s unique value proposition allowed it to withstand strong competition from Home Depot and Lowe’s in 2013 and grow annual sales by 8.2% to a record $4.2 billion. “We outperformed our operating plan, exceeding $4 billion in consolidated revenues and $100 million in net income for the first time in our... Read more »

February 18, 2014 Unusually severe weather conditions across much of the nation along with continued concerns over the cost and availability of labor and lots caused builder confidence in the market for newly-built, single-family homes to post a 10-point drop to 46 on the National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index, released today.... Read more »