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Home Depot Inc. still sees room for profit growth this year as consumers take up long-delayed maintenance and repair projects for their homes.
The company posted a higher-than-expected quarterly profit and raised its full-year earnings forecast Tuesday, helped by cost controls. While sales missed expectations in a weak economy, investors were relieved that the top home improvement chain still expects an increase for the rest of the year. Get the full story »
U.S. housing starts rose but to a much weaker rate than expected in July, while permits for future home construction fell to their lowest level in more than a year, according to a government report on Tuesday that pointed to a weak housing market.
The Commerce Department said housing starts rose 1.7 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 546,000 units. June’s housing starts were revised to show an 8.7 percent fall, which was previously reported as a 5 percent drop. Get the full story »
Ricker-Murphy Development LLC and Lake Tower Development LLC, a GE Pension Trust affiliate, announced Monday that they had secured a $170 million construction loan needed to complete the long-delayed Lincoln Park 2520 high-rise.
The development, on the site of the shuttered Columbus Hospital, opened a sales office and began selling units in early 2007 as the credit markets were collapsing. Thirteen months ago, the size of the Lucien Lagrange Architects-designed tower was trimmed, to 198 condos in 33 stories, from 292 units in 41. However, Ricker-Murphy said Monday it received approval for 229 residences in three connected towers — a 22-story north tower, a 39-story central story and a 16-story south tower. The condos will sell for $1 million to $5.7 million, excluding penthouses that will be priced at up to $11 million. Get the full story »
Lowe’s Cos. posted weaker-than-expected quarterly results but kept its forecast for same-store sales growth this year, assuring investors it will benefit once U.S. consumer demand picks up.
Lowe’s, the second-largest home improvement chain behind Home Depot, said it still expects sales at stores open at least a year to rise about 2 percent for the fiscal year, which some analysts viewed positively given soft consumer sentiment. Get the full story »
The Federal Reserve said Monday that bank lending standards eased somewhat over the last three months while demand for business and consumer loans was largely unchanged.
In its quarterly Senior Loan Officer Survey, taken in July, the Fed found that tight lending conditions, which some economists have linked to the weak economic recovery, were starting to ease. Get the full story »
Homebuilder sentiment unexpectedly fell for a third straight month in August to its lowest level in nearly 1-1/2 years, according to a survey on Monday that pointed to a weak housing market.
The National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index slipped one point to 13, defying market expectations for a rise to 15. Get the full story »