Wednesday, February 22, 2012

Home Depot's earnings raise hopes for housing

By msnbc.com news services
Home improvement retailer Home Depot’s strong quarterly earnings report Tuesday has some wondering: Is this an indicator of an improving trend in the much-beleaguered U.S. housing market?
Brian Nagel, a retail analyst at Oppenheimer, thinks so.
One of the warmest U.S. winters on record has certainly encouraged homeowners to take up home projects earlier than usual, leading to strong demand for everything from paint to concrete and boosting Home Depot’s results. But behind that factor you also have a strengthening hosing environment, Nagel told CNBC.
“I spend a lot of time looking at the index of builders confidence and the commentary that has come from the home improvement retailers lately -- it all points to a strengthening demand trend here over the last few months,” he said. “I think this has legs and will persist for some time.”

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