J. C. Penney Co. Inc. on Monday said it appointed former Home Depot Inc. and Target Corp. executives as senior executives at the Plano, Texas, department store to improve its bricks-and-mortar as well as e-commerce businesses. Michael Amend will join from Home Depot as executive vice president for omnichannel on Tuesday. Mike Robbins will join from Target as senior vice president of supply chain on Aug. 10. Executive vice president Mike Rodgers has left “to pursue other interests,” J. C. Penney said in a statement. Former VP of supply chain Marie Lacertosa will be retiring, the company said. Shares of J. C. Penney were flat in after hours after ending the regular session down 0.9%.

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From:: Stock Market News

American International Group Inc. reported quarterly earnings Monday that were far better than analysts expected, and announced plans to buy back more shares. The insurer announced net income of $1.8B, or $1.32 a share, on revenue of $15.7 billion; after adjustments, profits reached $1.39 a share. Analysts surveyed by FactSet had expected AIG to report adjusted earnings of $1.22 a share on revenue of $14.9 billion. The company also detailed an increase in share buybacks, adding $5 billion to a current stock-repurchase plan. AIG stock wavered between slight gains and losses in late trading after adding 2 cents in the regular session to $64.14.

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From:: Stock Market News

Tenet Healthcare Corp. on Monday reported a loss of $61 million, or 61 cents a share, in the second quarter, compared with 27 cents a share a year ago. Adjusted for one-time items, the health care company said it earned 75 cents a share on sales of $4.49 billion in the quarter. Analysts polled by FactSet had expected adjusted earnings of 45 cents a share on sales of $4.38 billion. Tenet revised its outlook to adjusted earnings of $1.32 to $2.21 a share this year and adjusted earnings between 5 cents to 49 cents a share in the third quarter. The analysts surveyed by FactSet had expected adjusted 2015 earnings of $2.20 a share and adjusted earnings 38 cents in the third quarter. Shares of Tenet rose 2.3% in after hours Monday after ending the regular session up 0.7%.

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From:: Stock Market News

The U.S. government expects to borrow $127 billion in the July-September quarter, an estimate that is $61 billion higher than previously projected in May, the Treasury Department said Monday. The increase in borrowing in the current quarter is due to changes in cash balance assumptions as well as a small increase in financing needs, the department said. The estimate includes an assumption of an end-of-September cash balance of $225 billion. For the October-December quarter, Treasury expects to borrow $270 billion in net marketable debt assuming a cash balance of $275 billion. During the April-June quarter, Treasury issued $57 billion in net marketable debt and ended with a cash balance of $254 billion. Analysts said estimating Treasury’s financing needs is more difficult because of uncertainty surrounding the debt ceiling. Congress has until late October to raise the ceiling, according to an estimate last week from Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew. The department has been using extraordinary accounting measures since March to stay below the debt limit. Treasury will announce on Wednesday the sizes and terms of the auction it holds four times a year to finance part of the debt.

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From:: Stock Market News

West Texas Intermediate crude for September delivery fell $1.95, or 4.1%, to settle at $45.17 a barrel on Monday, the lowest close for a most-active contract since March. ICE Brent futures on Monday dropped below $50 a barrel for the first time since January. Crude was driven lower by concerns over global and domestic supplies, as well as weak economic data out of China.

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From:: Stock Market News

Mortgage lending demand continued to grow in the second quarter but fewer banks eased lending standards than in the prior three months, a Federal Reserve senior loan officer survey released Monday showed. Only seven banks said they had eased standards on mortgage loans somewhat on GSE-eligible loans in the second quarter, down from 13 in the first quarter. Banks reported little chance to business lending over the second quarter. Most banks reported no change on standards for consumer loans. There was stronger demand for auto and credit card loans. The Fed surveys domestic banks and foreign banks operating in the U.S. each quarter to gauge credit conditions.

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From:: Stock Market News

The dog days of summer may already be upon gold prices. Gold futures for December delivery, the most actively traded contract finished down $5.70, or 0.5%, to $1,089.40 an ounce, continuing a drop in the precious metal from July. Gold succumbed to the pressure of a stronger U.S. dollar , which was weighing on the dollar-denominated yellow metal even as U.S. stocks , with the Dow down as much as 180 points, or 1%, in afternoon trade. Falling stock prices should elicit haven buying in gold but moves in the dollar, which can reduce the appeal of the commodity to buyers in other currencies, may be outweighing any safety buying.

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From:: Stock Market News

Shares of Twitter Inc. fell Monday to its all-time low since the company’s initial public offering in November 2013. The stock has been under pressure after the microblogging company last week reported tepid user growth in the second quarter. Still, some analysts remained upbeat and maintained Twitter’s stock price target at $50. “We recognize that TWTR is a show-me story and it will take some time, but we continue to believe the platform is differentiated,” said analyst Nicholas Rosato Jr. at J.P. Morgan. Twitter is down 6.2% to $29.09 after trading as low as $28.91. The stock is off 19% year to date and has shed 34% in the past 12 months.

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From:: Stock Market News

Crude-oil futures extended their fall Monday, with ICE Brent crude for September delivery sliding below $50 a barrel. That’s the first time since January the global oil benchmark has traded below $50 on a most-active contract basis, according to FactSet data. The contract traded at $49.88 a barrel in recent action, down $2.33, or 4.4%. The U.S. benchmark, West Texas Intermediate, was also under pressure. WTI crude for delivery in September on Comex was $1.76 lower, a fall of 3.7%, at $45.39 a barrel in recent action, after hitting its lowest level since March. Oil futures are feeling renewed pressure on a global glut of crude and concerns about world economic growth.

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From:: Stock Market News

By Kayla Kitts

As you know, things can get a little spirited at our Color of the Month meetings. Each month, we arrive ready with a hot hue to defend (some even come decked out in their color), but the person with the best Pinterest board and argument ultimately leaves with the title. Now with more than 55 gorgeous colors under our belt, we’ve picked our most-loved Colors of the Month for the ultimate battle — and it’s your chance to weigh in.

Browse the 12 colors (and their corresponding inspiration galleries) below, then vote for your favorite. (Which color do you want to splash all over your walls? Or, which color makes you instantly happy at first sight?) Once you’ve voted, check hgtv.com/colorvscolor often to see if your favorite color is in the lead. We’ll reveal the winning hue on Monday, August 24 right here on Design Happens.

Meet Your Color Contenders

Eggplant: See Photos, Then Vote!
Gray: See Photos, Then Vote!
Fuchsia: See Photos, Then Vote!
Teal: See Photos, Then Vote!

Lemon Yellow: See Photos, Then Vote!
Aqua: See Photos, Then Vote!
Mint Green: See Photos, Then Vote!
Coral: See Photos, Then Vote!

Apple Green: See Photos, Then Vote!
Navy Blue: See Photos, Then Vote!
Bright Red: See Photos, Then Vote!
Tangerine: See Photos, Then Vote!

Looking for more Color Vs. Color inspiration?

• Follow along on Design Happens
• Repin your favorite colors on Pinterest
• Browse our entire Color of the Month collection

Brought to you by The Paint Studio at Ace. Right now you can find your perfect color by trying color sample pints of Valspar and Clark and Kensington for just 99 cents. At participating stores through August 31st. Prices may vary. Limit 4.

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From:: HGTV