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WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) — At least three Wall Street economists ratcheted up their estimates of second-quarter growth following June construction spending data, which included sizeable upward revisions to April and May. Barclays, BNP Paribas and High Frequency Economics each took their GDP estimate to 2.7% from the 2.3% initially reported.

Market Pulse Stories are Rapid-fire, short news bursts on stocks and markets as they move. Visit MarketWatch.com for more information on this news.

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By Alyssa Sparacino

It’s no secret that color is sort of our thing here at HGTV Magazine. From brights to whites and every shade in between, we never shy away from adding pops of our favorite hues to every square inch of our pages (and home!). But this time we took our passion a little further with a bonus section called, duh, Pops of Color! We’re sharing 100+ products, so pick a shade and start shopping.

Our editors (a.k.a. your personal shoppers) are at it again with High/Low pairs that fit an array of budgets. These lamps have shockingly different price tags, as does this x-bench duo from last week’s High/Low Challenge sweepstakes.

And it wouldn’t be an issue of #HGTVMag if we didn’t show off some seriously creative DIYs. This time we look to the office, and transformed ordinary items like boring bookends and plain ol’ binders into things you’ll want to display, not shove in a desk drawer.

Pick up your copy of the September issue when it hits newsstands and store everywhere tomorrow August 4. Or become a subscriber today, and never miss a beat. Oh, p.s. follow us on Twitter, too.

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From:: HGTV

​WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) – Spending on U.S. construction projects rose 0.1% in June, well below forecast. Economists polled by MarketWatch had expected a 0.8% increase. Yet the increase in spending in May was revised up sharply to 1.8% from 0.9%. Home builders have been busy at work amid an upsurge in demand for smaller units such as apartments and condos, especially properties to rent. The Commerce Department said construction outlays increased to an annual rate of $1.06 billion in June, adjusted for seasonal variations. Spending advanced 0.4% for new houses, condos, apartment buildings and other residential properties. Outlays on nonresidential and commercial projects was flat.

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From:: Stock Market News

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) – U.S. manufacturers decelerated a bit in July after growing at fastest rate in five months in June, a survey of executives found. Market News and Reuters said the Institute for Supply Management’s manufacturing index fell to 52.7% last month from 53.5% in June. That was below than the 53.7% forecast of economists surveyed by MarketWatch. Readings over 50% indicate more companies are expanding instead of shrinking. The key components were mixed: the new orders index edged up to 56.5% from 56.0% while the employment gauge fell sharply to 52.7% from 55.5%. It was not clear why the data was released ahead of the 10 a.m. Eastern scheduled release.

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From:: Stock Market News

Wall Street opened little changed Monday, with investors sifting through economic data for clues to the strength of the U.S. economy and the potential timing of an expected Federal Reserve rate hike. The S&P 500 traded up less than 0.1% at 2,105 in early action, while the Dow industrials added 7 points to 17,698. The Nasdaq Composite rose 0.2% to 5,137. Ahead of the opening bell, data showed U.S. personal spending rose by 0.2% in June, while personal income rose 0.4%.

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From:: Stock Market News

The Semiconductor Industry Association said worldwide chip sales totaled $84 billion for the second-quarter, a 2% increase from the year-earlier period and a 1% increase from the previous quarter. It reported global sales for June of $28 billion, a 2% increase from the year-earlier period. So far sales for 2015 are 3.9 percent higher than the same time last year. “Macroeconomic headwinds and softening demand have slowed global semiconductor market growth somewhat, but the industry still posted its highest-ever second-quarter sales and remains ahead of the pace of sales set in 2014, which was a record year for semiconductor revenues,” said John Neuffer, CEO of the Semiconductor Industry Associationm in a statement.

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Citigroup Inc.’s said Monday that its Citibank N.A. unit is currently being investigated regarding certain student loan servicing practices. Since similar loan servicing practices led to enforcement actions against at least one other financial institution, Citigroup said regulators may impose penalties on Citibank, or order the bank to remediate customers. Citigroup said it was cooperating with the investigation. The stock, which was still inactive in premarket trade, has gained 8.7% over the past three months, while the S&P 500 has slipped 0.2%.

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From:: Stock Market News

Consumer goods giant Clorox Co. said Monday it had net income of $191 million, or $1.46 a share, in its fiscal fourth quarter, up from $170 million, or $1.29 a share, in the year-earlier period. Adjusted per-share earnings came to $1.44, well ahead of the FactSet consensus of $1.37. Sales rose to $1.557 billion from $1.497 billion, also ahead of the FactSet consensus of $1.526 billion. “Our strategy to increase demand-building investments drove profitable growth, with sales increases in every quarter of the fiscal year,” Chief Executive Benno Dorer said in a statement. “It’s also encouraging that our actions are creating momentum in our categories and driving market share gains across several brands.” The company is now expecting fiscal 2016 sales to be flat to up 1% and EPS to range from $4.68 to $4.83, just below the current FactSet consensus of $4.84. Shares were slightly higher in premarket trade, but are up 7.4% in the year so far, while the S&P 500 has gained 2.2%.

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From:: Stock Market News

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) – American consumers spent at a slower pace in June, especially on big-ticket items such as new cars, after a big bump in May, government figures show. Personal spending rose a seasonally adjusted 0.2% last month, the Commerce Department said Monday. Personal income rose 0.4% for the third straight month. Economists polled by MarketWatch had forecast 0.3% increases in both spending and incomes. Since incomes grew faster than spending, the amount of money individuals save climbed to 4.8% from 4.6%. The savings rate has hovered near 5% for the past two and a half years. Also, inflation as gauged by the PCE price index increased 0.2% in June. The PCE index has risen just 0.3% in the past 12 months. The core PCE index that excludes food and energy, meanwhile, advanced 0.1% in June, and it’s up 1.3% over the past year. The more closely followed core rate has been frozen at a 1.3% annual rate through the first six months of 2015.

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Tyson Foods Inc. said Monday it had net income of $344 million, or 83 cents a share, in its fiscal third quarter, up from $258 million, or 73 cents a share, in the year-earlier period. Adjusted per-share earnings came to 80 cents, below the FactSet consensus of 92 cents. Sales rose to $10.071 billion from $9.682 billion, also below the FactSet consensus of $10.298 billion. The company said prepared foods and chicken performed well, but were offset by weakness in its beef business, which was hit by export market disruptions that shaved $84 million off earnings. “While we are pleased with the performance of our business overall, unless beef market conditions improve rapidly, we will not achieve our previous guidance of $3.30-$3.40 adjusted earnings per share,” Chief Executive Donnie Smith said in a statement. “As a result, we are modifying fiscal 2015 guidance to $3.10-$3.20 adjusted EPS.” The current FactSet consensus is for fiscal 2015 EPS of $3.44. Shares were not yet active in premarket trade, but are up 10.6% in the year so far, while the S&P 500 has gained 2.2%.

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From:: Stock Market News