Foreclosures | Mortgages | Financing
Thinking about whether you should refinance or not? If all-time low interest rates is not enough to motivate you, here is a list of the top 10 states to save money by refinancing. And if you live in one of the hottest housing markets in America, the answer will likely be a resounding yes. …read more
From:: Real Estate Wire
Shares of Dick’s Sporting Goods Inc. fell more than 7.5% in premarket trade after the company missed profit expectations for the fourth quarter. Dick’s Sporting Goods reported net income of $128.99 million, or $1.13 per share, compared with $155.54 million, or $1.30 earnings per share in the prior year period. The FactSet consensus for per-share earnings was $1.15. Sales for the quarter increased about 3.7% to $2.24 billion, compared with $2.16 billion during the same time last year. Sales were just below the FactSet consensus of $2.28 billion. The sports apparel and equipment retailer said same-store sales declined 2.5% in the fourth quarter due to unseasonably warm weather. The company said in a statement it plans to invest $50 million to $55 billion in 2016 to enhance the shopping experience, build equity and transition its eCommerce business. During the fourth quarter the company also bought back $57 million in shares and increased its dividend by 10%. Dick’s Sporting Goods’ shares are up more than 24% in the year so far, outperforming the S&P 500 index, which is down 2%.
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.
From:: Stock Market News
Shares of Dick’s Sporting Goods Inc. fell more than 7.5% in premarket trade after the company missed profit expectations for the fourth quarter. Dick’s Sporting Goods reported net income of $128.99 million, or $1.13 per share, compared with $155.54 million, or $1.30 earnings per share in the prior year period. The FactSet consensus for per-share earnings was $1.15. Sales for the quarter increased about 3.7% to $2.24 billion, compared with $2.16 billion during the same time last year. Sales were just below the FactSet consensus of $2.28 billion. The sports apparel and equipment retailer said same-store sales declined 2.5% in the fourth quarter due to unseasonably warm weather. The company said in a statement it plans to invest $50 million to $55 billion in 2016 to enhance the shopping experience, build equity and transition its eCommerce business. During the fourth quarter the company also bought back $57 million in shares and increased its dividend by 10%. Dick’s Sporting Goods’ shares are up more than 24% in the year so far, outperforming the S&P 500 index, which is down 2%.
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.
From:: Stock Market News
The National Retail Federation forecasts that Americans will spend, on average, $35.37 per person, down from $36.52 last year. According to the St. Patrick’s Day Spending Survey, 56.5% will purchase food and beverages, 28% will buy apparel or accessories and 23.3% will purchase decorations. More than a third of respondents (36.2%) plan to do their shopping at a grocery store, 30.4% will shop at discount stores and 20.8% will make their purchases at bars and restaurants. The biggest spenders will be between the ages of 25 and 34, with an average spend of $42.58. The NRF and Prosper Insight and Analytics surveyed 7,108 consumers between Feb. 2 and Feb. 9.
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.
From:: Stock Market News
Merriam-Webster defines the word Sustainable as “able to be used without being completely used up or destroyed; involving methods that do not completely use up or destroy natural resources; and able to last of continue for a long time.”
In everyday operations, we all do things that are not sustainable. Things like rent concessions can serve to get units leased up and occupancy rates higher, but it’s not a sustainable model, if the only way you can attract future residents is by offering incentives. Promptly addressing maintenance issues is important, but if the issues are being addressed in a reactionary mode, that’s not a sustainable model. If you live in an arid environment, maintaining a large expanse of grass is not a sustainable model, when you factor in the time, expense, and natural resources used in order to maintain that grass.
Sustainability is an investment today in order to reap the benefits tomorrow. There are many ways that property management offices can become sustainable, and many ways that properties themselves can become sustainable. Let’s start with the office. (I’ll cover the property in a future article.)
Where do you begin? You’ve made a commitment to become more sustainable, but what are some of the most important things that can be easily implemented today in order to reap the benefits in the future? Here are just a few suggestions:
· Lose the paper. More and more offices are finding that the key to organization lies in a paperless office. If you can’t bring yourself to cut it all together, at least reduce paper consumption by moving to online applications.
· Consider dropping any concession programs and use that money to shore up your property so that people want to live there, regardless of the incentives offered.
· Begin to create an integrated business solution for your office that you can build on moving forward. By introducing an integrated software solution, you can eliminate the need for duplicate work and constant upkeep of multiple systems.
· Maintain the same staff, and be sure to keep your sustainability goals in mind when hiring new employees. Constant employee turnover means more work for other staff members. Hire those that you believe can make a difference to your property management office and make sure they remain engaged and challenged.
By eliminating the quick solution, and working towards a process for the future, you will ensure a sustainable property management model well into the future.
From:: Property Management
Used car retailer CarMax Inc. said it is recruiting for 1,600 open positions across the U.S. in a Tuesday press release. Most positions are in sales, but other openings include service jobs, such as experienced technicians, and positions in the business office. Geographic locations with a large number of openings include the Washington D.C. area, Southern Florida and Los Angeles. The company’s home office in Richmond, V.A. also has 50 job openings for digital and technology staffers. Applications will only be accepted online. CarMax shares are down 3.1% in Tuesday trading and 19% for the past year. The S&P 500 is down 4.2% for the past 12 months.
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.
From:: Stock Market News
Shares of Shopify Inc. rose 1.2% in early trade Tuesday after the stock was upgraded to overweight from sector weight at Pacific Crest. Analyst Brendan Barnicle set a $35 12-month price target on the shares, which implies a greater than 35% increase from Monday’s closing price. He attributed the upgrade to positive comments from management regarding the pace of growth in small business users of Shopify’s software as a service platform, which helps companies build e-commerce stores. “Shopify is overcoming our concerns,” Barnicle said in a note to clients. The analyst also raised his fiscal 2017 earnings per share estimates on the company. Shopify went public last May.
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.
From:: Stock Market News
U.S. stocks opened lower on Tuesday, retreating after five straight sessions of gains. Weighing on investor sentiment were weak export data from China and a slight pullback in oil prices. The S&P 500 opened 11 points, or 0.6%, lower at 1,990. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 77 points, or 0.5%, to 16,004 at the open. Meanwhile, the Nasdaq Composite began the day down 34 points, or 0.7%, at 4,673.
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.
From:: Stock Market News
Barnes & Noble Education Inc. reported a third-quarter loss of $3.6 million, or 7 cents per share, versus a profit of $8.7 million, or 9 cents per share, for the same period last year. Sales for the quarter were $518.4 million, down from $521.6 million last year. Same-store sales decreased 4.1%. The Spring Rush period, however, extended beyond the quarter, with same-store sales decreasing 2.9% when factoring in three additional weeks in Feburary. The company sees same-store sales decreasing 2% in fiscal 2016. “Course material sales for the Spring Rush period were adversely impacted by decreased enrollments in two year community colleges,” said Max Roberts, chief executive of Barnes & Noble Education. The company has closed the offices for its Yuzu e-textbook platform, and eliminated staff in California and Washington in order to cut digital expenditures, taking a $12 million non-cash impairment charge. The company expects to incur restructuring charges of $7 million to $8 million in the fourth quarter, about $4 million non-cash, and $1 million to $2 million in the fiscal first quarter of 2017. Barnes & Noble Education shares are down 0.1% in premarket trading and up 14.5% for the year so far. The S&P 500 is down 2.1% for the year-to-date.
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.
From:: Stock Market News
Marvell Technology Group Ltd.’s stock slipped 0.8% in premarket trade Tuesday, after the company said it received notice from Nasdaq that the semiconductor company will not be in compliance with its listing standards. Marvell said it intends to request a hearing to ask for an extension. The Nasdaq’s listing qualifications staff has determined that Marvell will not meet the previously extended deadline, which expires Tuesday, to file financial statements with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The company said on March 1 that it didn’t expect to meet the March 8 deadline because of an investigation into accounting and internal control matters. The stock has climbed 15% year to date, but was still down 39% over the last year. In comparison, the S&P 500 has lost 2.1% this year, and 3.4% over the past 12 months.
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.
From:: Stock Market News