By now, you have probably heard about�TransCanada's� (NYSE: TRP ) �Keystone XL pipeline. For even the most casual observer of the energy industry, this project has been the spark that has ignited poltical debates ranging from environmental hazards, emission of greenhouse gasses, and North American energy independence. In last Tuesday's speech on climate change, President Barack Obama made a point to address the fate of the Keystone XL: "Allowing the Keystone XL pipeline to be built requires a finding [from the Department of State] that doing so will be in our nations interest...".
There are clear environmental concerns that several people have regarding the construction of this pipeline, but the story is so much more than that. To help better understand the entire story of the Keystone XL pipeline, we at the Motley Fool want to give investors a better look at what the Keystone XL means for all parties involved. In this part of a series, we will take a look at what the approval or rejection of the pipeline will mean for midstream companies in the U.S. and Canada.
Best Defensive Companies To Invest In 2015: Jacobs Engineering Group Inc. (JEC)
Jacobs Engineering Group Inc. provides professional, technical, and construction services. Its services include engineering, design, and architectural services; construction and construction management services; operations and maintenance services; and process, scientific, and systems consulting services. The company serves a range of companies and organizations comprising industrial, commercial, and government clients across multiple markets and geographies. Jacobs Engineering Group Inc. provides its services to various industries and markets consisting of oil and gas exploration, production, and refining; environmental programs; pharmaceuticals and biotechnology; chemicals and polymers; buildings; infrastructure; power; technology and manufacturing; consumer products; and pulp and paper. The company provides its services through its offices in North America, Europe, the Middle East, Asia, and Australia. Jacobs Engineering Group Inc. was founded in 1947 and is based in Pa sadena, California.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Sue Chang and Saumya Vaishampayan]
Jacobs Engineering Group Inc. (JEC) �shares shed 6.2%. The company late Monday reported fiscal fourth-quarter profit of 84 cents a share, below the 87 cents a share forecast to analysts. Jacobs provides technical services to markets like defense, infrastructure, mining, energy and pharmaceuticals.
- [By Laura Brodbeck]
Monday
Earnings Releases Expected: Cummins Inc. (NYSE: CMI), Jacobs Engineering Group Inc. (NYSE: JEC), Franklin Resources Inc. (NYSE: BEN), XL Group plc (NYSE: XL), Herbalife LTD (NYSE: HLF) Economic Releases Expected:Italian business confidence, US services PMI, Japanese retail sales, Japanese unemployment rateTuesday
- [By Rich Duprey]
Magnox Limited is decommissioning nuclear power facilities in the U.K. Jacobs Engineering (NYSE: JEC ) has been contracted�to provide project management resources, skills development, coaching, and employment opportunities for Magnox employees�as an extension of original�protocols established with Jacobs and AMEC in 2011, the companies announced today.
- [By Ben Levisohn]
That leaves just five big losers that have kept on losing. Those would be Darden Restaurants (DRI), which has dropped 0.1% to $46.23 at 3:29.p.m., Jacobs Engineering Group (JEC), which has fallen 0.1% to $53.21, VeriSign (VRSN), which has declined 0.3% to $48.66, Express Scripts (ESRX), which is off 0.4% at $69.08, and Urban Outfitters (URBN), which has slipped 1.2% to $33.45.
10 Best Construction Stocks To Own For 2014: AECOM Technology Corp (ACM)
AECOM Technology Corporation (AECOM) is a provider of professional technical and management support services for commercial and government clients around the world. The Company provides planning, consulting, architectural and engineering design, and program and construction management services for a range of projects, including highways, airports, bridges, mass transit systems, government and commercial buildings, water and wastewater facilities, and power transmission and distribution. It also provides program and facilities management and maintenance, training, logistics and other support services, for agencies of the United States government. It offers services in two segments: Professional Technical Services and Management Support Services. In June 2011, the Company acquired Spectral Services Consultants Pte. Ltd.
Professional Technical Services (PTS)
The PTS segment delivers planning, consulting, architectural and engineering design, and program and construction management services to commercial and government clients worldwide in end markets, such as transportation, facilities, environmental, energy, water and government markets. It provides program management services through a joint venture for the Second Avenue subway line in New York City, design and contract administration services for the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge's Hong Kong Boundary Crossing Facilities and engineering and environmental management services to support global energy infrastructure development for a number of petroleum and mining companies.
PTS segment contributed 86% of the Company�� revenue during the fiscal year ended September 30, 2011 (fiscal 2011).
Transit and rail projects include light rail, heavy rail (including high speed, commuter and freight) and multimodal transit projects. The Company provided engineering design services for the new World Trade Center Terminal for PATH and the Second Avenue Subway (8.5-mile rail route and 16 stations) in New York City, the Ma O! n Shan Rail (seven-mile elevated railway) in Hong Kong, and Crossrail (74-mile railway) in the United Kingdom. Marine, Ports and Harbors Projects include wharf facilities and container port facilities for private and public port operators. The Company provided marine design and engineering services for container facilities in Hong Kong, the Ports of Los Angeles, Long Beach, New York and New Jersey. Highways, Bridges and Tunnels Projects include interstate, primary and secondary urban and rural highway systems and bridge projects. Aviation Projects include landside terminal and airside facilities and runways as well as taxiways.
Government Projects include the Company�� emergency response services for the Department of Homeland Security, including the Federal Emergency Management Agency and engineering and program management services for agencies of the Department of Defense. It also provides architectural and engineering services for national laboratories, including the laboratories at Hanford, Washington and Los Alamos, New Mexico. Industrial Projects include industrial facilities for a variety of end markets, including manufacturing, distribution, aviation, aerospace, communications, media, pharmaceuticals, renewable energy, chemical, and food and beverage facilities. Urban Master Planning/Design Projects include design services, landscape architecture, general policy consulting and environmental planning projects for a variety of government, institutional and private sector clients. It provides strategic planning and master planning services for new cities and mixed use developments in the People�� republic of China, Southeast Asia, the Middle East, North Africa, the United Kingdom and the United States.
Commercial and Leisure Facilities Projects include corporate headquarters, high-rise office towers, historic buildings, hotels, leisure, sports and entertainment facilities, hospitals and healthcare facilities and corporate campuses. Institutional Projects include engin! eering se! rvices for college and university campuses, including the new Kennedy-King College in Chicago, Illinois. It has also undertaken assignments for Oxford University in the United Kingdom, Pomona College and Loyola Marymount University in California. Healthcare Projects include design services for the Mayo Clinic Gonda Building in Rochester, Minnesota, University Hospital in Dubai Healthcare City and the Samsung Cancer Center in Seoul, Korea. It has also undertaken assignments for the new Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Orlando, Florida, and the Minneapolis campus of Children's Hospitals and Clinics of Minnesota. Correctional Projects include the planning, design, and construction of detention and correction facilities throughout the world.
Water and Wastewater Projects include treatment facilities as well as supply, distribution and collection systems, stormwater management, desalinization, and other water re-use technologies for metropolitan governments. Environmental Management Projects include remediation, waste handling, testing and monitoring of environmental conditions and environmental construction management for private sector clients. Water Resources Projects include regional-scale floodplain mapping and analysis for public agencies, along with the analysis and development of protected groundwater resources for companies in the bottled water industry.
Demand Side Management Projects include energy efficient systems for public K-12 schools and universities, health care facilities, and courthouses and other public buildings, as well as energy conservation systems for utilities. Transmission and Distribution Projects include power stations and electric transmissions and distribution and co-generation systems, including enhanced electrical power generation in Stung Treng, Cambodia. These projects utilize a range of services that include consulting, forecasting and surveying to detailed engineering design and construction management. Alternative/Renewable Energy Projects ! include p! roduction facilities, such as ethanol plants, wind farms and micro hydropower and geothermal subsections of regional power grids. It provides site selection and permitting, engineering, procurement and construction management and related services. Hydropower/Dams Projects include hydroelectric power stations, dams, spillways, and flood control systems including the Song Ba Ha Hydropower Project in Vietnam, the Pine Brook Dam in Boulder County, Colorado and the Peribonka Hydroelectric Power Plant in Quebec, Canada. Solar Projects include performing environmental work for the solar photovoltaic Brockton Brightfield project in New England, and environmental permitting services for the California Energy Commission to permit the development of a 250 mega watts (MW) solar thermal power plant in the Mojave Desert of California.
Management Support Services (MSS).
The MSS segment provides program and facilities management and maintenance, training, logistics, consulting, technical assistance and systems integration services, for agencies of the United States government. It also provides organizational and limited direct support services for equipment sent to the United States Army's Corpus Christi Depot in Texas. The MSS segment contributed 14% of the Company�� fiscal 2011 revenue.
Installation, Operations and Maintenance Projects include Department of Defense and Department of Energy installations where the Company provides services for the operation and maintenance of complex government installations, including military bases, test ranges and equipment. It also provides services for the operations and maintenance of the Department of Energy's Nevada Test Site. Logistics and Field Services Projects include logistics support services for a number of Department of Defense agencies and defense contractors focused on developing and managing integrated supply and distribution networks. Training Projects include training applications in live, virtual and simulation training! environm! ents. Systems Support Projects cover a set of operational and support systems for the maintenance, operation and modernization of Department of Defense and Department of Energy installations. Its services in this area range from information technology and communications to life cycle optimization and engineering, including environmental management services.
Technical Personnel Placement Projects include the placement of personnel in functional areas of military and other government agencies, as these entities continue to outsource critical services to commercial entities. It provides systems, processes and personnel in support of the Department of Justice's management of forfeited assets recovered by law enforcement agencies. It also supports the Department of State in its enforcement programs by recruiting, training and supporting police officers for international and homeland security missions. Field Services Projects include maintaining, modifying and overhauling ground vehicles, armored carriers and associated support equipment both within and outside of the United States under contracts with the Department of Defense. It also maintains and repairs telecommunications systems for military and civilian entities.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Rich Smith]
The U.S. Department of Defense announced the award of 10 separate contracts Thursday, worth a bit over $340 million in aggregate value. Boeing and Raytheon claimed about one third of the money on offer, apiece. As for other companies participating in Pentagon funding, these included the following:
10 Best Construction Stocks To Own For 2014: Assa Abloy AB (ASAZY.PK)
Assa Abloy AB is a Sweden-based company engaged in the secure door opening solutions. It is organized into five divisions: Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA), North and South America (Americas), Asia, Australia and New Zealand (Asia Pacific), Global Technologies and Entrance Systems. The EMEA, Americas and Asia Pacific divisions manufacture mechanical and electromechanical locks, security doors and hardware in their respective geographical markets. The Global Technologies division operates in the product areas of access control systems, secure card issuance, identification technology and hotel locks. The Entrance Systems division is a supplier of entrance automation products and services. The Company�� subsidiaries include ASSA Sverige AB, Timelox AB and ABLOY Holdings Ltd., among others. In November 2013, it acquired Ameristar Fence Products Inc, a manufacturer of ornamental fences and gates. In January 2014, it acquired IdenTrust. In February 2014, it acquired Lumidigm. Advisors' Opinion:- [By Weighing Machine]
Domiciled in Sweden, Assa Abloy (ASAZY.PK) is the largest lock maker in the world with a global market share of nearly 12%. While the construction market has been difficult since the financial crisis, Assa has continued to increase revenue and operating profit every year since 2010 and is on track to do so again in 2013. While commercial construction has been subdued, the aftermarket (which represents ~70% of the total lock market) is driven by changes in tenancy, renovation, and extensions have not been very cyclical and provides the company with a steady stream of profits. Assa has been cobbled together through 150+ acquisitions since the early 1990s and while management has done a good job of rationalizing facilities, there remain opportunities to increase manufacturing efficiencies. Similarly, the company's back office is still running dozens of IT systems (as a result of acquisitions) but management plans to consolidate these over the next few years. Further, Assa remains an active consolidator of the locks industry - it should be able to add 5% per year to sales via acquisitions (as an aside, those interested in micro-caps should have a look at Securidev in France which trades at less than half the private market value Assa has paid for lock makers on average over the past decade). Having the highest margins in the industry, Assa is able to achieve significant synergies on acquired businesses and earn good returns on capital for its shareholders through M&A. Thus even in a difficult economy, we expect Assa will continue to grow its operating profit given its steady after market revenue, opportunity to improve results through cost cutting, and through value accretive M&A. While its shares are not cheap, at 19x earnings, shares could offer investors with a five year holding period and an 8-10% annualized return.
10 Best Construction Stocks To Own For 2014: Balfour Beatty PLC (BIH)
Balfour Beatty plc is a global infrastructure company that delivers services essential to the development, creation and care of infrastructure assets; from finance and development, through design and project management to construction and maintenance. The Company operates in four segments: Professional Services segment is engaged in the provision of project management; Construction Services segment is engaged in the activities resulting in the physical construction of an asset; Support Services segment is engaged in the activities, which support existing assets or functions, and Infrastructure Investments segment is engaged in the acquisition, operation and disposal of infrastructure assets, such as PPP concessions and airports. In July 2013, it announced the disposal of its 50% interest in the Salford Hospital PFI asset. In December 2013, Balfour Beatty Plc completed the sale of its UK facilities management business to GDF Suez Energy Services. Advisors' Opinion:- [By Vanina Egea]
A few companies excel over their market peers, granting them an unconventional competitive advantage. Everybody knows the market leaders, or the mammoth companies, but there are other particular services that can give a firm greater exposure. No other example is more relevant than the rotary rig count offered by Baker Hughes (BIH). The Baker Hughes Rig Counts provides a weekly count of U.S. and Canadian drilling activity to the industry since 1944, and has become an important business barometer for the drilling industry and its suppliers. Most importantly, the index allows industry analysts to identify industry trends, while providing valuable information to prospect investors beyond Baker Hughes itself. After experiencing a decline in performance from mid-2011 to the end of 2012, the company saw great improvement in overall performance during 2013. Can the trend be expected to continue?
10 Best Construction Stocks To Own For 2014: Amcol International Corp (ACO)
AMCOL International Corporation (AMCOL), incorporated on December 3, 1959, is focused on the development and application of minerals and technology products and services to various industrial and consumer markets. It operates in five segments: performance materials, construction technologies, energy services, transportation and corporate. Its performance materials segment previously referred to as its minerals and materials segment is a supplier of bentonite related products. Its construction technologies segment previously referred to as its environmental segment provides products for non-residential construction, environmental and infrastructure projects worldwide. Its energy services segment previously referred to as its oilfield services segment offers a range of patented technologies, products and services for both upstream and downstream oil and gas production. Its transportation segment serves domestic subsidiaries, as well as third parties, is a dry van and flatbed carrier and freight brokerage service provider.
Performance Materials Segment
The Company supplies chromite and leonardite, and operates more than 25 mining or production facilities worldwide. It mines chromite, an iron chromium oxide, from open cast mines in South Africa and transport it to our nearby processing facility. Its primary uses include metalcasting, drilling fluid additive, and agricultural applications. Its performance materials segment conducts its business through wholly owned subsidiaries and investments in affiliates and joint ventures throughout the world. It consists of four product lines: metalcasting; specialty materials; basic minerals, and pet products. Its principal products are marketed under various registered trade names, including VOLCLAY, PANTHER CREEK, PREMIUM GEL, ADDITROL, ENERSOL, and Hevi-Sand.
The Company�� metalcasting products include blended mineral binders containing sodium and calcium bentonite and organic additives sold under the trade name ADDITROL. I! n the ferrous casting market, the Company specializes in blending bentonite of various grades by themselves or with mineral binders containing sodium bentonite, calcium bentonite, seacoal and other ingredients. It also has a line of formulated additives that introduce silicon and carbon in the melt phase of the casting process. In the steel alloy casting market, it sells a chromite product with a particle size distribution specific to a customer�� needs.
The Company�� specialty materials products contain bentonite and synthetic additives offering solutions for consumer and industrial applications. It also offers products for bio-agricultural applications. The markets and applications of its specialty materials products include fabric care, personal care, basic materials and pet products. It supply high-grade, agglomerated bentonite and other mineral additives used in fabric care products. It manufactures adsorbent polymers and purified grades of bentonite for sale to manufacturers of personal skin care products. The adsorbent polymers are used to deliver high-value actives in skin-care products. Microsponge and Poly-Pore are the principal trade names under which these products are sold. Its basic minerals product line supplies minerals to a variety of markets and industrial applications, including drilling fluid additives, ferro alloys and other industrial.
The Company�� pet products include sodium bentonite-based scoopable (clumping), traditional and alternative cat litters, as well as specialty pet products sold to grocery and drug stores, mass merchandisers, wholesale clubs and pet specialty stores throughout the United States. It is primarily a private-label producer of cat litter, and its products are marketed under various trade names. These products are sold solely in the United States from three principal sites from which it package and distribute finished goods. Its transportation segment provides logistics services and is a component of its capability in supplyi! ng custom! ers on a national basis.
Construction Technologies Segment
The Company�� construction technologies segment serves customers engaged in a range of construction projects, including site remediation, concrete waterproofing for underground structures, liquid containment on projects ranging from landfills to flood control, and drilling applications including foundation, slurry wall, tunneling, water well and horizontal drilling. Its construction technologies segment conducts its business through wholly owned subsidiaries and joint ventures throughout the world. This segment consists of four product lines: building materials; contracting services; drilling products, and lining technologies.
The Company sells lining and other products for a variety of applications, most of which are directed to preserving or remediating environmental issues. It helps customers protect ground water and soil through the sale of geosynthetic clay liner products containing bentonite. It market these products under the BENTOMAT and CLAYMAX trade names principally for lining and capping landfills, mine waste disposal sites, water and wastewater lagoons, secondary containments in tank farms, and other contaminated sites. It also provides associated geosynthetic materials for these applications, including geotextiles and drainage geocomposites.
The Company�� lining technologies product line also includes specialized technologies to mitigate vapor intrusion in new building construction. It also provides reactive capping technologies and solutions to contain residual contamination, reduce costs associated with ex-situ remedies, and aid in environmental protection. Products offered include Liquid Boot, a liquid applied vapor barrier system; REACTIVE CORE-MAT, an in-situ sediment capping material; ORGANOCLAY, which absorbs organic containments, and QUIK-SOLID, a super absorbent media.
The Company offer a variety of active and passive waterproofing and greenroof technolog! ies for u! se in protecting the building envelope of non-residential constructions, including buildings, subways, and parkway systems. Its products include VOLTEX, a waterproofing composite comprised of two polypropylene geotextiles filled with sodium bentonite; ULTRASEAL, an advanced membrane using a active polymer core, and COREFLEX, featuring heat-welded seams for protection of critical infrastructure. In addition to these membrane materials, it also provides roofing products and a variety of sealants and other accessories required to create a functional waterproofing system.
The Company drilling products are used in environmental and geotechnical drilling applications, horizontal directional drilling, mineral exploration and foundation construction. The products are used to install monitoring wells, facilitate horizontal and water well drilling, and seal abandoned exploration drill holes. VOLCLAY GROUT, HYDRAUL-EZ, BENTOGROUT and VOLCLAY TABLETS are among the trade names for products used in these applications. It also offer a range of drilling products used in the excavation of foundations for large buildings, bridges and dams; these products include SHORE PAC and PREMIUM GEL. Contracting services, which involve installation of products, are occasionally offered to customers for select projects.
Energy Services Segment
The Company�� energy services segment provides services to improve the production, costs, compliance, and environmental impact of activities performed in the oil and gas industry. Operating as CETCO Energy Services, it offer a range of patented technologies, products and services for all phases of oil and gas production, transportation, refining, and storage throughout the world. It provide both land-based and offshore water treatment, well testing, pipeline separation, nitrogen, coil tubing and other services to the oil and gas industry. The Company provides its services through subsidiaries located in Australia, Brazil, Malaysia, Nigeria, the United Ki! ngdom, an! d the United States, principally in the Gulf of Mexico and the surrounding on-shore area. Its principal services include water treatment, coil tubing, well testing, nitrogen services and pipeline. The Company helps customers comply with regulatory requirements by providing equipment, technologies, personnel and filtration media to treat waste water generated during oil production.
The Company's coil tubing services utilize metal piping, which comes spooled on a large reel. It provide both equipment and operating personnel to perform services ranging from acid stimulation, reverse circulation, cementing, pressure control, nitrogen injection, and other operations that involve pumping fluids into a well. Horizontal wells and shale completions are a large component of its operations. It provide equipment and personnel to help customers control well production, as well as to clean up, unload, separate, measure component flow, and dispose of fluids from oil and gas wells. Nitrogen services are provided in jetting wells that are loaded with fluid; stimulating wells, including fracturizing and acidizing; displacing completion fluids prior to perforating; inflating flotation devices for offshore installations, and pressure testing and other maintenance activities.
Transportation Segment
The Company operates a long-haul trucking business through Ameri-Co Carriers, Inc., and a freight brokerage business through Ameri-Co Logistics, Inc. primarily for delivery of finished products throughout the continental United States. These services are provided to its subsidiaries, as well as third-party customers.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Seth Jayson]
AMCOL International (NYSE: ACO ) is expected to report Q2 earnings on July 26. Here's what Wall Street wants to see:
The 10-second takeaway
Comparing the upcoming quarter to the prior-year quarter, average analyst estimates predict AMCOL International's revenues will grow 1.6% and EPS will wither -16.9%. - [By Jake L'Ecuyer]
Leading and Lagging Sectors
In trading on Friday, Basic Materials shares were relative leaders, up on the day by 0.78 percent. Top gainer in the sector was AMCOL International (NYSE: ACO), up 9 percent.
10 Best Construction Stocks To Own For 2014: Massive Dynamics Inc (MSSD)
Massive Dynamics, Inc., incorporated on March 15, 2011, is a development-stage company. The Company is providing services to communication tower operators. On August 20, 2012, Kylemore Corp. (Kylemore) approximately 90% of the Company. On April 16, 2013, the Company entered into an Asset Purchase Agreement with Real-View 3D (RV3D). With the Company's acquisition of the assets of RV3D, the Company is providing engineering and compliance to communications tower operators to three dimension (3D) imaging. RV3D is an image capture product company that has developed and is committed to design, patent, manufacture and market 3D imaging Z-axis capture products for the consumer computer peripherals market.
The Company has developed technology around an imaging technology known as structured light, which allows for the rapid capture and processing of the digital signal capture 3D images of objects or real time 3D video of a desired target. A structured light image is a calibrated grid of lines that is projected on the subject. These projected lines deviate as they fall over the subject. An image of these lines is captured. Real View 3D software can extract Z-axis data from these line deviations and a topographical map is created. To image a complete subject, the subject is rotated 360 degrees for the image and then another 360 degree rotation for capturing the structured light for the Z axis map information. The resulting Z axis map and the image are then fused into a 360 degree renderable image. This image can then be exported into many other formats for viewing. The Company's primary business will be to develop and market 3D scanning, capture, rendering, and printing products to four markets: consumer, commercial, industrial, and medical.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Rich Smith]
The problem with that, of course, is that competition is beginning to emerge in machine selling, as small companies with names such as ExOne (NASDAQ: XONE ) and Massive Dynamics (NASDAQOTH: MSSD ) begin to horn in on the printer biz. Competition will probably arise even faster in the selling of printing composites, as Hewlett-Packard discovered to its detriment, when printer ink cartridge "refillers" began stealing away its lucrative ink business.
10 Best Construction Stocks To Own For 2014: Holcim Ltd (HOLN)
Holcim Ltd (Holcim) is a Switzerland-based holding company that specializes in the manufacture, distribution and marketing of building materials. The Company operates four business segments, including Cement, Aggregates, Other construction materials and services, and Corporate. The Cement segment is engaged in the development of cement and comprises clinker and other cementitious materials, among others. The Aggregates business segment includes crushed stone, gravel and sand. The Other construction materials and services business segment comprises ready-mix concrete, concrete products, asphalt, construction and paving, and trading, among others. Additionally, other construction materials and services segment provides environmental services, including waste management, among others. The Corporate segment is engaged in holding activities and general management. It operates through subsidiaries in Asia Pacific, Latin America, Europe, North America, Africa and Middle East regions. Advisors' Opinion:- [By Sofia Horta e Costa]
Holcim Ltd. (HOLN) lost 0.9 percent to 68.15 francs in Zurich. Bank of America Corp.�� Merrill Lynch unit cut its rating on the world�� largest cement maker to underperform, similar to a sell recommendation, from neutral. Merrill Lynch cited the company�� exposure to emerging markets.
Gene J. Puskar/AP WASHINGTON -- U.S. retail sales rose less than expected in May and first-time applications for unemployment benefits increased last week, but did little to change views that the economy is regaining steam. Thursday's reports came on the heels of recent data showing solid job growth in May and strong expansion in manufacturing and services industries. The Commerce Department said retail sales gained 0.3 percent last month. While that was below economists' expectations for a 0.6 percent rise, April's retail sales were revised to show a 0.5 percent increase. Retail sales, which account for a third of consumer spending, had previously been reported to have edged up 0.1 percent in April. "The continued gains during the first two months of the second quarter suggests that consumers are continuing to hold their side of the bargain, building on the strong momentum at the end of the last quarter," said Millan Mulraine, deputy chief economist at TD Securities in New York. In a separate report, the Labor Department said initial claims for state unemployment benefits climbed 4,000 to a seasonally adjusted 317,000 for the week ended June 7. U.S. stocks opened lower. U.S. Treasury debt prices rose, while the dollar slipped against a basket of currencies. The economy added 217,000 jobs in May, the fourth straight month of job gains above 200,000, and has recouped all the 8.7 million jobs lost during the recession. The unemployment rate held steady at a 5½ year low of 6.3 percent. Economic growth in the second quarter is expected to top a 3 percent annual pace after the economy contracted at a 1 percent rate in the January-March period. The lofty growth forecasts were supported by a second report from the Commerce Department showing business inventories recorded their biggest increase in six months in April. Upward Revisons So-called core retail sales, which strip out automobiles, gasoline, building materials and food services, and correspond most closely with the consumer spending component of gross domestic product, were unchanged last month. However, they were revised to show a 0.2 percent rise in April, instead of the previously reported 0.1 percent dip. Economists said retail sales were up at a 9.2 percent annualized pace over the last three months. "This points to ongoing solid momentum in personal spending in the second quarter, which we currently peg at a rate around 3.25 percent," said Anthony Karydakis, chief economic strategist at Miller, Tabak in New York. In May, consumers bought automobiles, boosting receipts at auto dealerships 1.4 percent. Excluding autos, retail sales rose 0.1 percent in May. There were solid gains in sales at building materials and garden equipment stores, as well as receipts at non-store retailers, which include online sales. Sales at furniture stores also rose. However, there were marginal declines in sales at sporting goods shops, electronics and appliances stores, as well as at clothing retailers and restaurants and bars. Another report from the Labor Department showed little signs of imported inflation, with import prices edging up 0.1 percent last month. In the 12 months through May, prices increased 0.4 percent, advancing for the first time since July.
cspc.gov Nearly 5 million Graco strollers are being recalled in North America after at least a half-dozen reports of children's fingers getting cut off in the hinges, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission said on Thursday. At least 11 incidents have been reported involving finger injuries in the popular strollers including the six fingertip amputations and four partial amputations. A nearly identical recall was conducted by Graco in 2010, which followed a similar recall a few months earlier by competitor Maclaren. The number of strollers involved in this recall, however, is far larger. This recall, which involves 4.7 million strollers in the U.S. and 202,000 in Canada, includes 11 models of Graco stroller: Aspen, Breeze, Capri, Cirrus, Glider, Kite, LiteRider, Sierra, Solara, Sterling, and TravelMate Model Strollers and Travel Systems. The China-made strollers were sold at major retailers including Target (TGT), Toys R Us, Walmart (WMT) and Amazon.com (AMZN), from August 2000 utnil this month for about $40 to $70 for the stroller and $140 to $170 for the travel system. A full list of models is available here. If you have one of the strollers you should contact Graco to receive a free repair kit, which includes hinge covers. The kit will be available starting next month. In the interim,"caregivers should exercise extreme care when unfolding the stroller to be certain that the hinges are firmly locked before placing a child in the stroller," the CPSC said. "Caregivers are advised to immediately remove the child from a stroller that begins to fold to keep their fingers from the side hinge area." You can contact Graco Children's Products at 800-345-4109 weekdays from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Eastern time, or visit the company's recall site. The Apple Watch doesn't come out until 2015, and it's going to cost you at least $350. The VTech Kidizoom Smartwatch is out now and only costs $60. It's clear which smartwatch is going to wind up dominating the market.