Decorating/DIY/Hardware Stores

Sherwin-Williams Co. SHW -11.27% cut its full-year profit view, warning that demand for its paints and coatings is deteriorating and that it needs to raise prices aggressively to protect margins. The Cleveland-based company on Wednesday lowered its outlook even as it reported a rise in second-quarter sales. It said that do-it-yourself customers in North America continue to pull back on spending. Demand is crumbling in Europe, while…

Lowe’s LOW -0.36% Cos. posted a drop in first-quarter sales, citing cooler weather that delayed some home projects, a day after rival Home Depot Inc. said sales rose in the same conditions. Lowe’s said comparable sales, which strips out effects of store openings and closings, fell 4% in the period. Revenue took a hit as 75% of its customers take on projects themselves rather than hire contractors,…

Home Depot has benefited as the public-health crisis’s social disruptions prompted people to spend more on home improvement. Photo: michael reynolds/EPA/Shutterstock…

Duke Realty Corp. DRE 7.52% on Wednesday rejected the nearly $24 billion buyout offer from the warehousing giant Prologis Inc., PLD -0.35% calling the unsolicited offer insufficient. “We believe the latest offer, virtually unchanged from its prior proposals, is insufficient in that regard,” Duke Realty said in a statement, adding it will have no further comment on the proposal at this…