Home Improvements

Home Depot Inc. forecast a drop in profit this year on flat sales as consumers spend less on goods and become more sensitive to higher prices. The home-improvement chain said Tuesday that it expects adjusted per-share earnings to decline at a mid-single-digit rate for 2023, with margins affected in part by an additional $1 billion that Home Depot said it would invest into wage increases for its hourly employees. Home Depot Inc. forecast a drop in profit this year on flat sales as…

LOGAN, Ohio—The Columbus Washboard Co., founded before the first electric washing machines put a new spin on laundering in the early 1900s, has dodged extinction for 128 years.As America’s last washboard-maker, the company controls the market, holding a monopoly with a steely grip and so far clean of antitrust scrutiny. Four employees churn out roughly 11,000 washboards a year in the basement of a former G.C. Murphy discount variety store. A popular pail-size model sells for $27.49. “The market is small, but if we can…

Home Depot’s revenue came in at $38.87 billion, topping analyst estimates of $37.95 billion. Photo: Sarah Silbiger/Bloomberg News…

Big retailers benefited over the past two years from the pandemic rush to buy patio furniture, laptops and home décor, as shoppers were buoyed by savings and government stimulus checks. Now many of those same stores are grappling with a swift reversal of buying behavior, with consumers spending less on goods in favor of services and necessities such as food and fuel. Less than three weeks after reporting a lower-than-expected quarterly profit, Target said Tuesday it has further tempered its profit outlook for the year.…