Furniture Brands International announced that net sales for the three months ended Sept. 29, 2012 were $255.6 million compared to $258.0 million in the three months ended Sept. 30, 2011, a decrease of $2.4 million, or 0.9 percent. The decrease in net sales was primarily the result of continued weak retail conditions and discounts, including continued clearance of older inventory and product that is being replaced.

Gross profit for the three months ended Sept. 29, 2012 was $54.2 million compared to $57.5 million in the three months ended Sept. 30, 2011. Gross margin for the quarter decreased to 21.2 percent compared to 22.3 percent in the same period a year ago. Net sales for the nine months ended Sept. 29, 2012 were $808.4 million compared to $852.1 million in the nine months ended Sept. 30 2011, a decrease of $43.8 million or 5.1 percent.

Gross profit for the nine months ended Sept. 29, 2012 was $189.7 million compared to $208.5 million in the nine months ended Sept. 30, 2011, a decrease of  $18.8 million or 9.0 percent. Gross margin for the current nine-month period decreased to 23.5 percent compared to 24.5 percent in the nine months ended Sept. 30, 2011.


HNI Corp. announced that consolidated net sales for the third quarter of 2012 increased $46.6 million, or 9.2 percent, compared to the same quarter last year. Acquisitions contributed $42.6 million of sales, or 8.5 percent of growth to the third quarter of 2012.

Third quarter 2012 sales for the hearth products segment increased 0.9 percent, or $0.7 million, to $83.1 million from $82.3 million for the same quarter last year. The increase was driven by an increase in the new construction channel partially offset by a decrease in the remodel-retrofit channel. Net sales for the first nine months of 2012 for the hearth products segment increased 1.9 percent, or $4.0 million, to $211.5 million compared to $207.5 million for the same period in 2011. Operating profit for the first nine months of 2011 increased $5.7 million to $11.1 million compared to $5.3 million for the same period in 2011.

From Bloomberg News

U.S. housing starts in October rose 3.6 percent to an 894,000 annual rate, the fastest since July 2008 according to Commerce Department figures released today. Building permits, a proxy for future construction, eased after surging the previous month.

Record-low mortgage rates and a lower risk that property values will keep falling may continue to attract buyers, giving the economy a lift and benefiting companies such as Toll Brothers builders. Federal Reserve chairman Ben S. Bernanke is among policy makers who have singled out housing as one of the industries to nurture in order to spur the economic recovery.

"Housing is absolutely going in the right direction," said Harm Bandholz, chief U.S. economist at UniCredit Group in New York, who projected 870,000 starts at an annual rate. "Excess supply has been wound down and there's a steady increase in demand. That's good for construction."

The Commerce Department, in a statement accompanying the data, said superstorm Sandy had a "minimal" effect on estimates of new residential construction for October. The agency indicated the number of "non-responses" to its building permits survey was "not significantly higher than normal."

Survey Estimates
Estimates for starts in the Bloomberg survey ranged from 780,000 to 873,000. The prior month was revised to 863,000 from a previously reported 872,000 pace.

Permits decreased 2.7 percent to an 866,000 annual rate from 890,000 in September. They were projected to fall to 864,000, according to the survey median. The drop in October permits reflected fewer applications for multifamily construction, while those for one-family units rose to the highest level since July 2008.



Construction of single-family houses eased 0.2 percent to a 594,000 rate from 595,000 the prior month.

Work on multifamily homes, such as and apartment buildings, jumped 11.9 percent to an annual rate of 300,000.

By Region
Two of four regions had an increase in starts in October, led by a 17 percent surge in the West, today's report showed. In the Midwest, new construction rose 8.9 percent. Starts dropped 6.5 percent in the Northeast and 2.5 percent in the South.

Sandy made landfall on Oct. 29, indicating a bigger impact is more likely to be in the November data, according to UBS economists. In many cases, the rebuilding of damaged homes may be extensive enough to constitute a new start, and construction may rise in later months as the region recovers, they said.

The share of the affected area in the Northeast of all housing activity is small by comparison, with an estimated 60,000 permits issued in 2011, or less than 10 percent of the U.S. total, they estimated.

Data this week reinforced signs of a pickup in residential real estate. Purchases of previously-owned houses rose 2.1 percent in October to a 4.79 million annual rate, exceeding the median forecast of economists surveyed by Bloomberg, the National Association of Realtors reported. Inventories dropped to the lowest level in almost a decade.

More Confident
The National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo index of builder confidence climbed in November to a six-year high of 46, the Washington-based group said yesterday. The group's gauge of current single-family home sales advanced to the highest level since May 2006 as it jumped by the most since September 2002.

Toll Brothers, the Horsham, Pennsylvania-based luxury homebuilder, is among companies saying the market probably will keep improving.

"We're in a strong phase of the recovery," Martin Connor, chief financial officer, said during a conference presentation on November 15. "It's a function of five years of pent-up demand being released," and "affordability and rising prices is also spurring people to buy."

Low borrowing costs and cheaper properties indicate home buying is coming within reach of more Americans. The average rate on a 30-year fixed mortgage dropped to 3.34 percent in the week ended November 15, the lowest in records dating to 1971, according to McLean, Virginia-based Freddie Mac.

"Continued weakness in housing - reflected in falling prices, low rates of new construction, and historic levels of foreclosure - has proved a powerful headwind to recovery," Bernanke said in a November 15 speech in Atlanta, Georgia. "It is encouraging, therefore, that we are seeing signs of improvement in the housing market in most parts of the country."

From KGO-TV

Firefighters are warning of a potentially explosive product that may still be in your home or the home of your neighbor. Fuel gel is used to light decorative candles and has been blamed for the deaths of two people and injuring at least 86 others.

The Consumer Product Safety Commission announced a massive recall more than a year ago, but millions of these products were sold and the reality is many people may still be using it.

The scars on Antoinette Walker's face from second-degree burns tell the story. The professional Polynesian dancer from Anaheim had to put her career on hold for six months until her wounds could heal.

"The explosion happened and it happened so fast, I didn't even realize that I was on fire," she said.

It was an explosion similar to the one that happened right in front of Nancy Grimm and her dog Oliver in her backyard in Folsom.

"It exploded, it popped out, there was fire immediately on Oliver," Grimm said. Oliver suffered second and third degree burns over 25 percent of his body.

Both Grimm and Walker used fuel gel to light a popular candle-like decoration called a firepot.

Last year the CPSC announced a voluntary recall of fuel gels from 10 companies.

This lack of awareness doesn't surprise attorney Whitney Davis.

"People don't hear about recalls enough; they don't know that there's a defective product in their garage that can light their house on fire," Davis said.

For the last year, federal regulators have been working with manufacturers and consumer advocates to come up with new regulations overseeing fuel gel. There's no timetable on when this will be completed.

Mr. Bar-B-Q, the world's expert in designing innovative, premier
barbecue accessories and outdoor lifestyle tools, continues its 40th anniversary momentum by announcing a partnership with culinary expert and gourmet chef Michael Steifman, president of Michael Stuart NY.

This alliance is one of many recent initiatives - including rebranding, a new website and improved, eyecatching packaging - to appeal to a new market of grillers and to maintain the company's industry-leading position into 2013.

"As the grilling category evolves, we will continue to be the leader of grill tool innovations just as we've done for more than 40 years," said Marc Zemel, CEO of Mr. Bar-B-Q. "Michael is the perfect partner to help us create surprising and delicious recipes with our products as the inspiration, ultimately helping Mr. Bar-B-Q lead trends for the entire industry."

Using Mr. Bar-B-Q's line of high-quality and multi-use products as the foundation, Steifman will create a variety of recipes that appeal to traditional grillers and foodies alike. Recipes developed by Steifman will
be published on Mr. Bar-B-Q social media channels, mrbarbq.com, packaging of new and existing items and eventually in a branded cookbook.

"The Mr. Bar-B-Q tools allow me to get creative and use unexpected ingredients with my recipes," said Steifman. "I've created Mini Chicken Pot Pie Bread Bowls using the Mesh Roasting Pan, and Hash Brown Frittatas in the Cheese Pan - clever meals made with innovative tools that appeal to even the toughest food critic."

Consumers Seek New, Fresh Tastes and Takes on Grilling
Mr. Bar-B-Q's new partnership illustrates insight from key trends revealed in the 2012 Outdoor Grilling Mintel Report. This report showed willingness from consumers to experiment more on the grill in 2013.

These insights include rises in the following consumer habits and attitudes:

• Grilling Year-Round - More than half of the households with a grill use it year-round.
• Grilled Taste is King - For years, Mr. Bar-B-Q has expanded its product line to help grillers achieve that much-sought-after grilled taste; 78 percent of grill owners agree that grilled foods taste better than foods prepared in other ways.
• Millennials Turn to the Grill - These 18-35-year-olds are grilling with nonconventional foods like veggie burgers, turkey, lamb, pizza, fruit and even dessert at higher rates than older generations. They're also more likely than non-Millennials to love cooking and to consider themselves experts in the kitchen - and they enjoy exotic and diverse foods and creative menu ideas.

Michael Steifman, owner and executive chef at Michael Stuart NY, is at the forefront of food trends and is a well-established chef in Brooklyn, which is quickly becoming known for its deeply rooted food community.

His clients include trend-setting brands and celebrities alike, including Stella McCartney, Balenciaga, Dom Pérignon, Agent Provocateur, The Tenement Museum, West Elm and Timberland.

Prior to starting Michael Stuart NY, Steifman spent seven years as a chef in gourmet and chic eateries including Asia de Cuba, Commune and Capitale. He is a graduate of the French Culinary Institute in New York, and also has his own line of delicious barbecue rubs and sauces.

To learn more about Mr. Bar-B-Q visit the website.