Most Housing Units Under Construction Since 1974

The stock market is lower this morning but only by a small bit. There’s not much in the way of economic reports today. The housing starts report fell to a seasonally-adjusted rate of 1.52 million. That’s a little bit below September, but it’s up slightly from a year ago.

Bill McBride, who runs Calculated Risk, notes that we’re seeing the most units under construction since 1974.

More retailers reported today. Shares of TJX (TJX) are up about 9% this morning thanks to a very strong earnings report. For its fiscal Q3, TJX made 84 cents per share which was a three-cent beat. Quarterly revenue rose 24%. When inflation creeps in, folks look for bargains.

TJX also raised its planned buyback by $500 million to a range of $1.75 billion to $2 billion.

Target (TGT) also beat the Street but the shares are down. The problem is Target’s gross margins. Simply put, the company is absorbing some of the recent inflation in order to protect its low prices. That’s tough to do but it could pay off in the long run.

Tar-jay earned $3.04 per share which beat by 20 cents per share. The stock is currently down about 5%.

Posted by on November 17th, 2021 at 11:00 am


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