Home improvement

Home Depot Inc stood by its sales outlook and raised its profit forecast for the year despite a slow start to the spring selling season, making some investors choose the home improvement chain over rival Lowe's.

Home improvement retailer Home Depot said it is hiring about 60,000 seasonal workers for a series of spring sales, a level that a spokeswoman said was comparable to last year's.

Top home improvement chain Home Depot Inc gave an outlook for the next financial year that could miss Wall Street expectations amid continued weakness in the U.S. economy and its shares fell.

Home improvement spending is expected to rise 5 percent in the United States in 2010, but the surge might not foretell an increase in sales of new homes.

Home Depot Inc Chief Executive Frank Blake was awarded $9.9 million of total compensation in 2009, about 6.9 percent more than a year ago, according to a regulatory filing on Wednesday.

U.S. home improvement chains Home Depot and Lowe's Cos must find a quick fix for their sagging sales to retain investor confidence in 2010.

On a national level, eight out of the top 10 projects in terms of costs recouped were exterior replacement projects that cost less than $14,000. Certain types of door and siding replacements, as well as wood deck additions all returned more than 80 percent of project costs upon resale.

The home remodeling history has taken a hit in recent months but finally may be starting to show signs of picking up, according to the Web site www.remodelormove.com and its latest Remodeling Permit Activity Report.

Home improvement retailer Home Depot Inc is closing three call centers that aid its home services business, cutting about 950 jobs, a spokesman said on Tuesday.