CONSUMER SAFETY
Nerf, slime on group's list of harmful toys
A Nerf dart gun, ice cream-scented Nickelodeon slime and a plastic Power Rangers claw are among the toys topping a consumer safety group’s list of worst toys for the holidays.
World Against Toys Causing Harm unveiled its annual list Tuesday at a Boston children’s hospital.
A realistic toy machine gun, a “pogo trick board,” a yeti teddy bear and a pull-along caterpillar toy for infants also made the list.
The Massachusetts-based nonprofit organization has been releasing the list for more than 40 years. It says many of the products present safety hazards such as choking and potential eye injuries, among others, and cites the products for having inconsistent and inadequate warnings on their packaging.
The organization says the Nerf Ultra One gun, billed as firing soft darts up to 120 feet, shoots the projectiles with enough force to potentially cause eye injuries.
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And the association notes that Nickelodeon’s Frozen Treats Slime includes mint chocolate chip, berry smoothie and snow cone-scented versions of the goo even as it warns the products shouldn’t be eaten.
The Toy Association, a toy industry trade group that represents most of the toy manufacturers named on the list, dismissed the annual list as misleading.
Associated Press
HOUSING
Home-building stats rise by 3.8 percent
U.S. home building jumped 3.8percent in October, a positive sign as developers anticipate steady demand.
The Commerce Department said Tuesday that housing starts reached a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.31 million. Starts for single-family houses were up 2 percent, largely because of construction in the West and South. Construction of apartment buildings rose 6.8percent from the prior month. Lower mortgage rates and a healthy job market have aided the housing market in recent months, yet housing starts are still down 0.6 percent year-to-date as a shortage of land and high construction costs have limited building. Affordability is a problem for would-be buyers as increases in home prices have outstripped wage growth.
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Associated Press
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Kohl's adjusts outlook after a poor quarter
Kohl’s cut its annual profit forecast on Tuesday after the department store operator fell short of quarterly comparable sales and earnings estimates.
Shares of the company fell more than 12 percent before the bell, also dragging down peers Macy’s and Nordstrom by about 5percent, as Kohl’s also reported declines in revenue and profit, as well as just 0.4 percent comparable store sales growth.
Kohl’s has made a series of initiatives to restore growth, expanding a partnership with Amazon that allows customers to return products bought through the online retailer at more than 1,000 Kohl’s stores in the United States. (Amazon founder and chief executive Jeff Bezos owns The Washington Post.)
Comparable sales growth for the third quarter, however, was down from 2.5 percent a year ago, only half of the 0.76 percent growth forecast by analysts.
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Kohl’s cut its full-year profit forecast to between $4.75 and $4.95 per share from a previous range of $5.15 to $5.45.
Shares closed down more than 19 percent on Tuesday to $47.02.
Also in Business
Home Depot missed third-quarter sales estimates and trimmed its annual growth outlook for the second time this year, the retail giant reported Tuesday. Some online investments didn’t pan out as early as expected, and the benefits will take longer to materialize, Home Depot said in a statement. Same-store sales, a key measure of a chain’s performance, gained 3.6 percent last quarter, compared with the average projection for 4.6 percent growth, according to Consensus Metrix. The company expects same-store sales growth of 3.5percent for the full year, down from 4 percent previously.
Microsoft said on Tuesday that its workplace messaging app, Microsoft Teams, has more than 20 million daily active users, up from 13 million users in July. The software maker offers the app as a free add-on platform to its Office365 users. Microsoft Teams competes with Slack Technologies, which reported over 10 million daily active users in the quarter ended July 31.
From news reports
Coming today
2 p.m.: Federal Reserve releases minutes from its October interest-rate meeting.
Earnings: Target.
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