Opinion

The HBSDealer weekly poll found a preponderance of optimism for smart-home products.

Here’s why we walked into the office of Walmart’s CEO.

How would this sound for a stump speech on the presidential campaign trail: “As president,...

There is an old curse: “May you live in interesting times.” Unfortunately for the economy, the last several years have been “interesting times.” Home improvement has weathered this storm better than some areas (notably new-home construction), but the industry has clearly been impacted. Twice a year the Home Improvement Research Institute (HIRI) publishes a detailed size-of-market forecast for home improvement product sales.

Home Channel News Tuesday asked the following question: Which of the following is the biggest threat to small business today: a) too little credit; b) too much regulation; c) the economic slowdown; or d) all of the above.

The most popular response was “all of the above.” Here are some highlights from reader letters:

Why is it taking so long for the Commerce Department to estimate housing starts?

Here we are in December, and the latest available stats date all the way back to August, when the Bureau’s estimate for total housing starts came in at a disappointing seasonally adjusted annual rate of 883,000.

By Maureen Conklin

When it comes to ice melt products, fall can be a missed opportunity for hardware and home retailers. Many retailers figure that all salt is the same, so they stock a few kinds of basic ice melt products to arm homeowners for winter. And most homeowners wait for the first snowfall and then grab the first bag of ice melt they see on a retailer’s shelf.

Are banks and credit card companies charging too much for debit transactions? Here's what we heard: