CNBC News Now: Home Depot’s earnings show trend of DIY projects

CNBC News Now
February 23, 2021

• The Dow up 15 points

• The S&P added 4

• The NASDAQ down 67

Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell testified before Congress telling lawmakers inflation is still soft – and that the economic outlook is “highly uncertain.” That eased fears that the Central Bank could make a change to monetary policy – and helped bring the dow back from being down triple digits earlier in the session.

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Home Depot’s fourth-quarter earnings show that the trend of do-it-yourself projects is still going strong and that many Americans continue investing in their homes. Same-store sales grew 25 percent matching the growth rate Home Depot saw in the early days of the pandemic. And customers spent more when they visited the store too.

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Best Buy will pay pandemic-related bonuses to its hourly workers. The company also says it will give additional paid time off to those who get the covid-19 vaccine. Best Buy’s sales have jumped due to pandemic-related lockdowns as customers bought appliances and other electronics.