FOX Translator
No data currently available.
No data currently available.
TITLE
The granddaddy of monthly economic reports is the federal reading on the employment situation. To call this a single report is deceptive. It actually has a bunch of moving parts that, on their own or as a group, can move stock and bond markets.
It's easy to think of the report in four parts. The first is non-farm payrolls, which tracks the month-over-month change in the number of jobs in the U.S. that don't involve milking cows or picking lettuce. Then comes the unemployment rate, which is the percentage of unemployed people as it relates to the total workforce.
The third component is the average hourly earnings change, which tracks how much more or less money U.S. workers are making. Finally, there's the average work week, which counts the number of hours non-farmers work.
Like most data reports, the unemployment one has its flaws. For one thing, it tracks non-farm payrolls, which means that a lot of folks who work off the land -- or, more to the point, are not currently working off the land -- are excluded. Also, if you¿re a consultant or small-business owner (a big part of the current economy), you¿re not counted. On the flip side, you can be double-counted if you hold down two jobs. That's one of the reasons why it's common to see non-farm payrolls drop (suggesting higher unemployment) but the unemployment rate shrinking (suggesting higher employment).
The impact of the Employment Situation report often depends on the mood of the markets. Take the wage component. If stock and bond traders are worried about inflation, an unexpected rise in hourly earnings suggests wage inflation and, ergo, can scare people. But, that same spike could be welcome if traders are more worried about a slowdown in consumer spending. Higher earnings mean more spending power.
Look for the employment report on the first Friday of every month at 8:30 a.m. EST.
Home / Markets / Innovation
Friday, May 02, 2008
Green Depot Offers One Stop Shop For Green Building Products
Donna Fuscaldo
FOXBusiness
Consumers have Whole Foods Market (WFMI) to satisfy their organic cravings. And now they have Green Depot to get their insulation made out of reused jeans.
Founded by frustrated mom Sarah Beatty, who wanted to create a healthy environment when renovating her Manhattan apartment but ended up with mold, Green Depot is a one-stop shop for consumers looking to build or renovate in a more environmentally-friendly way.
“We're talking about everything from flooring to framing to adhesive caulks,” said Beatty, of what Green Depot offers. “Our mission is to make green products accessible and affordable.”
When Beatty started Green Depot three years ago, she figured the company would service the building industry, providing supplies and design ideas, so she set up showrooms in industrial areas in Boston, Brooklyn, N.Y., Newark and Philadelphia. To her surprise, half of the traffic came from consumers and not the construction and home-improvement markets. Later this year, Green Depot will open its first retail store in New York City that, like Home Depot (HD), will sell home-improvement products, but only those that are deemed to be green.
“This is really a consumer driven movement,’’ said Beatty, who also runs a Web site, www.greendepot.com,, where you can buy green building supplies and get information. “Contractors are taking the usual approach. The consumers are on the ones saying to use non toxic paint.”
Visitors to the Green Depot showrooms can get ideas on green products, whether it’s flooring or kitchen cabinets, as well as have their green ideas designed and planned by Green Depot employees. The company also offers a service for contractors called Flip It Green, in which Green Depot evaluates an entire job and show how to do it green.
With concerns over air quality and rising energy costs, consumers are looking for alternative ways to create healthy living spaces whether it’s phamaldehide-free insulation or pesticide-free bug sprays.
According to a McGraw-Hill Construction report the market for green homes is expected to increase from $2 billion in October of 2007 to up to $20 billion over the next five years. Homeowners are using green products for 40% of their remodeling with motivating factors for green building including energy efficiencies, indoor air quality and water conservation. The report found that education and awareness is the major obstacle to green building, even surpassing the extra costs associated with using green products.
But the popularity of green products has also led to a lot of confusion for consumers. Anyone can say they make a green product since there isn’t one standards body that regulates all of the so-called environmentally friendly products. There are products produced with the EcoLogo or Green Seal, which are groups that certify green products.
The lack of standards on green products was a surprise for Beatty and made her more resolute that Green Depot had to exist. Green Depot, with the help of scientists at the Rochester Institute of Technology's Golisano Institute for Sustainability, puts products under an evaluation process to ensure the products are indeed green and do what they say they do. The process includes looking at how the product is manufactured, how the company’s plants are run and even labor practices. Beatty is confident that in the next three or four years there will be standards in place that will protect consumers from being bamboozled when a manufacture claims a product is green.
But the credibility of the products isn’t the only obstacle to consumer adoption. Often, green products cost more and appeal to more affluent consumers. That is changing, opening the door for less wealthy consumers to embrace the green movement.
“It used to be more than 20%,” for green building, said Beatty. “That’s coming down because there’s more than one choice. There’s the medium green choice that's affordable for the middle class.”
Market Snapshot
| Symbol | Last Price | Netchange | Volume |
|---|---|---|---|
| -- | -- | -- | -- |
| -- | -- | -- | -- |
| -- | -- | -- | -- |
| -- | -- | -- | -- |
| -- | -- | -- | -- |
