BUSINESS/ECONOMY/TARIFFS/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “Home Depot Inc (HD.N) beat quarterly profit estimates on Tuesday [8-20-19] as it sold more big-ticket items to high-spending builders and handymen, while flagging the potential impact of U.S. President Donald Trump’s ongoing trade tussle with China on consumers. The home improvement chain, which has distanced itself from co-founder Bernie Marcus’ support for Trump’s re-election campaign, blamed the impact of the trade dispute as well as a continued slump in lumber prices for a cut in its full-year sales forecast. Still, the company’s shares were up 4.4% at $217.11 by midday as investors shrugged off the warning, which analysts said was largely expected. The United States’ proposed tariffs on an additional $300 billion worth of goods have sent jitters through Wall Street, with companies warning that prices for U.S. shoppers could rise, potentially hurting demand.”
–Uday Sampath Kumar, “Home Depot beats quarterly profit estimates, warns of tariff impact,” Reuters, August 20, 2019 3:20 am