In brief: Home Depot profits rise 14 percent in third quarter

ATLANTA – Home Depot’s third-quarter profit rose 14 percent as comparable-store sales climbed in the U.S., suggesting that a huge data breach announced two months ago has not shaken the faith of its customers.

The nation’s biggest home improvement retailer stuck to its outlook for all of 2014, but said it could not account for all possible losses from a data breach it revealed in September that affected 56 million debit and credit cards. For now, the company is putting those costs at $28 million pretax for the most recent quarter, and $34 million as it pertains to its guidance for 2014.

Home Depot said during a call with investors Monday that it anticipates a fourth-quarter breach-related expense of about $27 million, but only about $6 million after insurance. The company has a $100 million insurance policy for breach-related expenses, Chief Financial Officer Carol Tome said.

Japan’s prime minister seeks voter mandate

TOKYO – Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe called a snap election for December and put off a sales tax increase planned for next year, seeking a renewed mandate for his all-or-nothing policies to end two decades of economic stagnation.

Despite those policies, the Japanese economy slipped into a recession last quarter after a sales tax increase in April crushed consumer and business spending. That forced Abe to delay the second hike planned for next October until April 2017.

Abe said Tuesday he will dissolve parliament Friday. He wants an election as soon as possible, which would be mid-December, to seek public approval for his tax decision and for his overall “Abenomics” policies of extreme monetary easing, heavy government spending and economic reforms. The government and the Bank of Japan have pumped hundreds of billions of dollars into the economy in the two years since Abe was elected.

Emission-free Toyota to hit U.S. in mid-2015

TOKYO – There only will be a few hundred, and they won’t be cheap, but Toyota is about to take its first small step into the unproven market for emissions-free, hydrogen-powered vehicles.

The world’s largest automaker announced Tuesday it will begin selling fuel-cell cars in Japan on Dec. 15 and in the U.S. and Europe in mid-2015. The sporty-looking, four-door Toyota Mirai will retail for $57,600 before taxes. Toyota Motor Corp. hopes to sell 400 in Japan and 300 in the rest of the world in the first year.

Producer prices go up 0.2 percent in October

WASHINGTON – Inflation picked up in October because of higher prices that U.S. companies received for new-model cars, beef, pork, pharmaceuticals and electric power.

The producer price index increased 0.2 percent in October from the previous month, the Labor Department said Tuesday. The index measures the cost of goods and services before they reach the consumer.

Homebuilders’ view of market improves

WASHINGTON – U.S. homebuilders’ confidence rebounded in November as both sales expectations and buyer traffic improved.

The National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo index rose to 58 this month, up from 54 in October. That puts the index just short of September’s reading of 59, which was the highest level since November 2005.

Readings above 50 indicate more builders view sales conditions as good rather than poor.