Finance & Capital Management

By Giles Sutton and Mark Wuller, [email protected], [email protected]

Atlanta -- The Home Depot Foundation announced that it has created a $1 million weather impact fund to aid relief, recovery and rebuilding efforts in response to the recent storms throughout the Southeast and Midwest United States, and in expectation of continuing violent storms throughout the spring season.

ATLANTA -- The Home Depot Foundation announced that it has created a $1 million weather impact fund to aid relief, recovery and rebuilding efforts in response to the recent storms throughout the Southeast and Midwest United States, and in expectation of continuing violent storms throughout the spring season.

In case you missed it because you were too busy putting away the noisemakers or watching college football, the first day of 2011 was not just another New Year’s Day. It was a significant generational milestone: The first members of the Baby Boom generation turned 65.

Pleasanton, Calif. -- Taxes related to Safeway's effort to pay down debt reduced its first-quarter net income, but the company's adjusted results beat Wall Street's expectations as its revenue rose, the Associated Press reported.

The company earned $25.1 million for the quarter, compared with $96 million a year earlier. This includes a tax charge related to a plan to pay down its U.S. debt with part of a $1.1 billion dividend in cash and debt from its Canadian operations.

Washington, D.C. -- Commercial real estate information company CoStar Group has signed a definitive agreement to acquire LoopNet, the leading online commercial real estate marketplace.

“CoStar revolutionized how the industry researches commercial real estate and LoopNet revolutionized the way the industry markets commercial real estate," said Andrew C. Florance, president and CEO, CoStar. "We expect the combination of our companies to give the $11 trillion commercial real estate market the full benefit of the Internet."

Brentwood, Texas -- Tractor Supply Co. said Thursday it approved a $600 million stock buyback program, increases its existing share buyback program to $1 billion. The program was established in February 2007, and is extended through April 30, 2015.

The chain said it will also increase its quarterly cash dividend to 12 cents per share.

New York City -- SuperValu plans to increase the footprint of its value division Save-A-Lot by 160 new stores this year, GlobeSt.com reported.

“This past year we added 92 net Save-A-Lot stores, and this fiscal year we’re looking to add another 160 net stores,” a spokesman said in the report.