eyelash growth

It’s time for another smorgasbord of story ideas and an alert to what’s making news next week.

Interest rates. The Federal Open Markets Committee meets on rates Tuesday and will as usual report its decision at 2:15 p.m. – no real surprises expected as the Fed has pledged to hold rates low indefinitely.  You might want to add the results and analysis to any mortgage or housing stories you are doing.

And, as I keep saying, prolonged low interest rates are great for borrowers and supposedly good for the stock market, but horrible for savers.  If you haven’t done a piece lately about retirees trying to live off reduced interest income, with no relief in sight, rest assured that readers will lap that one up.

Let’s put it this way:  My local liquor store recently sold a $1 million jackpot lottery ticket.  I asked the store owner if the winner was excited.  His sour reply: “Yeah, but she hasn’t changed her lifestyle.  I mean, what’s a million get you in interest these days?  Ten grand a year?”

Not much more than that, really, according to prevailing CD rates at Bankrate.com.  Lots of retirees who were counting on 4-percent and 5-percent or greater CD rates to pay property taxes and finance flights to Florida are working with one-fifth the annual interest income they counted on.  Businesses that keep a lot of cash on hand can’t be too happy either.

Plywood prices. Here’s a great column from Al Tompkins at Poynter, summing up the skyrocketing price of lumber just as the building season gets into full swing.  What’s the potential effect on new home prices, demand for and cost of remodeling, do-it-yourself retailers and others in your locality?  If you’re in a region that produces a lot of forestry products, how is the price boost affecting demand, employment and other metrics?

Is there a trend in your area toward more women sporting false eyelashes? Photo by Flickr.com user superba.

False eyelashes. Everywhere I look lately, women from TV stars to retail clerks to T-shirted suburban moms are batting long, arched, false eyelashes. Are these ’60s-inspired adornments the new “small indulgence” for women cutting out more expensive beauty routines?  Taking a long gaze at the eyelash market would make for a very (sorry, can’t help it) eye-catching business feature.  Multimedia possibilities galore exist, including segments on eyelash dyeing, eyelash extensions and even a sidebar on eyeliner tattoos and other permanent make-up.

At the same time, take another look at the market for Latisse, the expensive, lash-extending droplets that were all the buzz last year.  I deduced that a generic glaucoma drug would do the same thing at a fraction of the price and wondered if my ophthalmologist could be talked into prescribing it; might be worth a few calls to eye clinics in your area to see if bargain-hunting beautifiers are asking the same thing.

Planning ahead: Here’s a look at upcoming economic releases and other business news:

It’s earnings mania, with some bellwethers reporting.  You’ve got Caterpillar Inc. on Monday – a report that often moves markets, as the heavy-equipment supplier to the construction industry is considered a major gauge of near-term economic conditions.

Also on Monday, Masco Corp. — maker of Delta faucets, Behr paint, kitchen cabinets and other home products – is reporting, as is appliance-maker Whirlpool Corp.  Both of these companies’ trends and forecasts tend to reflect the housing market and are closely watched.  Keep an eye on earnings calendars such as this Yahoo! list for other earnings clusters that can add substance to your pending stories.  And here’s a previous blog post of mine with other tips for spinning stories forward from earnings reports.

April 26: Caterpillar Inc. earnings at 7:30 a.m.; be ready for a spot markets story.

April 27: Consumer confidence;  Case-Shiller 20-city home price indices

April 28: Crude oil inventories, FOMC interest rates

April 29: Weekly jobless claims

April 30: BLS employment cost index, U. of Michigan consumer sentiment, home-buyer tax credit expires. Are real estate agents’ offices filled with last-minute contract signers?

Plywood prices, false eyelashes and planning ahead …