The Home Depot's top merchant had a lot more good news than bad news to share with investors regarding the retailer's first quarter performance.

"We are pleased with our performance in the first quarter with strength in our business across the breadth of the store," said Craig Menear, executive VP merchandising. The only departments with negative comp-store sales were indoor and outdoor garden -- the result of unusually cold weather in parts of the country, he said.

The Stephen Siller Tunnel to Towers Foundation will offer about $2.75 million worth of Home Depot gift cards to Staten Island homeowners recovering from Hurricane Sandy, according to a report in the Staten Island Advance newspaper.

The plan, which is expected to be announced Tuesday at a Staten Island Home Depot, calls for giving out $250 Home Depot gift cards to residents of the New York City borough who live in damaged homes. 

Two New York men have been arrested and accused of stealing $257,000 from Home Depot stores in an elaborate shoplifting scheme involving two shopping carts containing identical items.

Home Depot will invest $157 million (MXN $2 billion) to enlarge its presence in Mexico in 2013, according to a news report in Economista. Part of the funds will be used to buy land for new stores, which will total 100 by the end of 2012.

Home Depot Mexico chairman Ricardo Saldivar told Economista that the Atlanta-based retailer hopes to double its current number of units in the future, which sets its goal at 200 stores.

Chain Store Age’s annual Retail Construction Survey shows Home Depot and Lowe’s among the retail industry’s top-10 leaders in capital expenditures. 

Lowe’s ranked sixth among retailers with $1.4 billion in capital expenditures, and Home Depot ranked eighth, with $1.1 billion.

Wal-Mart stores ranks first on the list -- way out in the lead with $7 billion to $7.5 billion in capital spending.

Ronald Sargent has resigned from the Home Depot board of directors, effective immediately, according to a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Sargent did not cite any disagreement on any matter relating to the company’s operations, policies or practices, according to the SEC statement.