The Home Channel Stock Roundup shows share prices in retreat -- 10 out of 10 stocks failed to show gains for the month and the year.

Recovering from a violent incident or disaster in the workplace can take months, but having a plan and sources of help prior to the event can make the process smoother.

Employees’ emotional reactions to a violent event in the workplace begin within the first few minutes after the event, said experts from AlliedBarton security services during an April 2012 webinar, “Regaining Your Ground: Resilience After a Workplace Violence Event.”

Beacon Roofing Supply has reached an agreement to acquire Cassady Pierce Co., a distributor of residential and commercial roofing products, for an undisclosed sum. Founded in 1947, Cassady Pierce has six locations in the Pittsburgh area and annual sales of approximately $52 million. Closing on the transaction is expected on May 31, 2012. 

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s (EEOC) guidance on criminal background checks in hiring issued in April was necessary to update guidance last issued more than 20 years ago, according to former commission vice chair Leslie Silverman, now a partner at Proskauer Rose LLP in Washington, D.C.

Police detective in Crossville, Tenn., have arrested three Lowe’s employees and charged them with conspiring to steal $18,000 in outdoor power equipment, according to a report in the Crossville Chronicle.

The 2012 crop of Home Channel News Hardware Store All-Stars marks the second year of the state-by-state accounting of high-performance retailers. The common theme of “excellent customer service” runs through the entire list, but that’s just the beginning.

Here are the honorees from Georgia, Hawaii and Idaho:

Ply Gem, a manufacturer of windows, siding, and other exterior building products, reported net sales of $239.2 million for its first fiscal quarter of 2012, a 19.5% increase over net sales of $200.1 million during the same period in 2011. 

Earnings during the first quarter were $1.2 million compared with a $7.6 million loss for the first quarter of 2011, after excluding $6.7 million of inventory buyback expense in 2011 associated with a significant new customer.  

USG Corp.’s Sheetrock Ultralight panels are available at Home Depot stores nationwide, according to blog site JetsonGreen.com. The product, first tested in 2010, weighs anywhere from 15 to 24 lbs. less than typical gypsum board, depending on the size. It can be used with a 40% lighter joint compound released in January 2012.

Housing starts increased to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 717,000 in April, up 2.6% from the upwardly revised March figure, and up almost 30% from April 2011.

The April Residential Construction from the Commerce Department report showed surprisingly strong housing starts combined with a decline in housing permits -- just the opposite of the March 2012 report. In April, building permits declined 7.0% to a rate of 715,000, after hitting a three-year high in March.

An Indiana hardware store gained some notoriety last week when a photo of a motorized barstool went viral on the Internet. But for the last three years, Hardware Plus, a Do it Best dealer in Osceola, Ind., has been making any number of unusual motorized vehicles, according to an article in the South Bend Tribune.

Atlanta-based Home Depot made first-quarter history for the period ended April 29 with net earnings crossing the $1 billion mark.

The company reported net income of $1.035 billion, up 27.5% from the same quarter last year. Sales were also up, rising 5.9% to $17.81 billion in the quarter. Comparable-store sales were 5.8%, the highest figure in more than seven years.

Building material and garden equipment and supplies dealers had a strong month in April compared with a year ago, according to government data released Tuesday.

The U.S. Census Bureau announced that advance estimates of U.S. retail and food services sales for April were up 0.1% to $408 billion. The April figure, adjusted for seasonal variation and holiday and trading-day differences but not for price changes, was up 6.4% from the April 2011 estimate.