The U.S. Department of Commerce reported a small rise in the manufacturing and trade sales of both building materials/ garden supplies and home furnishings/ appliances. Although not as dramatic as June?EUR??,,????'???s.increase of 1.1% and 1.9% rise in sales, respectively, building material sales in July rose 0.4%, as did building/ garden supply sales. Home furnishings and appliance stores sold a total of $16.4 million in goods in July, 5% more than last July?EUR??,,????'???s sales of $15.2 million. Building materials and garden equipment raked in $27.1 million in July, a 7% rise from last year?EUR??,,????'???s$24.8 million. The landscaping industry has been enjoying a prolific boon. Some landscapers say that the recent terrorist and war threats have encouraged people to stay home more, according to a survey performed by Landscape Communication?EUR??,,????'???s Research & Statistics Department. This led to more housing and yard improvements. Upward trends in home buying have been pushed along due to the government?EUR??,,????'???s cut federal funds rate, meant to stimulate the weak economy. The cut effectively influenced mortgage rates to lower to record levels, instigating an unprecedented home buying trend during the summer. However, mortgage rates have begun to rise back to normal again, and indicators such as those above suggest a curtailment in the rush to buy homes or improve homes. Since the official end of the U.S.?EUR??,,????'???s recession in 2001, as tagged by Alan Greenspan, the home buying market has helped keep the teetering economy from fully tipping.