Herman Miller Inc. (MLHR) recently reported fiscal first-quarter results. The company’s GAAP net income plunged nearly 75% year over year to $8.4 million, or 14 cents per share, as the economic slump led to lackluster sales performance. Excluding charges related to restructuring and debt-buyback, earnings per share came in at 22 cents, 3 cents ahead of the Zacks Consensus Estimate.

Herman Miller is engaged in the research, design, manufacture and distribution of office furniture systems, products and related services. Most of these systems and products are designed to be used together. The company’s primary products include furniture systems, seating, storage and material handling solutions, freestanding furniture and case goods. The company has manufacturing facilities in the U.S., China, Italy and the U.K., supported by a dealer network spanning across 40 countries.

F1Q10 Earnings Call

September 17, 2009 9:30am ET

• Cuomo subpoenas BoA directors. New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo subpoenaed five board members from Bank of America (BAC) in connection with the probe over Merrill Lynch bonuses. The five directors will likely be asked how much they knew about Merrill's losses, what role they played in disclosure decisions, whether there was pressure from government officials and whether the board sought outside counsel. Cuomo is also considering possible civil fraud charges against CEO Ken Lewis.
• eBay faces Skype lawsuit. The founders of Skype software have filed a copyright lawsuit against current owner eBay (EBAY) and the proposed buyers of a 65% stake in Skype, alleging breach of licensing terms and escalating eBay's ongoing legal drama over the unit. eBay denied the claims, but the suit could complicate the deal which is due to close in Q4 2009.
• Kodak takes a moment for financing. Eastman Kodak (EK) plans to raise up to $700M in debt to shore up its balance sheet. The financing, which is being led by Kohlberg Kravis Roberts, gives Kodak more financial breathing room and will help it pay off debt due next year. However, the deal is not without its costs and KKR could end up with as much as a 20% equity stake in Kodak through warrants issued as part of the deal. Shares -2.7% premarket (7:00 ET).
• FDIC repackages loans. The FDIC launched a new program yesterday to package loans from failed banks and subsidize their purchase by investors. To kick-off the long-awaited program, the FDIC announced a partnership with Residential Credit Solutions to take ownership of loans originally worth $1.3B. Officials said a second deal will follow soon, and others will be announced before the end of the year.
• Insurance regulators target ratings agencies. Regulators of some of the largest bond buyers in the world are considering cutting the role of ratings agencies in the market in response to the poor job the agencies did with complex mortgage securities. State insurance regulators are in the early stages of reassessing their reliance on firms like Moody's (MCO) and Standard & Poor's (MHP) and may opt instead for analysis from other financial firms with expertise in valuing the securities.
• California AG targets ratings agencies. In addition to being challenged by insurance regulators (see above) and facing heightened scrutiny from the SEC, ratings agencies will soon be under investigation by California Attorney General Jerry Brown for the role they played in the economic crisis through their evaluations of asset-backed securities. Ratings agencies "worked behind the scenes with the same Wall Street firms that created [the securities]," said Brown, earning "billions of dollars in revenue, at a rate double what they earned for rating other financial products." Brown didn't specify which companies will be investigated.
• Google focused on book deal. Google (GOOG) is reportedly in talks with the Department of Justice and a group of authors and publishers to modify its book-scanning settlement, with the hope of easing regulators' concerns that Google's ambitious project will discourage companies from competing for access to books online. Meanwhile, Google is buying reCaptcha, an online fraud prevention start-up, to use in its book-scanning project. Terms of the deal weren't disclosed.
• Oracle's sales cloud tech recovery hopes. Oracle (ORCL) reported quarterly earnings in-line with estimates (see details below), but its software sales were sharply lower than expected. New license sales were down 17% vs. the 4-14% decline Oracle had forecast, disappointing analysts hoping to see further signs of a tech sector rebound. Shares -2.1% premarket (7:00 ET). (Read Oracle's earnings call transcript)
• Toyota revs up for U.S. sales push. Toyota (TM) is planning a major marketing campaign to lift U.S. sales in Q4. The effort will cost $1B, which is 30-40% more than Toyota usually spends in a quarter, and will include subsidized leases and loans, customer incentives and financial support for dealer advertisements. The company also intends to expand its line of Prius hybrids.
• BoJ holds rates steady. As expected, the Bank of Japan left its key interest rate unchanged at 0.1%, but raised its economic forecast for the first time since July. The bank said "Japan's economic conditions are showing signs of recovery," a marked improvement from July's comment that the country's economy had "stopped worsening." (Read BoJ's statement (.pdf))
• Housing index ticks up. The NAHB Housing Market Index increased by 1 point to 19, its third straight gain and its highest point since May 2008. Current sales expectations and prospective buyer traffic ticked up, but expectations for the next six months declined slightly, likely as a result of the expected expiration of the homebuyer tax credit.
• Consumer prices rise. The Consumer Price Index rose 0.4% in August from the previous month and fell 1.5% Y/Y, vs. consensus of +0.3% and -1.7%. Core CPI rose 0.1% M/M and 1.4% Y/Y, both in-line with consensus.
• TIC: Foreign purchases fall. July Treasury International Capital data was released yesterday, with net foreign purchases of long-term securities registering at $15.3B, way down from June's $90.7B. Foreigners picked up $44B in long-term U.S. securities ($32.1B by private investors and $12B by official institutions), and U.S. residents bought $28.8B in foreign debt.
• Industrial production increases. Industrial Production rose 0.8% in August vs. consensus of +0.6%, the second straight monthly gain. July's increase was revised to +1% from +0.5%. Ex-auto, manufacturing was +0.4%. Capacity utilization rose to 69.6% from 69%, but is still 11.3 points below its historical average.
• Current account deficit. The Current Account Deficit was $98.8B in Q2 vs. consensus of $92B. The Q1 deficit was revised to $104.5B from $101.5B. The deficit on both goods and services moved lower.

Earnings: Thursday Before Open

• Pier 1 Imports (PIR): Q2 EPS of -$0.17 vs. consensus of -$0.22 (may not be comparable). Revenue of $287M (-11%) vs. $282M. Comparable store sales -7.6%. (PR)

Earnings: Wednesday After Close

• CKE Restaurants (CKR): Q2 EPS of $0.22 in-line. Revenue of $336M (-5%) vs. $341M. Same-store sales declined 2.3%. (PR)
• CLARCOR (CLC): FQ3 EPS of $0.42 misses by $0.01. Revenue of $230M (-17%) vs. $246M. (PR)
• Herman Miller (MLHR): FQ1 EPS of $0.22 beats by $0.03. Revenue of $324M (-32%) vs. $326M. (PR)
• Oracle (ORCL): FQ1 EPS of $0.30 in-line. Revenue of $5.1B (-5%) vs. $5.3B. Operating margin up 570bp to 46%; reduced value of foreign currencies hurt EPS by $0.02. (PR)
• The Dress Barn (DBRN): FQ4 EPS of $0.39 beats by $0.02. Revenue of $399M (+4%) vs. $401M. (PR)

Today's Markets

Markets worldwide are showing gains.

Tax Credits for a greener America are in fashion. In each case, we may as well admit up front that these type of programs amount to taking money from all taxpayers to fund pet environmental whimsy of the environmental crowd. The State of Florida, amongst others, had rebate programs to save the planet in place until it ran out of money. The solution? Use federal stimulus money to front it. Astute investors and consumers will take advantage of these programs to a certain degree, hopefully after reading the fine print (such as the up to $4500 of TAXABLE income that was credited to those who transacted in the recent vehicle "clunker" program).

The Miami Herald recently ran a story highlighting several of these programs.

Herman Miller (MLHR) last month announced more details in its plans to reduce costs in its effort to ride out this economic downturn. The details include the closure of one of its manufacturing facilities in Michigan and redistribution of equipment and production capacity to other facilities in the area. The company reports that this move will cost the company a one-time charge between $9 to $12 million dollars. The expected savings are projected to be $5 to $7million annually. The closure is targeted for spring of 2010. This will eat into the company’s earnings for the next two quarters. The benefits of consolidation moves like this take time to realize, so don’t expect to see the savings immediately. The company will also be reducing their dividend payout in order to save $14mm annually.

These actions don’t seem surprising given the economic conditions and may seem like reactionary measures, but the company looks to be preparing for a long term ground and pound fight in the office furniture industry.

At the end of each trading week, Hillbent scans for the equity market for potential anomalies which exhibit extremely oversold and overbought conditions. Past observations have revealed that such candidates may experience reversal corrections to the upside or downside once the market reconfirms that their fundamentals remain solidly intact or relatively poor. From a contrarian perspective, these lists may also serve as a precursor to changes in institutional sentiment and underlying fundamentals.

(The purpose of this report is not to provide specific recommendations, but instead serve as a time-saving reference tool and starting point for investment ideas as the upcoming trading week unfolds. Of course, the results generated are not always perfect and users are strongly encouraged to perform their own due diligence on these names. Note that overbought and oversold conditions are based upon proprietary algorithms and quantitative models instead of conventional technical analysis indicators. As a supplement to this report, please refer to our Market Condition Summary to determine if market direction trends support a bullish or bearish investment bias over short-term, intermediate, and long-term timeframes.)

Standard & Poor’s has reiterated its negative outlook for the U’S’ consumer durables. And Thursday’s news that consumer spending dipped 0.2% in March after rising 0.4% in February offers no sign of relief.

Standard & Poor’s said its base case 2009 outlook for the U.S. consumer durables industry remains largely negative, based on the following fundamentals:

At the end of each trading week, Hillbent scans for the equity market for potential anomalies which exhibit extremely oversold and overbought conditions. Past observations have revealed that such candidates may experience reversal corrections to the upside or downside once the market reconfirms that their fundamentals remain solidly intact or relatively poor. From a contrarian perspective, these lists may also serve as a precursor to changes in institutional sentiment and underlying fundamentals.

(The purpose of this report is not to provide specific recommendations, but instead serve as a time-saving reference tool and starting point for investment ideas as the upcoming trading week unfolds. Of course, the results generated are not always perfect and users are strongly encouraged to perform their own due diligence on these names. Note that overbought and oversold conditions are based upon proprietary algorithms and quantitative models instead of conventional technical analysis indicators. As a supplement to this report, please refer to our Market Condition Summary to determine if market direction trends support a bullish or bearish investment bias over short-term, intermediate, and long-term timeframes.)

F3Q09 (Qtr End 02/28/09) Earnings Call Transcript

March 19, 2009 9:30 am ET

Herman Miller (MLHR) is one of the largest designers and manufacturers of office furniture products worldwide. The company is known for its innovative designs, including the Aeron chair and the first cubicles. Herman Miller is the third largest competitor in the office furniture industry, trailing Steelcase (SCS) and HNI (HNI). More specifically, MLHR can be lumped into the "premium" segment of the market, where it is the largest player by sales but trails primary rival Knoll (KNL), (another Magic Formula stock), in profitability.

Office furniture design and production is a fundamentally unattractive business for several reasons. First, sales volumes are heavily dependent on overall economic conditions, particularly non-residential construction and office space, turnover rates. This adds a sharply cyclical challenge to valuing the stock, which we generally like to avoid (the more predictable, the better). In the near term, these macro factors are forecast to be pretty weak. Office vacancy rates are over 13%, non-residential construction has grind to halt, and more companies are holding on to their cash instead of expanding into new and larger office spaces.

F2Q09 Earnings Call

December 18, 2008 9:30 am ET

F1Q09 Earnings Call

September 18, 2008 9:30 am ET

• Will $180B do the trick? The world's central banks unveiled an initiative to flood global money markets with dollars, in the hopes of pumping liquidity into frozen short-term lending. The U.S. Fed increased its dollar swap line with foreign CBs by $180B - $60B of which will be funnelled to the ECB, $60B to the BoJ, $40B to the BoE and $10B to the Bank of Canada. In an expensive game of musical chairs, banks have become increasingly wary of lending one another - with each worrying it'll be caught with outstanding loans when the music stops. On Wednesday, the cost of insuring U.S. government debt against default soared to new records, as did three-month inter-bank loan rates. In overnight trading, the cost of borrowing dollars (Libor) tumbled 1.19% to 3.84% as markets welcomed the liquidity boost.
• Wachovia, others sniff out Morgan. Morgan Stanley (MS) is in talks to sell itself to Wachovia (WB), sources say, after shares fell 24% Wednesday. Just 10 days ago, CEO John Mack said he was not thinking about selling the firm. Other suitors may include HSBC (HBC), Banco Santander (STD), Nomura (NMR), Chinese Citic Bank, and Bank of New York Mellon (BK). It may, of course, decide to stay independent - especially if the Fed's new measures serve to calm frazzled markets. In a Wednesday internal memo, Mack addressed employees: "What's happening out there? It's very clear to me -- we're in the midst of a market controlled by fear and rumors, and short sellers are driving our stock down." Meanwhile rival banks including Deutsche Bank (DB), UBS (UBS) and Credit Suisse (CS) are working overtime to snatch up MS's prime-brokerage business from hedge funds.
• Stalking WaMu's deposit base. Sources say three banks - JPMorgan (JPM), Bank of America (BAC) and Wells Fargo (WFC) - may bid for parts or all of troubled U.S. savings and loan WaMu (WM). Bank deals are happening fast and furious, spurred by the need to consolidate to overcome a global credit crunch, and by shares that trade at unprecedented low levels. WaMu's market cap is down 85% on subprime losses. Potential buyers are unlikely to take on its mortgage-related investments, which the bank estimates will lose $19B over coming years, but are covetous of its 2,300 branches and $143B in deposits. On Wednesday, TPG - which led a $7B cash infusion at WaMu in April, waived its right to increase its stake, removing a potential roadblock.
• British banks bond. Lloyds TSB (LYG) agreed to buy HBOS, the U.K.'s largest mortgage lender, for £12.2B ($22.2B). HBOS lost half its market value this week on capitalization concerns following Lehman's (LEH) failure. Until recently, U.K. regulators would have stonewalled a merger. Now, in fear of outright failure, the deal will likely be fasttracked. Lloyds fell 5% in London trading, but analysts were unphased: "They are buying a bank at significantly below its tangible book value," one London-based analyst said. "In the coming weeks it will prove to be a highly attractive deal."
• SEC vs. naked shorts, take II. The SEC issued new rules aimed at thwarting short-selling abuses, covering all publicly traded companies. Starting Thursday, traders who short shares must deliver the securities within three days. Separately, SEC Chairman Christopher Cox wants to require hedge funds and other large investors to disclose their short positions daily. The combination of trading and disclosure rules hopes to address growing concern short sellers are intentionally deflating share prices in target stocks. "This needed to be done yesterday," ABA's Edward Yingling said. "We're in a very dangerous situation."
• SanDisk buyout a thorny proposition. Notwithstanding SanDisk's (SNDK) rejection of its $5.8B unsolicited offer, Samsung's proposal will likely face close regulatory scrutiny - due to the combo's strong position in the NAND flash memory market, in addition to U.S. national security concerns. Another show-stopper could be SNDK's reliance on Toshiba (TOSBF.PK) - a bitter Samsung rival - for its NAND cartridges. Samsung is the #1 global NAND flash maker, followed by Toshiba, then SanDisk.
• CDS costs recede. The cost of insuring banks' debt, a.k.a. credit-default swaps, tumbled overnight on news of the central-bank liquidity injection, and word Morgan Stanley (MS) may merge with Wachovia (WB).
• Gold rush. Gold futures soar another 4% overnight (high: $897.30) after gaining 11%+ Wednesday as investors finally remember their long-lost safehaven from market jitters. "Conditions are still supportive for gold and it's very possible to see gold over $1,000 again," Fortis precious-metals trader Wallace Ng said.
• AIG takeover. Some details of the government's AIG (AIG) bailout emerge: Directors say they were 'stunned' and 'violated' by the Fed's onerous proposal - an $85B bridge loan in exchange for surrendering control of the company, and an order to replace CEO Robert Willumstad. Ultimately, they bit the bullet: "We are faced with two bad choices," Willumstad told his board. "File for bankruptcy tomorrow morning or take the Fed's deal tonight." Much more here.
• The U.S. current-account deficit increased to $183.1B in Q2 from $175.6B (revised) in Q1. Consensus was for $180B.
• August housing starts came in at 895,000 - a 17-year low and a full 55,000 below consensus, sending homebuilder shares diving. streetTRACKS SPDR Homebuilders ETF (XHB) was off 7.7%. Much-watched permits came in at 854K vs. July's revised 937K.
• MBA Mortgage Applications surged 33.4% vs. a week ago, during which they grew 9.5%. 30-year fixed rate mortgages averaged 5.82%, down from 6.06%, as the GSE rescue and shrinking Treasury yields pressured rates. "Renewed financial concerns should keep long-term Treasury yields low and translate to lower mortgage rates in the near term despite some widening in mortgage spreads. We expect to see meaningful increases in mortgage demand in coming weeks on both the purchase and refi sides," MBA's Orawin Velz said.
• Russia markets still locked. Stock trading in Russia remains suspended as the government tries to stem the plunge of share prices. Russia central-bank officials also announced measures to ease the strain on banks, including reducing reserve requirements by 4% - freeing up 300B rubles ($11.8B). "We hope that banks will spend these funds not on long-term crediting or other kinds of crediting of clients," chairman Sergei Ignatiev said, "but on the maintenance of the necessary volume of their liquidity and on making settlements."

Earnings: Thursday Before Open

• ConAgra Foods (CAG): FQ1 EPS of $0.27 beats by $0.03. Revenue of $3.07B vs. $2.83B. [PR]
• FedEx (FDX): FQ1 EPS of $1.23 in-line. Revenue of $9.97B (+8.4%) in-line. Sees FQ2 EPS of $1.40-1.60 vs. $1.35, and full-year EPS of $4.75-5.25 vs. $5.18. Shares +1.6%. [PR]
• Pier 1 Imports (PIR): Q2 EPS of -$0.34 misses by $0.10. Revenue of $320.5M (-7.0%) vs. $325.3M. [PR]

Earnings: Wednesday After Close

• CKE Restaurants (CKR): Q2 EPS of $0.23 beats by $0.03. Revenue of $352.5M in-line. [PR]
• Dress Barn (DBRN): FQ4 EPS of $0.34 beats by $0.04. Revenue of $382M vs. $372M. [PR]
• Herman Miller (MLHR): FQ1 EPS of $0.60 beats by $0.05. Revenue of $479M vs. $489M. [PR]
• ProLogis (PLD): Sees 2008 FFO of $4-4.35 vs. a prior $4.65-4.85 and $4.75 consensus. Sees 2009 FFO of $4.10-4.35 vs. $4.91 consensus. [PR]

Today's Markets

• Asia markets closed in the red Thursday. Nikkei -2.22% to 11,489. Hang Seng -0.03% to 17,632. Shanghai -1.72% to 1,896. BSE +0.4% to 13,316.
• Europe is higher at midday. London +1.7%. Paris +1.3%. Frankfurt +1.3%.
• U.S. futures are broadly higher in overnight trading. Dow +0.92%. S&P +1.29%. Nasdaq +1.02%. Crude +2.4% to $99.32. Gold +4.9% to $881.50.

Thursday's Economic Calendar

• 8:30 Jobless Claims
  10:00 Leading Indicators
  10:00 Philadelphia Fed Survey
  10:35 EIA Natural Gas Report
  4:30 PM Money Supply
• Notable earnings before Thursday's open: CAG, CCL, FDX, PIR
• Notable earnings after Thursday's close: CTAS, ORCL, PALM

Seeking Alpha editor Rachael Granby contributed to this post.

That icon of the dot.com era, the Aeron chair, is not just good for your posture, it seems. It is also helping the environment while adding to its maker’s bottom line.

A new case study from Forrester Research looks at how a commitment to sustainability has paid off financially for office furnishing manufacturer Herman Miller (MLHR). The company began incorporating sustainability into its business practices in the early 1950s.

Q4 2008 Earnings Call

June 26, 2008 9:30 am ET

• Bud prepares for brawl. Sources say Anheuser-Busch (BUD) is preparing itself to fight InBev's unsolicited $46.5B bid. Management will argue the bid undervalues the company, and will present shareholders with its strategic outlook, including selling some non-core assets such as its theme parks, and added cost savings of $500M over the next four years. InBev is likely to take its offer directly to shareholders.
• Fed focused on inflation. The Fed left its target rate unchanged at 2%, as expected. It said economic activity continues to expand, but labor is weaker and financial markets remain under stress. Analysts said its statement was skewed more to inflation than to lack of growth: "Uncertainty about the inflation outlook remains high," making a rate hike by September more likely now than before. Analysts said the Fed's statement is moderately bullish for the stock market: there is nothing that suggests an imminent rate hike, and no evident panic over inflation. The decision wasn't unanimous: Dallas Fed president Richard Fisher dissented for a fourth straight time, favoring a rate hike to 2.25%.
After you finish reading Wall Street BreakfastSeeking Alpha's Market Currentswill keep you current all day long.
• Goldman says Citi crisis not over. Goldman says Citigroup (C) will likely take an additional $8.9B writedown in Q2. "The turnaround in business trends that we had been expecting in the second half of 2008 may not occur as quickly as we should have thought. We see multiple headwinds for Citigroup," including writedowns, the need for more capital, and dividend cuts or asset sales. These would add to Citi's $42.9B in credit-related losses so far. Goldman cut its share price target to $16, and put Citi on its Conviction Sell list.
• Oracle beats; shaky outlook scares Street. FQ4 profits at Oracle (ORCL) jumped 27% to $2.4B, ahead of analyst expectations. Shares initially climbed in extended trading, but dropped when CFO Safra Catz said the current economic environment continues to challenge, and hinted revenue from corporate customers may slow. Catz said Oracle's strong results owed a lot to its aggressive acquistions.
• BlackBerry maker drops 9% after outlook falls short. Research In Motion (RIMM) doubled its revenue and EPS, but investors punished the company in AH trading after its outlook failed to satisfy them. Looking ahead, RIM sees FQ2 EPS of $0.84-0.89, well short of the Street consensus of $0.90. On RIM's conference call, CEO Jim Balsillie said he's unphased by the iPhone 3G's (AAPL) pending debut, and discounted any overlap between the two companies' products.
• Keep vigilant watch on core inflation - Fed's Kohn. For now, Fed vice chairman Donald Kohn says, headline inflation (which includes food and energy costs) has barely embedded itself into core inflation and long-term inflation expectations. "However, policymakers around the world must monitor the situation carefully for signs that the increases in relative prices globally do not generate persistently higher inflation," he said this morning in Frankfurt. Kohn says emerging market growth was likely due to stronger earnings for commodity exporters.
• Sony talks up big future. Sony (SNE) says it will pump $17B into key businesses and technologies over the next three years, as it aims to lift return on equity to 10% from about 6%. Sony wants its TV business to turn profitable by year-end, and is looking to unseat Samsung as the number-one global LCD TV seller.
• Lehman and LSE join hands. The London Stock Exchange and Lehman (LEH) are planning to launch a pan-European trading platform, dubbed Baikal after the world's deepest lake, that will give clients access to securities in 14 European countries. A rival exchange for soon-to-launch Project Turquoise, backed by nine investment banks including C, GS, MER and UBS.
• Tri-state trouble. Officials from California, Illinois and the Washington State Department of Financial Institutions filed legal actions against Countrywide (CFC) Wednesday. Allegations include misleading marketing, steering buyers into costly loans, and discriminatory lending. Also yesterday, Countrywide (CFC) shareholders overwhelmingly approved Bank of America's (BAC) $4B (now $2.8B) buyout of the firm.
• SEC sets stage for change. The SEC proposed numerous regulatory changes, including weaning investors' reliance on credit ratings by lifting a requirement that money-market funds hold high-rated securities, and easing limitations on U.S. retail customers trading directly with overseas brokerage houses. Chairman Christopher Cox plans to leave in Feb. 2009; the broad moves are his attempt to make his mark on the body as it moves towards globalizing U.S. securities law.
• Oil inventories came in higher than expected: Crude +800K vs. -1.1M consensus. Gasoline -150K vs. unchanged. Distillate +2.82M vs +2M consensus. Crude futures are down 2.18% to $134. Crude futures were all over the board yesterday, but finished down 1.78% to $134.56.
• Valdez award slashed. The U.S. Supreme Court reduced the $2.5B Valdez award against ExxonMobil (XOM +0.8%) to just $507.5M, and said damages should be compensatory, not punitive.
• May New Home Sales were down 2.5% to 512K, after jumping 4.6% a month ago - in line with analyst consensus. Inventory jumped to 10.9 months supply, up from 10.7 last month. New homes sales are down 40% from a year ago. After 501K in March, and 525K in April - sales appear to be leveling. Thursday's existing home sales number will be a clearer indication.
• UK inflation to fall, but not free of charge. BofE governor Mervyn King says he's confident inflation will drop back to the government's target of 2% within the next year - but said it will do so on the heels of a severe economic slowdown. UK inflation recently hit 3.3%, surprising economists.

Earnings: Wednesday After Close

• Autodesk (ADSK): sees Q2 EPS of $0.50-$0.52 vs. consensus of $0.53.
• Bed Bath & Beyond (BBBY): FQ1 EPS of $0.30 beats by $0.03. Revenue of $1.65B (+6.1%) in line. [PR]
• CKE Restaurants (CKR): Q1 EPS of $0.31 beats by $0.04. Revenue of $466M in line.
• Herman Miller (MLHR): FQ4 EPS of $0.71 beats by $0.14. FQ4 Revenue of $519M vs. consensus of $488.39M. Sees Q1 EPS of $0.49-$0.56, short of consensus of $0.55, and revenue of $470-$495M vs. consensus of $491M.
• Nike (NKE): FQ4 EPS of $0.98 beats by $0.02. Revenue of $5.09B (+16.1%) vs. $4.95B. "As we complete fiscal 2008, we are better positioned than we ever have been." [PR]
• Oracle (ORCL): FQ4 EPS of $0.47 beats by $0.03. Revenue of $7.28B (+23.8%) vs. $6.85B consensus. New software license revenue was up +27% - on database and middleware license revenue +23% and applications +36%. [PR]
• Red Hat (RHT): Q1 EPS of $0.18 in line. Revenue of $156.6M vs. consensus of $153M.
• Research In Motion (RIMM): FQ1 EPS of $0.84 misses by $0.01. Revenue of $2.24B (+19.1%) vs. $2.27B consensus. Sees FQ2 EPS of $0.84-0.89 vs. $0.90. Says it shipped 5.4M BlackBerrys in Q1, and signed up 2.3M new customers vs. 2.2M guidance. [PR]

Earnings: Thursday Before Open

• ConAgra (CAG): FQ4 EPS of $0.41 beats by $0.07. Revenue of $3.08B vs. consensus of $3.35B. Sees FQ1 EPS of $0.26-0.28, short of consensus of $0.33. [PR]
• Lennar (LEN): Q2 EPS of -$0.76 misses by $0.21. Revenue of $1.13B vs. consensus of $1.09B. [PR]
• Oshkosh Truck (OSK): Lowers its Q3 EPS view to between -$1.22 and -$1.32 from $1.40-$1.50, vs. consensus of $1.47, due to a non-cash charge, and soft sales. [PR]
• Rite Aid (RAD): FQ1 EPS of -$0.20 misses by -$0.10. Revenue of $6.61B (+49.3%) in line. SSS were up 1.5%. [PR]

Today's Markets

• Asia markets: Japan -0.05%. Hong Kong -0.79%. Shanghai -0.11%. Taiwan -0.55%. India +1.42%.
• European bourses are sharply lower at midday: London -1.75%. Paris -1.67%. Frankfurt -1.86%. Brussels -3.84%.
• U.S. futures indicate a much-lower open: Dow -0.86%. S&P -0.98%. Nasdaq -1.22%. Crude +0.85% to $135.70. Gold +2.12% to $900.50.

• Bud prepares for brawl. Sources say Anheuser-Busch (BUD) is preparing itself to fight InBev's unsolicited $46.5B bid. Management will argue the bid undervalues the company, and will present shareholders with its strategic outlook, including selling some non-core assets such as its theme parks, and added cost savings of $500M over the next four years. InBev is likely to take its offer directly to shareholders.
• Fed focused on inflation. The Fed left its target rate unchanged at 2%, as expected. It said economic activity continues to expand, but labor is weaker and financial markets remain under stress. Analysts said its statement was skewed more to inflation than to lack of growth: "Uncertainty about the inflation outlook remains high," making a rate hike by September more likely now than before. Analysts said the Fed's statement is moderately bullish for the stock market: there is nothing that suggests an imminent rate hike, and no evident panic over inflation. The decision wasn't unanimous: Dallas Fed president Richard Fisher dissented for a fourth straight time, favoring a rate hike to 2.25%.
After you finish reading Wall Street BreakfastSeeking Alpha's Market Currentswill keep you current all day long.
• Goldman says Citi crisis not over. Goldman says Citigroup (C) will likely take an additional $8.9B writedown in Q2. "The turnaround in business trends that we had been expecting in the second half of 2008 may not occur as quickly as we should have thought. We see multiple headwinds for Citigroup," including writedowns, the need for more capital, and dividend cuts or asset sales. These would add to Citi's $42.9B in credit-related losses so far. Goldman cut its share price target to $16, and put Citi on its Conviction Sell list.
• Oracle beats; shaky outlook scares Street. FQ4 profits at Oracle (ORCL) jumped 27% to $2.4B, ahead of analyst expectations. Shares initially climbed in extended trading, but dropped when CFO Safra Catz said the current economic environment continues to challenge, and hinted revenue from corporate customers may slow. Catz said Oracle's strong results owed a lot to its aggressive acquistions.
• BlackBerry maker drops 9% after outlook falls short. Research In Motion (RIMM) doubled its revenue and EPS, but investors punished the company in AH trading after its outlook failed to satisfy them. Looking ahead, RIM sees FQ2 EPS of $0.84-0.89, well short of the Street consensus of $0.90. On RIM's conference call, CEO Jim Balsillie said he's unphased by the iPhone 3G's (AAPL) pending debut, and discounted any overlap between the two companies' products.
• Keep vigilant watch on core inflation - Fed's Kohn. For now, Fed vice chairman Donald Kohn says, headline inflation (which includes food and energy costs) has barely embedded itself into core inflation and long-term inflation expectations. "However, policymakers around the world must monitor the situation carefully for signs that the increases in relative prices globally do not generate persistently higher inflation," he said this morning in Frankfurt. Kohn says emerging market growth was likely due to stronger earnings for commodity exporters.
• Sony talks up big future. Sony (SNE) says it will pump $17B into key businesses and technologies over the next three years, as it aims to lift return on equity to 10% from about 6%. Sony wants its TV business to turn profitable by year-end, and is looking to unseat Samsung as the number-one global LCD TV seller.
• Lehman and LSE join hands. The London Stock Exchange and Lehman (LEH) are planning to launch a pan-European trading platform, dubbed Baikal after the world's deepest lake, that will give clients access to securities in 14 European countries. A rival exchange for soon-to-launch Project Turquoise, backed by nine investment banks including C, GS, MER and UBS.
• Tri-state trouble. Officials from California, Illinois and the Washington State Department of Financial Institutions filed legal actions against Countrywide (CFC) Wednesday. Allegations include misleading marketing, steering buyers into costly loans, and discriminatory lending. Also yesterday, Countrywide (CFC) shareholders overwhelmingly approved Bank of America's (BAC) $4B (now $2.8B) buyout of the firm.
• SEC sets stage for change. The SEC proposed numerous regulatory changes, including weaning investors' reliance on credit ratings by lifting a requirement that money-market funds hold high-rated securities, and easing limitations on U.S. retail customers trading directly with overseas brokerage houses. Chairman Christopher Cox plans to leave in Feb. 2009; the broad moves are his attempt to make his mark on the body as it moves towards globalizing U.S. securities law.
• Oil inventories came in higher than expected: Crude +800K vs. -1.1M consensus. Gasoline -150K vs. unchanged. Distillate +2.82M vs +2M consensus. Crude futures are down 2.18% to $134. Crude futures were all over the board yesterday, but finished down 1.78% to $134.56.
• Valdez award slashed. The U.S. Supreme Court reduced the $2.5B Valdez award against ExxonMobil (XOM +0.8%) to just $507.5M, and said damages should be compensatory, not punitive.
• May New Home Sales were down 2.5% to 512K, after jumping 4.6% a month ago - in line with analyst consensus. Inventory jumped to 10.9 months supply, up from 10.7 last month. New homes sales are down 40% from a year ago. After 501K in March, and 525K in April - sales appear to be leveling. Thursday's existing home sales number will be a clearer indication.
• UK inflation to fall, but not free of charge. BofE governor Mervyn King says he's confident inflation will drop back to the government's target of 2% within the next year - but said it will do so on the heels of a severe economic slowdown. UK inflation recently hit 3.3%, surprising economists.

Earnings: Wednesday After Close

• Autodesk (ADSK): sees Q2 EPS of $0.50-$0.52 vs. consensus of $0.53.
• Bed Bath & Beyond (BBBY): FQ1 EPS of $0.30 beats by $0.03. Revenue of $1.65B (+6.1%) in line. [PR]
• CKE Restaurants (CKR): Q1 EPS of $0.31 beats by $0.04. Revenue of $466M in line.
• Herman Miller (MLHR): FQ4 EPS of $0.71 beats by $0.14. FQ4 Revenue of $519M vs. consensus of $488.39M. Sees Q1 EPS of $0.49-$0.56, short of consensus of $0.55, and revenue of $470-$495M vs. consensus of $491M.
• Nike (NKE): FQ4 EPS of $0.98 beats by $0.02. Revenue of $5.09B (+16.1%) vs. $4.95B. "As we complete fiscal 2008, we are better positioned than we ever have been." [PR]
• Oracle (ORCL): FQ4 EPS of $0.47 beats by $0.03. Revenue of $7.28B (+23.8%) vs. $6.85B consensus. New software license revenue was up +27% - on database and middleware license revenue +23% and applications +36%. [PR]
• Red Hat (RHT): Q1 EPS of $0.18 in line. Revenue of $156.6M vs. consensus of $153M.
• Research In Motion (RIMM): FQ1 EPS of $0.84 misses by $0.01. Revenue of $2.24B (+19.1%) vs. $2.27B consensus. Sees FQ2 EPS of $0.84-0.89 vs. $0.90. Says it shipped 5.4M BlackBerrys in Q1, and signed up 2.3M new customers vs. 2.2M guidance. [PR]

Earnings: Thursday Before Open

• ConAgra (CAG): FQ4 EPS of $0.41 beats by $0.07. Revenue of $3.08B vs. consensus of $3.35B. Sees FQ1 EPS of $0.26-0.28, short of consensus of $0.33. [PR]
• Lennar (LEN): Q2 EPS of -$0.76 misses by $0.21. Revenue of $1.13B vs. consensus of $1.09B. [PR]
• Oshkosh Truck (OSK): Lowers its Q3 EPS view to between -$1.22 and -$1.32 from $1.40-$1.50, vs. consensus of $1.47, due to a non-cash charge, and soft sales. [PR]
• Rite Aid (RAD): FQ1 EPS of -$0.20 misses by -$0.10. Revenue of $6.61B (+49.3%) in line. SSS were up 1.5%. [PR]

Today's Markets

• Asia markets: Japan -0.05%. Hong Kong -0.79%. Shanghai -0.11%. Taiwan -0.55%. India +1.42%.
• European bourses are sharply lower at midday: London -1.75%. Paris -1.67%. Frankfurt -1.86%. Brussels -3.84%.
• U.S. futures indicate a much-lower open: Dow -0.86%. S&P -0.98%. Nasdaq -1.22%. Crude +0.85% to $135.70. Gold +2.12% to $900.50.

Herman Miller (MLHR) designs, manufactures and sells office chairs, furniture systems and healthcare related furniture in the U.S and overseas. They have 10 domestic facilities plus one each in the U.K. and Mexico. They license their products [through manufacturing rights] in Japan.