The U.S. dollar traded in a mixed fashion against major currencies. The euro was quoted at $1.1753, down from $1.1764. The dollar bought 118.78 yen, down from 119.15. The British pound traded at $1.7193, up from $1.7169.

EARNINGS NEWS

Perry Ellis International, Inc. (PERY: chart), apparel company, reported Q3 net income of 80 cents per share, up from 72 cents per share in the year-ago period on 37% revenue growth.

G. Willi-Food International Ltd (WILCF: chart), food products distributor, announced Q3 net income of NIS 0.41($ 0.09) per share, an increase of 52% year-over-year, and declared a cash dividend of 12 cents per share on 2% revenue growth. Gross margins for the latest quarter were 26.5% compared to 21.8% in the year-ago period.

CBRL Group Inc. (CBRL: chart), restaurant chain operator, reported a Q1 for fiscal 2006 net income of 51 cents a share, down from 57 cents in the same period in fiscal 2005 on 3.4% revenue growth, missing analyst estimate of 53 cents per share. Earnings for the latest quarter included 4 cents related to stock option expense; the company also had 5% fewer weighted average shares outstanding than in Q1 of fiscal 2005.

Hastings Entertainment Inc (HAST: chart), retailer, posted Q3 earnings of 80 cents a share, up from 72 cents a share in year-ago period on 37% revenue growth, beating the analyst estimate of 78 cents a share. The company lowered its financial outlook for revenue for fiscal 2006 to reflect uncertainty related to industry consolidation and certain macroeconomic factors.

Campbell Soup Co (CPB: chart), food products company, reported Q1 of fiscal 2006 adjusted net earnings of 58 cents a share up from 56 cents in the year-ago period, beating analyst view of 56 cents a share. Sales reached $2.11 billion from $2.09 billion, as U.S. soup, sauce and beverage sales slipped 2% to $970 million. Campbell Soup also affirmed its full-year growth forecast of 5% to 7% for earnings per share.

The Valspar Corp, coatings manufacturer, reported Q4 net income of 50 cents a share up from 38 cents a share in the same period last year, topping analysts’ forecasts of 42 cents a share. If not for a one-off tax gain and a lower Q4 tax rate, the company would have gained 44 cents a share. The company also added that sales rose 12.4%. Valspar announced that it continues to implement its plan to rationalize its manufacturing capacity.

CORPORATE NEWS

General Motors (GM: chart) announced a plan to eliminate 30,000 manufacturing positions from 2005 through 2008 in order to reduce its assembly capacity in North America. It expects the staff reduction to come mostly through attrition and early retirees. The company expects to reduce capacity by an additional 1 million units by the end of 2008, bringing its target down to 4.2 million units, a level that would represent a 30% decrease from 2002 levels. GM lifted its target for structural cost reductions to $6 billion by the end of 2006 from a previously indicated level of $5 billion.

Boeing (BA: chart), aircraft maker, revealed that Emirates has placed a firm order for 42 Boeing 777 airplanes with purchase rights to another 20 planes. The company said the deal would be worth $9.7 billion at list prices. Low-Cost Aircraft Leasing has also placed an order with Boeing for 6 of its 787-8 Dreamliners, valued at about $780 million.