[R]1:45PM New York – U.S. stocks declined after credit worries related write-off and lower earnings from Tiffany, American Express, and Capital One Finance. P.F. Chang’s rose after earnings estimate revision.[/R]

Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 229 to 12,624.67, Nasdaq declined 37.75 to 2,450.77, and S&P 500 declined 15.78 to 1,404.50.

P.F. Chang''s China Bistro, Inc. (PFCB: chart) today reported revised estimates of consolidated earnings per share for the fourth quarter ended December 30, 2007 of $0.32 to $0.34 based on preliminary unaudited results, excluding an estimated charge of $0.08 related to the Company’s Taneko Japanese Tavern restaurant concept. These revised estimates are $0.09 to $0.11 above previously reported fourth quarter earnings guidance of $0.23 per share.

As previously announced, the Company exceeded its revenue forecast for the fourth quarter by approximately $7 million, with the majority of the increase resulting from better than anticipated December revenue.

The Company expects to record an approximate $0.08 per share charge related to the assets of its Taneko Japanese Tavern restaurant during the fourth quarter ended December 30, 2007. After accounting for the anticipated charge related to Taneko, consolidated earnings per share for the fourth fiscal quarter is expected to total approximately $0.24 to $0.26 per share.

Tiffany & Co. (TIF: chart) today reported that its worldwide sales for November and December months in 2007 holiday period increased 8% over the prior year to $867.26 million. On a constant-exchange-rate basis that excludes the effect of translating foreign-currency-denominated sales into U.S. dollars, net sales rose 6% and worldwide comparable store sales rose 1%.

U.S. Retail sales increased 4% to $449.08, as increased spending per transaction was partly offset by a decline in the number of transactions. Comparable store sales declined 2%.

International Retail sales rose 18% to $334,766,000. On a constant-exchange-rate basis, sales rose 12% and comparable store sales rose 5% due to growth in most countries.

Michael J. Kowalski, chairman and chief executive officer, said, “Tiffany’s holiday sales results were mixed but we still expect to achieve strong earnings growth in the fourth quarter ending January 31.

U.S. sales softened after robust growth for much of the year. In addition, a 10% increase in New York flagship store sales in the holiday period was driven by foreign tourist spending. We believe a recent pullback in U.S. spending likely reflected a more cautious attitude among customers.”

Tiffany estimated net earnings from continuing operations per diluted share in a range of $2.60 - $2.63 which includes a $0.48 per diluted share after-tax gain from the sale and leaseback of Tiffany’s Tokyo flagship store and a $0.04 per diluted share after-tax contribution to The Tiffany & Co. Foundation.

Tiffany in the current quarter through December 31, 2007 has spent $321 million to repurchase 6.9 million shares at an average price of $46.73 per share.

[R]12:00PM New York – American Express fell 10% on the earnings warning.[/R]

American Express (AXP: chart) declined $4.70 to $44.20 after it said that the third quarter profit will be below previous estimates and customers are slow in paying bills.

American Express will take a pre-tax charge of approximately $440 million (approximately $275 million after-tax) for the fourth quarter. This charge will raise worldwide lending reserves to one hundred percent of past-due loans and increase reserves related to the charge card portfolio.

American Express said it expects to report overall growth in worldwide Cardmember spending of about 16 percent for the fourth quarter (13 percent on a foreign exchange adjusted basis). The growth rate, however, trailed off to 13 percent in December (10 percent FX adjusted) with particular weakness in U.S. billings. The Company also expects to report that delinquencies in the managed U.S. lending portfolio increased to approximately 3.2 percent in the fourth quarter of 2007 from 2.9 percent in the third quarter, and that the write-off rate in this portfolio increased to approximately 4.3 percent from 3.7 percent for the same periods.

American Express expects fully-diluted earnings per share from continuing operations to be in the range of $0.70 to $0.72 for the quarter compared to $0.73 per share a year ago. For the full year 2007, fully-diluted earnings per share from continuing operations is expected to be in the range of $3.38 to $3.40, an increase of approximately 16% from 2006.

Amex chairman and chief executive Kenneth I Chenault said, “We see some negative credit trends among U.S. consumers during December, particularly in California, Florida and other parts of the country most affected by the housing downturn.”

As previously announced, fourth quarter results will also recognize the $1.13 billion ($700 million after-tax) initial payment in the Company’s settlement agreement with Visa, along with a number of significant additional expenses.

Based on business and economic trends during December, the Company expects that growth in spending will slow in 2008. The Company’s 2008 business plan currently assumes worldwide billed business growth of approximately 8% to 10% for the full year.