Deere, Citigroup: Wednesday's Headlines

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Here are the top stock market headlines for the morning of Wednesday, August 19, 2009.

Wednesday's Earnings Roundup

• Deere (DE) reported fiscal third-quarter earnings of 99 cents a share, well ahead of the Thomson Reuters average estimate of 57 cents a share. Revenue slid 24% from a year ago to $5.89 billion, also above consensus estimates. However, Deere warned that equipment sales are projected to be down about 21% for the full year and down about 34% for its fiscal fourth quarter, including a negative currency-translation impact of about 4% for the year and about 1% for the quarter.
• BJ's Wholesale (BJ) posted second-quarter earnings of 64 cents a share, 2 cents better than consensus estimates, according to Thomson Reuters. Sales fell 5.1% from a year ago to $2.57 billion, in line with estimates. BJ's bumped its full-year 2010 guidance for earnings and sales higher, although still in line with estimates.
• Tween Brands (TWB) said it had second-quarter earnings of 11 cents a share, compared to estimates the company would post a loss of 37 cents a share. Sales fell 8.1% to $205.1 million, also better than expected.
• Hewlett-Packard (HPQ) late Tuesday reported fiscal third-quarter earnings of 91 cents a share, a penny better than the Thomson Reuters average estimate. Revenue fell 2.1% to $27.45 billion, slightly above consensus. H-P reaffirmed its full-year earnings and revenue guidance.

Wednesday's Early Headlines

• Feds Urged Citigroup to Oust CFO: Reports. - The Financial Times reported that federal regulators came to a confidential agreement with Citigroup (C) that the bank's CFO would be removed. The document, according to the FT, "emphasizes the extend of the authorities' involvement in the internal workings of Citi. Then-CFO Ned Kelly resigned in July after learning of the agreement, according to the report.
• New AIG CEO Alters Restructuring Plan. - Reuters reports that new American Internation Group (AIG) CEO Robert Benmosche has started to cut up the insurer's restructuring plan, deciding it is better to hold on to an investment advisory unit that is part of AIG's retirement services group.
• Buffett Delivers Warning on U.S. Debt. - Billionaire investor Warren Buffett penned a column in Wednesday's New York Times, in which he draws a parallel between the potentially devastating "butterfly effect" of carbon emissions and the similar long-term impact of "greenback emissions," claiming that the United States must be cognizant of the unintended consequences of outsize government debt. Buffett did say the U.S. economy is out of the emergency room and appears to be on a slow path to recovery.
• Microsoft Moves to Stop Injunction on Sales of Word. - The Wall Street Journal reports that Microsoft (MSFT) Tuesday filed a motion to stay an injunction that, if upheld, could bar the company from selling its flagship Word program. Microsoft argued that the injunction could cause "irreparable harm" to the software maker, according to the report.

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