Liz Claiborne (LIZ):
 There was some news out of the well-known retailer earlier this morning.

Apparently, the company is looking for adjusted fourth-quarter earnings from continuing ops to be between nil and a loss of $0.15. Not too great considering the release also points out that its previous guidance was for a gain of $0.19 to $0.24.

But the real news seemed to revolve around its credit facility. Per the release:

“The amended terms and conditions provide for a reduction in the facility size to $600 million from $750 million which is appropriate for the Company's projected needs following its recent divestitures, an extension of the maturity date to May 31, 2011, a secured asset-based structure, the elimination of the leverage covenant and asset-coverage covenant and an increase in fees and interest rates.”

The old maturity date was, apparently, in the latter part of 2009.

Very simply, I think this will be viewed as a positive by the investment community, and that there’s a good chance the shares close in the green today.

Finally, I want to point out the insider data which shows a couple of purchases during the fall time frame.  I know that may seem like an eternity ago, but would those execs have dropped that kind of dough unless they thought the company had a future?

Beazer Homes (BZH):
 Hoping for a quick turnaround in real estate?

Maybe you should continue to keep your fingers crossed.

The homebuilder offered up some preliminary first-quarter data.

The release states:

“Home closings for the quarter ended December 31, 2008 totaled 938, a 53.2% decline from 2,006 homes closed during the same period in the prior fiscal year. Net new home orders totaled 551 for the quarter, a decrease of 56.0% from 1,252 net orders in the first quarter of the prior fiscal year. Net orders declined 48.9% in markets where the Company maintains a presence and 93.9% in markets the Company had previously announced it was exiting. The cancellation rate for the first quarter was 45.6%, compared to 46.6% for the same period in the prior year.”

Obviously this information doesn't leave me with the impression that its business is in  major turnaround mode by any stretch. And although this is one of those companies I want to believe in and am not yet willing to write off, I can’t find it in my heart to buy the shares at their lowly sub-$2 price.

Who knows - I may look back a year from now and say I was a fool for not jumping in, but I’ll take that chance at this point.

Stay tuned, though, because I plan on keeping an eye on this one.

Have a great day!