General Mills 4Q

General Mills (GIS) reported earnings for its fourth quarter today. Excluding commodity trading costs, the company said earnings came in at $0.73 per share. The figure was inline with consensus expectations. Revenues rose 13.4% year-over-year to $3.47 billion versus estimates of $3.37 billion.

The company issued downside guidance however. Earnings for FY 2009 are projected to be in the range of $3.78-3.83 per share which is below expectations of $3.84 per share. Professor John Mauldin mentioned GIS in Oil Hits The Fan.

From the Bull Pen: Those that remain bullish on GIS, can fade (read:buy) the weakness into the $60-61 range. Sell-stops can be set below.

From the Bear Cave: Bears can choose to play the downside in competitor Archer-Daniels Midland (ADM) by fading the stock into the $35-37 range. Buy-stops can be set above.


Durable Goods

The Commerce Department said this morning durable goods orders came in unchanged for the month of May inline with estimates. Less transportation, orders fell -0.9% vs. expectations of -1.0%. April orders were revised downward to show a -1.0% drop, larger than previously estimated. According to Bloomberg, metals, automobiles, and machinery saw decreases in demand but those declines were offset by gains in computers, appliances, aircraft and defense equipment. Durables are expensive goods made to last at least three years. For more context on the economy, read Prieur Perspective by Professor Prieur du Plessis.

From the Bull Pen: Bulls might consider an upside play in Corning (GLW), as it approaches $24 which is the 50% retracement level from its May high. Sell-stops can be set below.

From the Bear Cave: For those bearish, Boeing (BA) may be a downside option. Near-term buy-stops may be set above $77.


For more ideas in real time throughout the trading day, check out Minyanville’s Buzz & Banter.


Quick Check Around the World

Asian trading closed with the Hang Seng +0.80%, Nikkei -0.14%, Sensex +0.80%, Taiwan +1.51% and Shanghai +3.64%.

Over in Europe, we find the CAC +0.99%, DAX +0.37%, FTSE +0.44%

As of 8:30 AM EST, S&P futures higher +7.4 points to 1322, and Nasdaq futures are up +14.5 points to 1926.


A Look At Commodities

Commodities are mixed. Crude oil is lower -0.11 to 136.90. Gold is up +4.40 to 889.20. Silver is higher +0.142 to 16.775 and copper is down -2.05 to 379.35.

The dollar index is down -0.086 to 73.155.


On the Radar

Economics

MBA Mortgage Applications: -9.3% vs. -8.7% prior.
Durable Goods: 0.0% vs. 0.0% cons.
Durable Goods ex transportation: -0.9% vs. -1.0% cons.

10:00 New Home Sales: 514 k cons.
10:00 New Home Sales (m/m): -2.3% cons.
10:30 Crude Inventories
2:15 FOMC Rate Decision

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Happy FOMC Rate Decision Day! Good luck!