Herman Miller Inc. (MLHR: chart), office furniture maker, posted a 44.2% increase in third quarter net income as price increases offset seasonal order rate volatility. The company also forecast fourth quarter earnings below analysts'' expectations. Herman Miller said net income rose to $32.3 million, or 50 cents a share, in its third quarter, from $22.4 million, or 33 cents a share, a year earlier.

Modine Manufacturing Co. (MOD: chart) forecast fourth-quarter earnings at or below break-even due to slower-than-expected start-up of business from a new truck customer and repositioning costs, and its shares fell 8.4%. In January, it had said the repositioning costs in the fourth quarter could be double that of $3.6 million in the third quarter.

Motorola (MOT: chart) shares declined 6.5% after the cell-phone maker slashed its first-quarter revenue guidance and warned that earnings would be well below expectations. The company now sees revenue of $9.2 billion to $9.3 billion, well below its previous guidance of $10.4 billion to $10.6 billion. The company expects adjusted earnings of break-even to 2 cents a share.

Scholastic Corp. (SCHL: chart) shares fell 12.3% after the publisher posted disappointing third-quarter results and cut its full-year earnings forecast. For the quarter, the company reported a loss of $7.7 million, or 18 cents a share, on revenue of $497 million. The results included an investment gain of $3 million, or 4 cents a share. In the year-earlier period, the company posted a loss of $15.5 million, or 37 cents a share, on revenue of $487.7 million.

Tessco Technologies (TESS: chart) tumbled 11.2% after the wireless-systems products company warned that its full-year earnings would be lower than expected. The company said that fourth-quarter revenue, which is expected to be up about 30%, lower than expected, leading to the earnings shortfall. For the full year ending April 1, the company now sees earnings that will be at the low end of its previous earnings range of $1.15 to $1.22 a share.

1:00PM NY European markets closed steeply higher, helped by FOMC statement.
European stocks closed steeply higher on Thursday, boosted by the Fed Reserve’s decision to keep interest rates unchanged and the possibility of a change in rate policy. Rate-sensitive construction stocks such as Saint Gobain and Acciona rose more than 1.3%. Market-sensitive insurance companies such as AXA and Munich also advanced. Further boost was provided by gains for banking firms ING Group added 2.7% on merger speculation, with its main targets being Dexia, up 4.2%, Fortis, up 4.4% and KBC higher by 4.2%. Shares of several other banks also showed strength. Deutsche Bank rose 2.8%, Credit Suisse climbed 3.3% and UBS added 2%. In the retail sector, shares of U.K. clothing chain Next were in focus, moving higher 6.6% on strong financial results. Tech stocks were helped by Nokia which rose 3.8% after Credit Suisse said it was making a ‘trading buy’ recommendation its stock. The German DAX Xetra 30 surged 2.2 % at 6,856.96, the French CAC-40 rose 1.8% to 5,598.37 and the U.K.''s FTSE 100 added 1% to 6,318.00.


11:30AM U.S. stocks traded lower on worries about the subprime mortgage business.
U.S. market ailed to extend the strong rally of the previous session, as lingering worries about the subprime mortgage market and rising oil prices weighed. Concerns about the subprime lending market and how it might affect the broader housing market were being addressed Thursday at a Senate committee hearing. The Dow Jones Industrial Average which rallied 159 points on Wednesday was dragged down by notable losses for Home Depot (HD: chart), down 1.1% and Microsoft Corp. (MSFT: chart), down 1.1%. Financial stocks American Express (AXP: chart), Citigroup (C: chart), and J.P.Morgan Chase (JPM: chart) also contributed to the downside.

Among companies in focus, Orient-Express Hotels (OEH: chart) climbed 5.5%, hitting a new 52-week high after a news report that the operator of hotels, restaurants, tourist trains may be bought in a deal worth more than $3 billion. Investors were also digesting earnings reports and profit outlooks. On the earnings news front, KB Home (KBH: chart) lost 1% after the homebuilder said its Q1 profit fell 84% but came in above analyst expectations.

The tech sector came under pressure after warning by Motorola (MOT: chart) that the cell phone maker will swing to a Q1 loss due to declining sales. Shares of the company slipped 5.6%. Further on the earnings news front, Barnes & Noble (BKS: chart) fell 3% after it reported higher Q4 results, but but missed expectations. Borders Group (BGP: chart) reported it swung to a Q4 loss and announced plans to close nearly half its Waldenbooks stores. Company''s shares dropped 2.1%.

In brokerage raing news, Nookia (NOK: chart), Motorola''s main rival, rose 1% after Credit Suisse raised its rating on the stock. Procter & Gamble (PG: chart) rose 1.3% after Bear Stearns upgraded the stock to outperform, citing valuation. On the side of the losers, RF Micro Devices (RFMD: chart), a supplier to Motorola, was downgraded by CIBC World Markets, sending its stock down 4.6%. In late morning trading, the Dow Jones industrial average fell 25.15, or 0.20%, at 12,422.37. The Nasdaq composite index declined 10.62, or 0.43%, to 2,445.30. The Standard & Poor''s 500 index lost 3.91, or 0.27%, to 1,431.13.


Leading indicators index fell 0.5%.
The Conference Board released its report on leading economic indicators in the month of February on Thursday, showing that its leading indicators index fell more than economists had been expecting. The report showed that the leading indicators index fell 0.5 percent in February following a revised 0.3 percent decrease in January. Economists had expected the index to fall 0.3 percent compared to the 0.1 percent increase that was originally reported for the previous month. The decrease by the index was partly due to large negative contributions from initial claims for unemployment insurance, consumer expectations, and vendor performance. Positive contributions from manufacturers'' new orders, stock prices, and real money supply helped to offset the decline. The Conference Board also said that the coincident index increased 0.3 percent in February following a 0.1 percent decrease in January. The increase reflected a large positive contribution from industrial production. Additionally, the lagging index increased 0.2 percent in February after coming in unchanged in the previous month. Positive contributions from commercial and industrial loans outstanding and change in CPI for services contributed to the increase.


10:30AM London equities were higher on Thursday on a rally in Next.
The U.K. market was higher on Thursday. The FTSE 100 was up 85 points in early trading, and was trading 40.5 points higher at 6,297.3 at mid-day.

Advancers

Next was the standout,gaining 4.4%, as its full-year figures were lifted by a strong performance from its directories catalogue business. Profits rose 7% to 478 million pounds, despite a decline in same-store sales

Hammerson also advanced 2% as takeover talk refused to die away. The property group has been linked with a bid from Unibail of France. Fellow bid target Whitbread advanced 1.4%

Standard Life added 0.7% as the life assurer posted better-than-expected annual results and announced it would cut down its headcount by a further 1,000 job. Media group Reuters was 1.8% higher as Morgan Stanley lifted its price target from and reiterated its overweight rating.

Decliners