Trey Thoelcke
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On Thursday, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC) is expected to propose new guidelines for private-equity investors seeking to buy failed banks. Those guidelines are intended to ensure that these largely unregulated firms don't take too many risks with troubled banks or buy and flip them.

The new rules come as private-equity firms have grown increasingly active in the banking sector. FDIC Chairman Sheila Bair said she's comfortable with the private-equity deals the agency has struck for failed banks such as IndyMac and BankUnited, but that a more structured process needs to be put in place.

Minneapolis-based General Mills Inc. (NYSE: GIS), the largest maker of breakfast cereal in the U.S., is scheduled to discuss its fiscal 2009 fourth-quarter and full-year results tomorrow morning in a conference call at 8:00 AM ET. You can catch the live webcast of the call on the company's website.

For the quarter in which General Mills sold part of its frozen bread dough business and introduced additional gluten-free cereals, analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expect the food maker to report earnings of $0.80 per share, which is 8.8% higher than in the same period of the previous year. Revenue for the quarter is expected to be 6.4% higher to $3.7 billion. The company, whose brands also include Pillsbury, Green Giant, and Haagen-Dazs, topped earnings estimates in four of the five past quarters, but fell short by 8 cents per share in the third quarter.

American International Group (NYSE: AIG), once the world's largest insurer, is selling assets outside the U.S. to repay a government bailout. The Carlyle Group, KKR, JC Flowers, and other U.S. private equity firms and Asian financial groups are reported to be interested in AIG's Taiwanese unit Nan Shan Life Insurance Co.

"Everyone hopes this is going to be a fire sale as AIG is in a difficult situation," said a local partner of Standard & Poor's.

Things will be pretty quiet again on the earnings front during this holiday-shortened week, so not much chance of fireworks there.

The one report analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters seem to have the highest hopes for is that from Apollo Group Inc. (NASDAQ: APOL), as people look to education to better position themselves to survive the economic slump. For its fiscal third quarter, during which a new co-CEO was named, the Phoenix, Ariz.-based educational services provider is expected to report a profit of $1.12 per share, which is 24.1% higher than a year ago. Revenue is expected to be 24.3% higher to $1.0 billion. The full-year forecast is currently for $3.97 per share (+28.5%) on sales of $3.9 billion (+24.4%). Earnings have topped expectations in the past four quarters, by as much as 13 cents per share. The long-term EPS growth forecast is 15.9%, which is double the industry average, and the forward PE ratio estimate is 15.0. The First Call consensus recommendation remains to buy APOL; InvestorPlace calls it a stock you can trust. At $68.50, shares are down 10.6% since the beginning of the year, but they peeked above the 100-day moving average at the end of this week for the first time since March.

Here are some highlights from this past week's earnings coverage from BloggingStocks:

• Accenture Ltd. (NYSE: ACN) beat earnings expectations but revenue was hurt by currency effects.
• Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. (NASDAQ: BBBY) strong Q1 results beat estimates but same-store sales fell.
• CKE Restaurants Inc. (NYSE: CKR) lower Q1 earnings and strong sales both topped expectations.
• ConAgra Foods Inc. (NYSE: CAG) higher Q4 earnings were in line with expectations, and shares slipped.
• Darden Restaurants Inc. (NYSE: DRI) Q4 results were higher, but it warned of continuing challenges.
• Hennes & Mauritz (OTC: HMRZF) reported strong Q2 numbers, though same-stores sales slipped.

Perhaps oddly apropos for Father's Day: there's more news of the health effects of green tea; specifically, that compounds found in green tea may slow the growth of prostate cancer, the second leading cause of cancer death among American men.

Researchers have found that polyphenols, a green tea extract with antioxidant properties, lower the levels of proteins that tumors use to grow. While green tea may keep cancer from growing fast, they point out, it may not be able to shrink tumors. But it can be a good addition to traditional therapies such as chemotherapy or radiation.

This week brings a small flurry of end-of-the-calendar-quarter earnings reports. And for the most part, the expectations of the analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters aren't very high. Companies expected to report declining earnings in the most recently concluded quarter include America's Car-Mart Inc. (NASDAQ: CRMT), Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. (NASDAQ: BBBY), ConAgra Foods Inc. (NYSE: CAG), Jabil Circuit Inc. (NYSE: JBL), Jackson Hewitt Tax Service Inc. (NYSE: JTX), Monsanto Co. (NYSE: MON), and Sonic Corp. (NASDAQ: SONC).

Here are some highlights from this past week's earnings coverage from BloggingStocks:

• Adobe Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: ADBE) Q2 earnings were in line with expectations but sales beat.
• Best Buy Inc. (NYSE: BBY) beat earnings estimates for Q1, but on horrible metrics, sending shares lower.
• Carnival Corp. (NYSE: CCL) lower Q2 earnings beat expectations and previous guidance, boosting shares.
• CarMax Inc. (NYSE: KMX) Q1 profit and sales dropped, but still beat expectations, sending shares higher.
• Discover Financial Services (NYSE: DFS) posted a smaller-than-expected Q2 net loss and shares rose.

Both J.M. Smucker Co. (NYSE: SJM) and Carnival Corp. (NYSE: CCL) topped earnings expectations in their respective quarterly reports Thursday, and shares of both ended the day higher.

Smucker said results for the fourth quarter and fiscal year ended April 30, 2009, included the operations of Folgers Coffee Co. since the completion of the merger in November. Adjusted income per share for the quarter was $1.02, a year-over-year increase of 40%. For the full year, it was $3.77 per share, an increase of 20%.

FedEx Corporation (NYSE: FDX) is scheduled to discuss its fiscal fourth-quarter 2009 results tomorrow in a conference call at 8:30 AM ET. You can catch the live webcast of the call on the company's website.

For the quarter that included the package delivery service's ongoing dispute with the Teamsters and the expansion of services into Canada, analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters expect the Memphis-based company to report earnings of $0.52 per share, down 64.1% from the same period of the previous year. Revenue for the quarter is expected to have fallen 15.4% to $8.4 billion.

Adobe Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: ADBE), provider of Acrobat Reader, Photoshop, and other desktop publishing software, is scheduled to discuss its second-quarter 2009 results today in a conference call featuring CEO Shantanu Narayen and CFO Mark Garrett at 5:00 PM ET. You can catch the live webcast of the call on the company's website.

For the quarter in which the San Jose, Calif.-based software and services provider announced collaborations with Facebook, Texas Instruments, and Level 3 Communications, analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expect the cash-rich company to report earnings of $0.35 per share, down 30.0% from the same period of the previous year. Revenue for the quarter ended May 29 is expected to have fallen 21.6% to $695.1 million. These numbers are in line with Adobe's previous forecast. Adobe's earnings have beaten analysts' estimates in the past five quarters by a penny or three per share.

Activist investor Carl Icahn is reportedly interested in taking another run at Delphi Corp. after a federal judge ordered the bankrupt auto parts supplier to open the sale of its assets to potential bidders, in addition to the previous offer from private-equity firm Platinum Equity.

Icahn's auto-parts company, Federal-Mogul Corp. (NASDAQ: FDML), had held discussions with Delphi, but the Presidential Task Force on the Auto Industry, which was set up by the Obama administration to oversee the restructuring of the U.S. auto industry, preferred the Platinum Equity deal.

Well, last week's Beige Book report and other indicators didn't in fact make it clear whether economic recovery is underway. So what do we have to look forward to this week?

There's Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner's testimony at the House Committee Hearing on the Financial Regulation Plan on Wednesday evening. Or how about the bankruptcy filings for the second quarter or Leading Indicators Index for May, scheduled to be released Monday afternoon and Thursday morning, respectively. Will they provide a clear signal about the direction of the economy? Probably not.

Last week was a busy one for San Francisco-based private equity firm Golden Gate Capital. It not only reached an agreement to acquire the assets of the J. Jill Group Inc. from Talbots Inc. (NYSE: TLB), but also reached a deal in the sale of SoftBrands Inc., a Minneapolis-based software producer.

Jill Acquisition LLC, an affiliate of Golden Gate, agreed to purchase the womenswear retailer for approximately $75 million. The deal includes assets and liabilities, including a distribution center in New Hampshire, and intellectual property and inventory. Jill Acquisition assumes the leases of 204 J. Jill stores, with the remaining 75 expected to be closed by Talbots. Talbots' board unanimously approved the deal, and the transaction is expected to be completed in the second quarter.

Here are some highlights from this past week's earnings coverage from BloggingStocks:

• Barnes Group Inc. (NYSE: B) withdrew its 2009 earnings guidance due to uncertainty in transportation.
• Brown-Forman Corp. (NYSE: BF.B) Q4 profit beat estimates and it offered guidance for next year.
• Del Monte Foods Co. (NYSE: DLM) posted strong Q4 results on price increases and a better tax situation.
• FuelCell Energy Inc. (NASDAQ: FCEL) posted lower Q2 sales but announced a big order from South Korea.
• Men's Wearhouse Inc. (NYSE: MW) lower Q1 profit topped estimates but the outlook was in line.
• National Semiconductor Corp. (NYSE: NSM) Q4 net loss and fiscal-year profit both beat estimates.