Ever read an earnings report and say to yourself, "man, there's just nothing going on here?" I did exactly that Wednesday with Bed Bath & Beyond (NASDAQ: BBBY) and its second-quarter report.

To be fair, something is going on with the retailer. Earnings per diluted share decreased 16% to 46 cents. And net cash from operating activities took a big 40% dive, coming in at $168 million. So, yes, something is going on, it just isn't anything good.

And if you think those stats are bad, consider that same-store sales for the quarter went down by 0.1%. Okay, is it really fair to point out that comps declined by 0.1%? Shouldn't I have just said "flat" instead? I mean, it's almost like rubbing the depressing results in the face of management by literally writing the exact percentage that comps declined at when said percentage is so unequivocally small. Hey, maybe management needs a reminder that, in the year-ago quarter, comps were actually up to the tune of 2.2%. What happened?

Well, I will cut some slack here since we are in the grips of an economic mess and I certainly would assume that all the problems in the housing industry are taking their noxious toll on the retailer. I'm not sure consumers are in the mood to buy a lot of bathroom accessories while Congress is trying to figure out how to keep the financial matrix from imploding.

MOST NOTEWORTHY: NYSE Group Inc (NYX), Patterson-UTI Energy (PTEN) and HomeBanc Corp (HMB) were today's more notable downgrades:

• JP Morgan downgraded shares of the NYSE Group Inc (NYSE: NYX) to Underweight from Neural to reflect their belief that the company's float will increase significantly in March due to the acquisition of Euronext and the lockup expiration. JP Morgan believes this could bring selling pressure.
  

• Credit Suisse downgraded shares of Patterson-UTI Energy (NASDAQ: PTEN) citing negative earnings impact from share losses and industry capacity additions.

• Shares of HomeBanc Corp (NYSE: HMB) were downgraded to Underperform from Market Perform with a $2.60 target at Friedman Billings based on continued losses and an unlikely sale given market conditions.

OTHER DOWNGRADES:

• Wachovia downgraded Hub International Ltd (NYSE: HBG) to Market Perform from Outperform following news of a private-equity acquisition for $40 a share.

• UBS downgraded Bed Bath & Beyond Inc (NASDAQ: BBBY) to Neutral from Buy on valuation.

• Citigroup downgraded Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corp (NYSE: BNI) to Hold from Buy.

• AG Edwards cut Teekay LNG Partners (NYSE: TGP) and Teekay Offshore Partners (NYSE: TOO) to Hold from Buy citing valuation.

• Raymond James downgraded shares of Marvel Entertainment Inc (NYSE: MVL) to Market Perform from Outperform.

• Lazard downgraded Thoratec Corp (NASDAQ: THOR) to Sell from Hold with a $15 target. They recommend selling shares ahead of a likely FDA decision to call an advisory panel for HeartMate II.

Analyst summaries provided by TheFlyOnTheWall.com (subscription required).