Last week, AGCO Corp. (AGCO) reported third-quarter results. The company posted earnings of 13 cents per share, compared $1.01 per share in the prior-year quarter. The significant decline in quarterly earnings was driven by lower sales volumes, weaker product mix and the negative impact of currency translation. Net sales in the quarter were $1,403.7 million, down 32.7% compared to the third quarter of 2008. AGCO is experiencing soft demand conditions in most of its markets. Lower commodity prices, along with expectations of decreased farm income, are hampering investments in farm equipment around the world. AGCO is aggressively cutting production in order to reduce its own and dealer’s inventories. Sales in North America were down 31.9% on a constant currency basis due to weaker sales of low horsepower tractors and hay products, as well as reduction in dealer inventory. Unit retail sales of lower horsepower tractors were ...

AGCO Corp. (AGCO) reported second-quarter earnings of $0.64 per share, above market expectations of $0.55. EPS results were down 52.2% year over year due to deteriorating demand for agricultural equipment in all the major markets and increase in engineering expenses.   Net sales in the quarter were $1,579.0 million, down 34%, compared to the second quarter of 2008. AGCO is experiencing soft demand conditions in the most of its markets. Sales in North America were down 4.3% as weaker sales of lower horsepower tractors more than offset strong sales of high horsepower tractors, balers and implements.

Unit retail sales of lower horsepower tractors were down due to weakness in the landscaping, residential construction, and dairy sectors. This weakness is expected to continue for the remainder of the year.   In the EAME region, quarterly sales were down 28.0% due to lower volumes in Eastern and Central Europe, Russia, Scandinavia and

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Magna is pulling out the stops in its bid for Opel by increasing the amount of upfront capital it would pump into the company to €350 million, following criticisms from the German government about the size of cash injections offered by bidders.  Sberbank says it expects a verdict on the bid this week.  Beer manufacturers have pleaded with Putin to rethink a plan to triple beer tax saying it would precipitate the 'destruction of the industry'.  Avtovaz's output this year will be 59% less than that of last year.  The New York Times reports that the car manufacturer is contemplating making 27,000 employees redundant to slash costs, reports which the company has denied.   In a move to protect domestic car production, the Industry and Trade Ministry has suggested postponing the introduction of the Euro-4 fuel ...

By Edward Hugh: Barcelonabr /br /Russia's foreign-exchange reserves have been now been declining very rapidly since mid August, and as the money goes so does the faith that the large stock of reserves the country built up during the boom times would be sufficient to see them through any downturn in energy prices. As the money leaves, so it seems does the decade of economic growth and stability which they symbolised. Indeed so rapid has been the decline that Russia's international reserves, which are the third-biggest after those of China and Japan, have now fallen $161 billion, or 27% percent, since 8 August last, and decreased by $17.9 billion to $437 billion in the week to 5 December. Investors have now pulled $211 billion out of the country since August, according to estimates by BNP Paribas.br /br /br /pa href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_ngczZkrw340/SUbQptNe4tI/AAAAAAAALyE/K0xlBOy3AlA/s1600-h/russia+GDP.png"img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5280137028067844818" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: ...

Brazil's trade surplus narrowed to $2.7 billion in June from May as a rising currency and expanding domestic demand boosted imports. Imports rose to a record $15.9 billion from $15.2 billion in May, according to the trade ministry today. Exports fell to $18.6 billion from $19.3 billion. The May surplus was $4.1 billion.Brazil's 12-month trade surplus narrowed to $30.8 billion in June, the smallest in four years, from $31.9 billion in May. The 12-month indicator has been shrinking since May 2007, when it peaked at $47.8 billion.The Brazilian real has risen 20 percent against the dollar in the last 12 months, the best performance among the 16 most- traded currencies.Brazil's industrial output expanded less than economists expected in May, possibly reducing the pressure on the central bank to accelerate interest-rate increases. Industrial production rose 2.4 percent in May on a year on year basis, ...

In Bob Pisani’s blog post, “Global Theme: Inflation Worries” how many nations does he specifically name?

In China, a measure of inflation at the factory rose 8.2 percent in May, the highest in nearly four years, thanks to higher raw material costs. Inflation in Asia is a particular concern, because many countries there have very little account surpluses, heavily subsidize their citizens’ fuel consumption, and import much of their food and energy. This includes Korea, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam.

Elsewhere:

1) Ford (F) has already said it would be putting off its plan to return to profitability. Now, it’s assembling a plan to rapidly shift entire truck plants in the U.S. to car production, specifically some of the small cars it is producing in Europe, according to The Detroit News.

That’s six by my count.

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From Bloomberg today:South Korean Factory Output Jumps on Chips, Phones South Korea's industrial production rose seven times faster than expected in July as companies increased output of semiconductors and mobile phones.Manufacturing grew 2.1 percent from June, when it gained 1.9 percent, the statistics office said today in Gwacheon, South Korea. The median forecast in a Bloomberg News survey of 11 economists was for a 0.3 percent increase.An increase in output may help to protect Asia's third- largest economy from a slowdown in consumer spending after the benchmark stock index fell from a record and the central bank raised interest rates twice in two months. Overseas shipments, which account for about 40 percent of the $887 billion economy, rose at the fastest pace in six months in July.``Upbeat export momentum will keep the economy chugging along,'' said Kim Jae Eun, ...