I don't see anything special out of Hewlett Packard (HPQ) last night except for the fact that 6400 new people are now going to be unemployed... I'm sorry, that's bearish. 6400 more workers soon will be employed by federal agencies and/or Walmart. And this morning we have an "eh" type of report out of Deere (DE). Since agriculture is my favorite long term thesis (i.e. decades) I always keep an eye out on this company as the big kahuna in equipment. I see very little in the way of green shoots - but hey that's ok, Bank of America (BAC) was able to unload $8B of shares on the public and that's all that matters. Futures as they are 9 out of 10 days the past 2.5 months are of course up. Oil approaching $61 and all is well in the world... as long as you don't live on Main Street.

Let's check in with what Deere (DE) had to say - the agriculture sector has been on fire the past few weeks and after all this company specializes in green shoots...

note: actually there is no reason to read earnings reports anymore; just remember everything bad is to be ignored as backwards looking and every good is to be claimed as "better than expected" and buy stocks - everyone is doing it. The following is just for your amusement... after reading chew on this red pill and forget it.

Via AP

• Deere & Co., the world's largest maker of farm equipment, said Wednesday its fiscal second-quarter profit slid 38 percent as lower crop prices and the global recession dampened demand for its products. It also slashed its 2009 profit outlook by 27 percent.

Hmm, slashed profit outlook by 27%? After I ignored this fact, and looked out "4-6 months" I can proclaim green shoots and start buying Deere stock.*

• The Moline, Ill.-based company said it earned $472.3 million, or $1.11 per share, during the three months ended April 30, down from $763.5 million, or $1.74 per share, a year ago.