Adams Golf, Inc. (ADGF) reported its year-end earnings results last week. The Texas-based manufacturer specializes in the manufacturing of innovative golf products.

The company reported record net sales of $96.5 million for 2011. This represents an increase of 12% and compares favorably to the $86.2 million in net sales from the previous year.

Adams Golf also realized a net profit of $14.5 million for the year. On an earnings per share basis, the company earned $1.79. These figures also demonstrate a strong year for the golf manufacturer compared to the prior year. In 2010, Adams Golf reported $5.0 million in net profit or $0.66 per share.

Barney Adams, the Chairman and Interim CEO of Adams Golf, responded to the earnings stating, "With both record revenues and a strong financial performance, 2011 was another highly successful year for Adams Golf. I am delighted with the performance and congratulate the operating team accordingly." Adams continued, saying, "We believe we have continued to make progress with our brand development and market positions."

Shares of Adams Golf, Inc. (ADGF) closed the week at $9.60 per share.

American Eagle's Quarterly Sales Soar, Earnings Fall

American Eagle Outfitters, Inc. (AEO) reported its fourth-quarter earnings this past week. The chain retailer sells clothing targeted to the teen and pre-teen demographic.

In the fourth quarter, American Eagle reported net sales of $1.04 billion, an increase of 14%. AEO's sales were slightly ahead of projections. For the full fiscal year, the company's sales grew 6% to $3.16 billion, up from $2.97 billion last year.

For the quarter, AEO reported a gross profit of $356 million. On an annual basis, the company's gross profit was $1.13 billion.

In an earnings conference call, Joan Hilson, the retailer's CFO, stated, "Consistent with many in our sector, we experienced margin erosion... due to a [drop] in the merchandise margin." She also stated, "Average unit cost increases, driven by the spike in cotton, caused roughly half of the decline."

Last month, AEO declared a quarterly dividend of $0.11 per share.

Trading for shares of American Eagle Outfitters, Inc. (AEO) ended the week at $15.99.

Williams Sonoma Reports Earnings

William-Sonoma, Inc. announced its fourth-quarter and fiscal year earnings this past week. The San Francisco-based retailer of specialty products for the home includes brands Williams Sonoma, Pottery Barn and West Elm.

On a quarterly basis, the company reported net revenue of $1.268 billion, up 6.1% from $1.195 billion in the same period last year. Williams Sonoma also reported earnings per share of $1.17 compared to $1.05 in Q4 in 2010.

For the year, the retailer reported net revenue of $3.721 billion compared to $3.504 billion in 2010. This represents an increase of 6.2% on a year-to-year basis. On an earnings per share basis, the company reported earnings of $2.24 for the year just ended compared to $1.95 in the prior year.

Julie Whalen, Williams Sonoma's Acting Chief Financial Officer, responded to the earnings report. She stated, "As we sit here today, we are encouraged by the momentum we are seeing in our business and are excited about the opportunities in the year ahead." Whalen also said, "We remain cautious in our outlook on the macro environment, the strength of our brands and our proven track record of flexing our business in these less-certain economic times provide us with a strong confidence in our ability to deliver the guidance we have discussed today."

Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (WSM) stock ended the week at $35.93 per share.

The Dow started the week at 12,978 and closed at 12,922. The NASDAQ started the week at 2,976 and finished at 2,988. The S&P 500 started the week at 1,369 and ended at 1,371.

In what is a record sovereign debt restructuring, Greece has received debt forgiveness of more than $132 billion. The move opens the door for a possible second bailout from other EU nations.

Participating in the swap were investors who held 95.7% of Greece's privately held bonds. The move has led finance ministers from the Euro-region to conclude that Greece had satisfied the terms for a rescue package of $198 billion. Initially, Greece will receive nearly $46.9 billion to make payments to bondholders with more funds potentially coming mid-month.

The news of the restructuring was met with mixed emotions among the financial community. John Wraith of Bank of America Merrill Lynch reacted negatively to the cramdown on bondholders stating the process set a "dangerous precedent" that he conceded might be necessary but was far from a long-term solution.

Bill Gross of Pacific Investment Management noted the move changed the rules for institutional investors. Gross stated, "The sanctity of [the private bondholders] contracts is certainly lessened" which will affect investment in sovereign debt in the future. The development may also trigger insurance payments to bondholders who had insured themselves against the risk of default.

Despite the restructuring, Greece remains the most indebted country in Europe. Its debt will remain at nearly 120% of the nation's gross domestic product.

The 10-year Treasury note yield finished the week at 2.03% while the 30-year Treasury note yield finished the week at 3.17%.

Freddie Mac released its weekly Primary Mortgage Market Survey (PMMS) last Thursday. The survey reports that the average rate for a 15-year Fixed Rate Mortgage (FRM) reached an all-time low last week.

The 30-year FRM averaged 3.88% for the week, down from 3.90% last week. Last year at this time, the average 30-year was 4.88%. This marks the fourteenth week in a row that the 30-year FRM remained below 4.0%.

The average 15-year FRM reached an all time low with an average of 3.13%. The 15-year FRM is down from an average of 3.17% and down from a year ago where it averaged 4.15%.

"With these historically low rates and declining house prices, the typical family had more than double the income needed to purchase a median-priced home in January," stated Frank Nothaft, Vice President and Chief Economist of Freddie Mac. Nothaft also noted that one index has shown that home prices have fallen for six consecutive months, down to their lowest level since January 2003.

The money market fund finished this week at 0.50%. The 1-year CD finished at 0.60%.