Instant View: FedEx posts quarterly loss, warns for fiscal '09

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Package delivery company FedEx Corp reported a fiscal fourth-quarter loss on Wednesday, citing record high fuel prices and the weak U.S. economy. The company also warned about fiscal 2009.

The following are comments from market participants on the results: Story:

COMMENTS:

AL MEYERS, PORTFOLIO MANAGER, AMBS INVESTMENTS

"I'm disappointed, but not surprised. My first reaction is this is a very weak economy.

"They're pretty conservative, but I mean this is a lot. We haven't purchased more and for the most part it's traded in a range.

"We probably would not be (adding on weakness). We'll listen to the call, see what the fundamental story is and go from there."

PETER KENNY, MANAGING DIRECTOR AT KNIGHT EQUITY MARKETS IN

JERSEY CITY, NJ

"FedEx is widely regarded as one of the best indicators for economic health and corporate health. No one was expecting great numbers, not only because of slowing economy but also because of fuel costs. But in a slowing economy it's hard to pass along prices, and that's the nature of the problem here.

"The costs associated with shipping jumped radically, but the inelasticity of being able to push those along was the problem.

"They're in the unique space of not only having higher fuel costs for trucking, but they're also in the airline space, so they're facing an enormous challenge to deliver on revenue growth and cost containment."

(Reporting by Nick Zieminski and Kristina Cooke)