Hello, this is Laura Brown, Vice President of Investor Relations. Joining me is Bill Chapman, Director of Investor Relations. We are pleased to be sharing with you today Grainger's fourth quarter results as of December 31, 2008 via this audio webcast. This recording is intended to provide you with more information related to our recent performance. Please also reference our 2008 fourth quarter and full year earnings release issued January 26th in addition to other information on our Investor Relations website to supplement this webcast. Before we begin, please remember that certain statements and projections of future results made in the press release and in this webcast constitute forward-looking information. These statements are based on current market conditions and competitive and regulatory expectations and involve risks and uncertainty. Please see our Form 10-K for a discussion of factors that relate to forward-looking statements. Let's begin by taking a look at our full year 2008 results. Sales, net earnings and earnings per share were all records for Grainger. Sales of $6.9 billion were up 7% versus 2007. There was one extra selling day in the year versus 2007, so sales were up 6% on a daily basis. Net earnings increased 13% versus 2007 and earnings per share of $6.04 increased 22% versus $4.94 in 2007. Taking a closer look at the income statement for the year, gross profit margins increased about 40 basis points to 41%. Operating margins increased almost 100 basis points to 11.4%. Consistent with our guidance, the operating margin expansion was driven y a near equal mix of improved gross margins and operating expense leverage. For comparability, it is important to note that our record earnings per share of $6.04 for the year 2008 included the following items: First, $0.13 per share in charges. This consisted of the…

Thanks, Laura. Fourth quarter operating earnings for the company increased by 8% versus the 2007 fourth quarter. This improvement came entirely from the Grainger Branch-based segment. This increase was the result of improved gross margins through positive inflation recovery and operating expense leverage, despite the 1% decline in sales. Let's now take a look at operating performance by segment. Operating earnings for the Grainger Branch-based businesses increased 13% versus the 2007 fourth quarter. Operating margins increased 170 basis points to 14%. This operating margin expansion was primarily the result of a 120 basis point improvement in gross margins combined with operating expense leverage. Operating expenses as a percent of sales declined by about 50 basis points. Our expense leverage was aided by lower advertising, sales commissions, bonus, employee benefits and severance costs, along with a reduction in the company's bad debt reserve due to better collection efficiency. In addition, gains on the sale of real estate related to the market expansion program partially offset operating expenses for the quarter by $4.6 million versus $1.8 million in the 2007 fourth quarter. Pre-tax ROIC for the Grainger Branch-based segment increased 200 basis points for the year to 38.7% versus 36.7% in 2007, primarily reflecting the improvements in operating performance. Let's move on to the Acklands-Grainger Branch-based segment, where operating earnings decreased 14% for the quarter due to the negative effects of foreign currency. In Canadian dollars, operating earnings were up 5% versus last year's fourth quarter. This was the result of strong sales growth and higher gross profit margins, partially offset by higher operating expenses. In U.S. dollars, operating expenses included a $2 million reserve for a potential loss due to the bankruptcy of a freight payment processor. Also in U.S. dollars, operating margins in Canada decreased 80 basis points to 7.7%…