Legg Mason’s renowned money manager Bill Miller has seen enough.

In his recent second-quarter letter to investors, Miller deemed the current stock market “the most difficult he’d seen,” surpassing the 1989 to 1990 market.

Miller’s Legg Mason Value Trust, which from 1991 to 2005 outperformed the S&P 500, has underperformed the last two years and has lost almost 30 percent of its value this year.

Miller told investors “he should have known better” than to invest in homebuilders, retailers and banks.

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While Miller said there is plenty of uncertainty surrounding the market, a few things actually are certain.

“It is obvious the credit crisis will end, and it is obvious the housing crisis will end, and that credit markets will function satisfactorily and house prices will stop going down and then start moving higher,” Miller said. “It is obvious stock prices will be higher in the future than they are now.”

Baltimore-based Legg saw its stock price close Friday at $40.88, up 1.3 percent for the day.

McCormick completes Lawry’s acquisition

McCormick & Co. on Friday announced it completed the purchase of the assets of Lawry’s for $604 million in cash.

The Sparks-based spice maker in November announced it reached an agreement to acquire Lawry’s, a subsidiary of Unilever.

“This is a well-known brand among consumers and an excellent addition to our portfolio of leading brands,” said Alan Wilson, McCormick’s president and chief executive officer. “In particular, the wet marinade products will extend our broad range of flavor solutions into an attractive and growing category.”

The Lawry’s business includes a full line of seasoning blend products under the Lawry’s and Adolph’s brands that are marketed in grocery stores and other consumer outlets, and account for approximately 70 percent of sales.

The Lawry’s purchase agreement had undergone a regulatory review and on July 29, the Federal Trade Commission granted conditional approval for the transaction.

McCormick’s sales in 2007 increased 7 percent to $2.9 billion from $2.7 billion in 2006. The company had previously expected 2008 sales to increase 4 percent to 6 percent, but after the Lawry’s acquisition revised expectations to 9 percent to 10 percent growth.

“The addition of Lawry’s advances our key strategy to invest in consumer brands that complement our global business,” Wilson said.

McCormick’s share price on Friday closed at $39.85, down 0.6 percent for the day.

Examiner Top 10

The Examiner Top 10 portfolio began Jan. 2, the first trading day of the year, with the hypothetical purchase of one share in each company.

Friday’s Closings

  • Ciena Corp.                     $33.78
  • Constellation Energy       $102.13
  • Legg Mason                    $73.25
  • Lockheed Martin             $105.77
  • Northrop Grumman        $78.74
  • Provident Bankshares    $21.43
  • Southwest Airlines          $12.18
  • T. Rowe Price Group      $59.80
  • Under Armour                $43.69
  • Verizon                           $43.90

*TRADING NOTES: On Wednesday, July 30, shares of Constellation Energy reached a 52-week low, trading at $76.07 per share.

acannarsa@baltimoreexaminer.com