international trade regulations, including tariffs and antidumping penalties.

Derivative instruments, such as foreign exchange forward and option positions have been utilized by the Company to hedge exposures to fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates. The use of such hedging activities may not offset more than a portion of the adverse financial impact resulting from unfavorable movements in foreign exchange rates.

Further information related to the Company's global market risks may be found in Part II, Item 7A of this Form 10-K under the subheading "Foreign Currency Risk" and may be found in Part II, Item 8 of this Form 10-K at Notes 1 and 2 of Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements.

The Company is subject to risks associated with environmental regulations.

Production and marketing of products in certain states and countries may subject the Company to environmental and other regulations including, in some instances, the requirement to provide customers the ability to return product at the end of its useful life, and place responsibility for environmentally safe disposal or recycling with the Company. Such laws and regulations have recently been passed in several jurisdictions in which the Company operates, including various European Union member countries, Japan and certain states within the U.S. In the future, these laws could have a material adverse affect on the Company.

Changes in accounting rules could adversely affect the Company's future operating results.

Financial statements are prepared in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles. These principles are subject to interpretation by various governing bodies, including the FASB and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), who interpret and create appropriate accounting regulations. A change from current accounting regulations, including accounting for stock-based compensation, could have a significant effect on the Company's results of operations and could impact the manner in which the Company conducts business.





Unanticipated changes in the Company's tax rates could affect its future results.

The Company's future effective tax rates could be favorably or unfavorably affected by unanticipated changes in the mix of earnings in countries with differing statutory tax rates, changes in the valuation of the Company's deferred tax assets and liabilities, or by changes in tax laws or their interpretation. In addition, the Company is subject to the continuous examination of its income tax returns by the Internal Revenue Service and other tax authorities. The Company regularly assesses the likelihood of adverse outcomes resulting from these examinations to determine the adequacy of its provision for income taxes. There can be no assurance that the outcomes from these continuous examinations will not have an adverse effect on the Company's operating results and financial condition.

The Company's stock price may be volatile.

The Company's stock has at times experienced substantial price volatility as a result of variations between its actual and anticipated financial results and as a result of announcements by the Company and its competitors.