Stock futures indicate a lower start on Wall Street this morning after Friday's record close and last week's rally. As investors prepare for a bombardment of earnings this week, they also eye rising oil prices and the upcoming Fed chairman Bernanke's testimony this week. Last week, U.S. stocks posted strong gains as they reached another record level when the Dow Jones Industrial Average came close to the 14,000 level (less than a hundred points to go). General Electric Co.'s (NYSE: GE) earnings and the rise in consumer-confidence helped boost sentiment.
Today, already Mattel (NYSE: MAT) reported earnings this morning that beat estimated profits by a cent.
This week, investors will get a chance to hear reports from many large caps on Wall Street, many of them tech and financials including Microsoft, Intel, Citigroup, Merrill Lynch, Google and Yahoo!. Eleven of the 30 stocks that make up the Dow industrials will report this week.
Also this week, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke will give two days of semiannual testimony on U.S. monetary policy before Congress. No doubt, the housing market and inflation will be in focus, as well as the overall economy.
The key economic release today will be the July NY Empire State Index, a survey of manufacturing in the area, which is expected to have fallen. The release will be at 8:30 a.m.
Overseas, Asian shares mostly closed lower on Monday. European stocks rose for a third day in morning trading, but have changed direction in the past hour. The euro continued to gain against the dollar to yet another record high.
Corporate news:
It seems the consortium led by Royal Bank of Scotland will have a fresh bid as it raises the cash component of its €71.1 billion ($98 billion) bid for ABN Amro (NYSE: ABN).
IHOP Corp. (NYSE: IHP) said it would acquire fellow Applebee's International Inc. (NASDAQ: APPB) for about $1.9 billion in cash or $25.50 per share of Applebee's. The two sides pegged the total value of the deal at $2.1 billion.
Vodafone Group Plc (NYSE: VOD) is considering a $160 billion takeover bid for Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE: VZ) according to the Financial Times. While there is no certainty this will go forward, Verizon shares rose 1.9% in premarket trading.
Update: Vodafone says it has no plans to bid for Verizon.
Ford Motor Co. (NYSE: F) denied reports in The Sunday Times that it is putting its Volvo unit up for sale and said it is not negotiating with anyone to sell the Swedish automaker.
Finally, Christopher Bancroft, part of the Bancroft family that controls Dow Jones (NYSE: DJ), is trying to block a takeover by News Corp. (NYSE: NWS).
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