Stock futures were lower this morning, pointing to a weak open on Wall Street, continuing Friday's sharp losses and today's global markets sell offs. The same concerns over the the credit and housing markets, which may further slow the economy and hence impact corporate profits have not eased as the U.S. dollar continued its slide. Lower oil prices may be the only brighter spot this morning, much as it is.

Last Friday was the 20th anniversary of Black Monday and stocks sold off sharply. Several Dow companies like 3M Co. and Caterpillar Inc. as well as other blue chip companies reported disappointing results and earnings outlooks while Standard & Poor's downgraded more mortgage-backed securities. The Dow Jones Industrial Average plunged 366 points or 2.64%, the S&P 500 fell 39 points or 2.56% and the Nasdaq Composite declined 74 points or 2.65%.

Following the declines on Friday and the continued decline of the U.S. dollar, global shares tumbled today. In Asian trading, Japan's Nikkei stock average declined 2.24%, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng index dropped 3.7%. In European trading, Britain's FTSE 100 fell 1.41%, Germany's DAX index fell 1.29%, and France's CAC-40 fell 1.74%. Investors hit European and Asian exporters as their goods become more expensive in the U.S.

No major economic data is due out today, but oil prices continued to drop today from last week's $90 a barrel record, falling below $88 a barrel. Light, sweet crude for November delivery lost 99 cents to $87.61 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange by late afternoon in Singapore after settling at $88.60 Friday.

Reporting today: Schering-Plough (NYSE: SGP) and Merck (NYSE: MRK) should report this morning. Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL), Texas Instruments (NYSE: TXN) and American Express (NYSE: AXP) are due to report after the close of trading.

Other news:

• Kohlberg Kravis Roberts and Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS) will cancel their $8 billion takeover for Harman International (NYSE: HAR).
• Bear Stearns (NYSE: BSC) and Citic Securities are near a deal to invest $1 billion in each other.
• General Motors (NYSE: GM), which fell behind Toyota (NYSE: TM) in global sales for the first time in the first three months of this year, has regained its lead and moved ahead of its rival once again.
• Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (NYSE: WMT) will take full ownership of its money-losing Japanese subsidiary, Seiyu Ltd., buying the remaining 49.1% for 140 yen (US$1.23; euro0.86) for each share of the Japanese supermarket chain.