Before the bell: Stocks mixed; AIG, RTP, AMD, FRE, LEH ...

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Stock futures were mixed Monday morning, indicating stock would start on a down note a week full of economic data. This morning, investors are focusing on rising oil prices and existing home sales data to be released at 10:00 a.m. EDT. Also, over the weekend, Federal Reserve Chairman Bernanke commented from the Fed's yearly retreat, saying that problems in credit markets not yet over and are a threat to economy. Meanwhile, economists are saying inflation is catching up to the credit crisis as the major concern for the economy.

American International Group's (NYSE: AIG) credit ratings may be downgraded by Fitch due to uncertainties over AIG's exposure to mortgage backed securities. AIG was down 1.5% in after-hours Friday.

The Australian government approved Chinalco 14.99% stake in Rio Tinto's (NYSE: RTP) but warned the Chinese firm against buying more shares without prior approval. Alcoa (NYSE: AA) backed the purchase. RTP shares were up over 1% in Australian trading.

Broadcom Corp. (NASDAQ: BRCM) will pay around $192.8 million in cash to acquire chipmaker Advanced Micro Devices Inc.'s (NYSE: AMD) digital TV business, the companies announced Monday.


Freddie Mac (NYSE: FRE) and Fannie Mae (NYSE: FNM) shares are continuing their slide in premarket trading this morning. Freddie is set to auction its three- and six-month bills. On Friday, both Freddie and Fannie had their preferred stock ratings and bank financial strength ratings downgraded by Moody's Investors Service.

Meanwhile, Lehman Brothers (NYSE: LEH) shares are also trading lower in premarket after rumors of a takeover Friday caused the stock to surge. CEO Richard Fuld is facing an internal campaign to force him out by the end of the year, U.K.-based daily The Observer reported Sunday.

Citigroup Inc. (NYSE: C) plans to reorganize the capital markets business within its investment bank, The Wall Street Journal reported.

On Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL), read MarketWatch's commentary about the iPhone's recent launch in India: "Steep pricing and absence of 3G poses a major challenge to iPhone success, but usage of data and value-added services may take off."

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IndexesChangePrice
DJIA+163.7710,072.16
NASDAQ+25.112,151.16
S&P 500+13.791,070.53

Last updated: February 09, 2010: 02:25 PM

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