U.S. stock markets are posed to open down as Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (NYSE:WMT) released its worst same-store sales figures in 25 years and new data underscored the weakness in the housing market. DaimlerChrysler AG (NYSE:DCX) also is expected to announce big cutbacks at its Chrysler unit.

Wal-Mart, the world's largest retailer, said January sales rose 2.2 percent, following a poor holiday season. The company has reshuffled its management ranks as it looks to regain lost traction against rivals including Target Stores Corp. (NYSE:TGT). JP Morgan Securities analyst Charles Grom told clients Saturday that Wal-Mart will "continue to face an uphill battle versus Target and other moderately priced department store chains," according to the Wall Street Journal (subscription required).

Two Detroit newspapers are reporting that DaimlerChrysler is expected to announce plans to cut 10,000 jobs and close three U.S. factories as it tries to become more competitive, according to the Associated Press. There also will be closer ties between the company's Chrysler and Mercedes Benz units.

Oil prices are expected to rise as a cold snap hits the Northeast. and the dollar was mixed in trading against currencies in Europe. Economists are expecting that a key measure of service industry growth will show that increased consumer spending is boosting economic expansion, according to Bloomberg News. The Institute for Supply Management's index of non-manufacturing business is expected to jump to 57 from a revised 56.7 in December, according to a survey of economists by Bloomberg.

.

This post is written as part of AOL Money & Finance's Best & Worst 2006. If this post convinces you that Ford can make a comeback, cast your vote.

Recently I wrote a blog post about some of the nice things Ford Motor Company (NYSE: F) is doing. It was just an overview and the article was cursory at best. A member of our excellent editing staff suggested that I might have readers who want a bit more explanation of just what has happened with Ford's stock market value over the last year. I think that for an even better perspective, I'll need to take you back ... way, way back....

Ford Motor Company's stock value entered this decade at $29.30 (the actual per share value was $53.51 but there's a split adjustment factored in). By the end of 2000 Ford stock had slipped to $23.44. One year later the shares had deflated to $15.95 and by the end of 2002 investors were viewing in amazement a stock value of just $9.58. In 2003 Ford took an upswing and shares ended that year at $16.18. But 2004 ended at $14.80, 2005 nearly halved that value to $7.90, and 2006 is shaping up to finish with Ford Motor Company shares close to today's ending price of $8.13. Two factors that must be considered when viewing this historical trend are: In 2000 Ford's daily share trading volume was in the range of 3,300,000, whereas yesterday's trading volume for Ford was over ten times that much at 30,530,400 shares. How do total share availability and volume traded affect the overall price? I'll honestly tell you, that information is just plain "over my head."