Main market news here: Before the bell: Losses aren't over

Illuminating Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) iPhone users' reports of dead spots on their touch screens, an analyst notes that the property rights for the touch screen's chemical makeup were purchased from a bankrupt Finnish firm that could not solve the screen film's degradation and loss of sensitivity that came with frequent use.

Electronic Arts (NASDAQ: ERTS) has won exclusive rights through 2013 to create video games from the properties of toy maker Hasbro (NYSE: HAS), including Monopoly and other classic board games.

Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) has begun testing a quick "dashboard" view for its 300 million Windows Live users.

Vivendi's world-leading Universal Music Group plans to license the sale of songs without digital copy protection. Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN), Google (NASDAQ: GOOG), and Wal-Mart (NYSE: WMT) will sell the songs online. Apple's iTunes is notably not participating.

What bad news did you want first? Expect the Dow index to give up the week's remaining gains today -- stock futures indicate Thursday's 387-point plummet isn't finished.

Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS) fell overseas on reports that its North American Equity Opportunities fund has dropped more than 15 percent this year, compounding worries about GS' Global Alpha fund.

The Wall Street Journal reports that SEC regulators are reviewing the books at Goldman Sachs, Merrill Lynch (NYSE: MER) and other top brokerage firms and banks, digging for unreported losses stemming from the subprime mortgage meltdown.

The Federal Reserve and its European and Japanese counterparts all injected huge sums into their financial systems Thursday and Friday in response to the ongoing credit turmoil.

Companies reporting earnings Friday include satellite television provider EchoStar Communications (NASDAQ: DISH) and contact lens maker Bausch & Lomb (NYSE: BOL).

Japan's Nikkei average led the losses overseas, dropping 2.4%, its steepest loss since mid-March. The Dow's setback echoed throughout Europe, sending the French CAC 2% lower, London's FTSE 1.9% lower, and Germany's DAX down 1.6%.

Corporate news

Speculation that Barclays Plc (NYSE: BCS) will back out of the unprecedented banking takeover of ABN Amro Holding NV (NYSE: ABN) sent ABN shares down 4.8% overseas.

Following the Dow's steepest one-day climb in four years, stock futures were flat Tuesday ahead of the Federal Reserve's 2:15 p.m. decision on interest rates. The Fed is expected to maintain its benchmark federal funds rate at 5.25%.

Also Tuesday morning, the Labor Department will report on second-quarter productivity and costs; moderated labor costs and increased productivity are expected.

Companies reporting earnings today include Cisco Systems (NASDAQ: CSCO), TXU Corp. (NYSE: TXU), and Harrah's Entertainment (NYSE: HET). Cisco is expected to match earnings estimates of 35 cents a share.

Overseas, the Nikkei eked out a 0.04% rise to close at 16,921.77, while the FTSE 100 rallied following Wall Street's gains Monday.

Companies reporting earnings Monday include Conseco (NYSE: CNO), EMC Corporation (NYSE: EMC) and Spectra Energy (NYSE: SE).

Stocks slipped in Europe and Japan, with the Nikkei falling 0.4 percent to 16,914.46. The dollar declined against the euro and fell 0.2% against the yen.

Traders await Tuesday's rate decision from the Federal Reserve. The Fed is expected to maintain rates at 5.25%.

Corporate news

Bear Stearns Cos. (NYSE: BSR) has ousted co-president Warren Spector, holding him responsible for two slumping hedge funds that touched off the recent decline in credit markets.

Broker UBS upgraded Merrill Lynch (NYSE: MER) to "buy."

Pharmaceutical firm Merck (NYSE: MRK) is feeling pressure as a British probe into an outbreak of foot and mouth disease has led authorities to seal off a lab co-owned by Merck and French counterpart Sanofi-Aventis SA.

Stock futures held mostly flat Friday, following the Dow's record close yesterday at 13,861.73, a gain of 283.86, its biggest point rise in five years.

Dow component General Electric (NYSE: GE) will release its second-quarter results Friday, one day after abandoning a deal to buy Abbott Laboratories (NYSE: ABT) diagnostics business. Also yesterday, GE announced plans to sell off its subprime lender WMC Mortgage, responding to broad defaults. GE is forecast to report earnings of 52 cents.

UPDATE: General Electric reported earnings of 53 cents per share on net income of $5.4 billion in the second quarter, up 10% from 48 cents last quarter, in line with analysts' expectations. GE posted a 12% rise in revenue and revealed that it's leaving the U.S. subprime mortgage business altogether.

The Commerce Department will issue reports this morning on June retail sales (8:30 a.m.) and May business inventories (10 a.m.). Retail sales are expected to have declined, following great gains in May and lower demand for automobiles and home supplies.

UPDATE: Commerce reported 0.9% lower retail sales in June, the steepest slide in nearly two years.

The Dow's fortunes were echoed in markets worldwide. Markets climbed throughout Europe, with Germany's DAX posting a new high. Asian markets rose as well, as the Nikkei hit a six-week high.

Corporate news

The Dutch Supreme Court on Friday reversed a ruling that had snared the sale of Chicago-based LaSalle Bank to Bank of America (NYSE: BAC). A lower court had ruled shareholders should have had a say in ABN Amro (NYSE: ABN)'s $21 billion sale of LaSalle.

Shares of Alcoa (NYSE: AA) rose overseas after it dropped its hostile $28 billion bid for Canadian rival Alcan (NYSE: AL) after Rio Tinto (NYSE: RTP) raised the Pittsburgh aluminum maker's bid for Alcan by $10 billion.

Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ: AMGN) shares were boosted abroad when its board authorized a stock buyback of up to $5 billion in shares.

ABT cut to Sell at Merrill Lynch.
AKAM reitr Buy at Jefferies.
ALD started as Overweight at Wachovia.
AMT raised to Focus List at JPMorgan.
ANPI cut to Neutral at Merrill Lynch.
APA raised to Overweight at Lehman.
BF/B started as Neutral at Goldman Sachs.
BHI raised to Overweight at JPMorgan.
BPO started as Equal Weight at Morgan Stanley.
BSX cut to Neutral at Merrill Lynch.
COLM cut to Hold at Citigroup.
COST cut to neutral at B of A.
CRYP cut to Sector Underperform at CIBC.
DHI cut to Neutral at B of A.
DO cut to Underweight at JPMorgan.
DOW cut to Neutral at B of A.
FTI raised to Overweight at JPMorgan.
GSF cut to Underweight at JPMorgan.
HME raised to Outperform at Wachovia.
LCAPA raised to Buy at Citigroup.
MDC cut to Neutral at Credit Suisse.
MRVL target and estimates cut at multiple firms on warning..
PHM cut to Sell at B of A.
REP cut to Equal Weight at Lehman.
RFMD raised to Outperform at Credit Suisse.
RIG cut to Underweight at JPMorgan.
SBAC started as Underweight at JPMorgan.
SEPR cut to Neutral at Goldman Sachs.
SNE cut to Neutral at Goldman Sachs.
SPF raised to Outperform at Credit Suisse.
STJ raised to Buy at Merrill Lynch.
TROW cut to Mkt Perform at Wachovia.
UNF started as Overweight at JPMorgan.
WBMD raised to Neutral at Goldman Sachs.
WCI cut to Neutral at B of A.
XMSR raised to Outperform at Bear Stearns.