Stocks are looking at another weak opening today as traders have renewed terrorism concerns in mind. The explosion of a French oil tanker off the coast of Yemen has renewed worries and boosted the price of oil today. Also, the ongoing threat of war with Iraq continues to loom. U.S. president Bush is scheduled to speak to the nation about it tonight.

Stocks are also under pressure amid concerns about the health of financial firms’ loan books.

The results of yesterday’s Brazilian election also have traders concerned that left wing candidate Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva may win the country’s top office. Markets are worried that his policies will disrupt Brazil’s recovery and cause wider pain in South America.

In economic news, Canada’s building permit data for August showed that builders took out $4.0 billion worth of permits in August, down a slight 2.1% from the record reached in July. The recent strength in the residential sector has weakened a little as construction intentions in the non-residential sector have retreated.

European stocks are down in early trading today, led by banking firms such as UBS AG, ABN Amro Holding NV and Credit Suisse Group. Loan losses are the main concern, as they will be here. Dutch office supply giant Buhrmann NV is down after cutting its profit forecast. The FTSE has dropped 35 points to 3,779. The CAC 40 is down 32 points to 2,733 and the DAX is off 39 points to 2,675.

Overnight in Asia, stocks had another weak session. The Yen was down after more weak data from the Japanese economy. The Nikkei lost 340 points to 8,688 and the Hang Seng dropped 120 points to 8,931.

In M&A news, Nortel Networks is selling assets for a change. Optical component assets are being sold to Bookham Technology for approximately US$108 million in stock, debt, warrants and US$10 million in cash.