Futures trading has been weak Wednesday morning, despite a significant rebound on the equities markets yesterday. Heightened war tension stoked by George Bush’s threat to have Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein tried as a war criminal may be the cause.

Another factor is Hewlett-Packard’s report of mixed results. The tech bellwether posted better-than-expected first-quarter earnings thanks to cost-cutting after the Compaq merger. But revenue growth was flat and its outlook for this year was unclear.

Asian markets closed lower overnight. Tokyo’s Nikkei average slid 3.68 points to 8,356.81, following a 204-point loss on Tuesday. In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index fell 32.30 points to 9,116.28.

In Europe, the FTSE 100 index is down 1.4% at midday in London. It’s off 51.8 points to 3,569.7. The Frankfurt DAX has slipped 1%. The Paris CAC-40 has dipped 0.5%.

Meanwhile, one bright light is the continued performance of the Canadian dollar. It’s trading at US66.93¢, up 0.02¢, after sliding back under 67¢ on Tuesday.

Statistics Canada is reporting that a sample survey of 27,000 organizations shows total capital spending in Canada will reach $209.7 billion, compared with the preliminary total for 2002 of just over $205.3 billion.

Canada’s two most populous provinces, Quebec and Ontario, will account for more than one-half of spending in 2003. Intentions in Ontario represent 37% of the total, and intentions in Quebec, 20%. Overall spending on plant and equipment is expected to hit $154.3 billion, up 1.1% from 2002; housing investment is expected to increase 5% to $55.4 billion.

A new Scotiabank/Ipsos-Reid Poll may be good news for advisors. It’s showing that Canadians are unsure about achieving financial goals.

According to the poll, only 38% of Canadians strongly agree that they are satisfied with their ability to achieve their financial goals. Less than one in three Canadians have a formal written financial plan. Canadians with formal written financial plans and who invest regularly more likely to be satisfied with their ability to achieve their financial goals, says the poll. Finally, paying down debt is the number one financial goal for Canadians.

American investment firm, Morgan Stanley, may face civil charges from the SEC. The regulator is alleging that Morgan Stanley doled out shares of initial public offerings to investors based partly on their commitments to buy additional stock after trading began. Morgan Stanley has denied the allegations.