Stocks are looking mixed this morning, as traders cope with a possible war with Iraq. War worries have driven the dollar down too. The ongoing strike in Venezuela and its impact on oil prices is also weighing on markets.

There is some gloomy news from AT&T. It’s cutting 3,500 jobs and taking a US$240 million charge to scale back in the face of falling demand.

European stocks are down in morning trading, led by weak corporate news. Insurers are worried about weak results. Names such as Aviva plc and Prudential plc are lower, as is Deutsche Bank AG. KLM Royal Dutch Airlines NV says that it expects a loss this year due to lower demand. The London FTSE is down 53 points to 3952. The Paris CAC 40 has dropped 22 points to 3166. And, the Berlin DAX is 49 points lower at 3044.

Overnight in Asia, markets were notably stronger however. The Nikkei gained 134 points to 8713. The Hang Seng finished 82 points higher at 9666.

In other corporate news, the world’s biggest mining company, BHP Billiton CEO Brian Gilbertson quit due to “irreconcilable differences” with the company’s board.

On the M&A front, Sherritt Coal Partnership II has again raised its offer for Fording Inc. The $35.00 per share bid now sees its cash component increased to $20.00 per share from $17.63 per share. The first quarter distributable cash flow target is raised from $1.05 per unit to $1.14 per unit. And, the subordination level increased to $1.14 per unit for each quarter of 2003 and extended for each quarter of 2004 at $1.30 per unit.