U.S. stock futures pointed to a mixed start Thursday after the previous session’s broad selloff amid concerns about the weak U.S. dollar, high oil prices and credit markets.

In M&A news, BHP Billiton made a tentative offer to buy its Anglo-Australian rival miner Rio Tinto. Rio, which has just completed its acquisition of Canada-based Alcan, said the offer to exchange each share for three BHP Billiton ones — worth around US$110 billion — significantly undervalued it.

In today’s economic news, U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke will be testifying on the economy.

Meanwhile, U.S. weekly jobless claims figures also are due for release.

The euro edged up against the U.S. dollar after the the European Central Bank and the Bank of England both kept interest rates steady.

The ECB and the BOE left key rates at 4% and 5.75% respectively, as expected.

The Canadian dollar opened at US$1.0807, up 0.32 of a cent from Wednesday’s close.

Statistics Canada reported that Alberta led the country in economic growth again in 2006, continuing to ride the wave of the oil boom. Economic growth was widespread in 2006, as several Western Provinces and two of the four Atlantic Provinces registered growth rates above the national average.

In business news, U.S. retailers are posting a second-straight month of weak sales growth for October, with Wal-Mart Stores highlighting the trend with a 0.4% increase. Among other major retailers that have already reported, Costco Wholesale posted a stronger than expected 9% rise in October same-store sales.

In earnings news, networking giant Cisco Systems forecasted 16% revenue growth for the current quarter, which was below analyst estimates, and gave a cautious outlook on the enterprise market. Cisco’s fiscal first-quarter profit rose 37%.

Ford Motor posted a narrower third-quarter net loss from a year ago when it took a huge restructuring charge, amid improvements in its automotive business.

American International Group said its quarterly profit dropped 27% as the New York insurance giant’s investment portfolio suffered from the credit crunch.

Morgan Stanley reported late Wednesday that it’s taking a new US$3.7 billion subprime write-down, with its remaining exposure down to $6 billion.

Toll Brothers, the luxury home builder, said homebuilding revenue dropped 36% in the most recent quarter and said customer cancellations are on the rise.

In commodities news, crude-oil futures rose 40¢ to US$96.77 a barrel in electronic trading, and gold futures slipped 50¢ to US$833 an ounce.


Overseas stock markets dropped after Wednesday’s U.S. losses. The Nikkei 225 dropped 2%, though the FTSE 100 inched higher in London after the Rio offer.

Toronto stocks tumbled Wednesday on renewed fears over the health of the U.S. economy.

The S&P/TSX composite index closed down 252.38 points, or 1.8%, at 14,118.18 with all sectors in negative territory.

The junior S&P/TSX Venture composite index fell 64.69 points, or 2.04%, to end at 3,108.95.

In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average sank 360.92 points, or 2.64%, to end at 13,300.02. The S&P 500 lost 44.65 points, or 2.94%, to 1,475.62. The Nasdaq composite index slid 76.42 points, or 2.70%, to 2,748.76.