Stock futures fell Monday after U.S. bank Wachovia Corp. announced it is cutting its dividend and raising US$7 billion in new capital after a first-quarter net loss of US$350 million.

Here at home, Richard Anderson is out as CEO of First Calgary Petroleums Ltd. after dissident major shareholder Waterford Finance & Investment Ltd. won its campaign to revamp the company’s board and shake up its management. Anderson will be replaced by Shane O’Leary, formerly chief operating officer, ending a proxy battle.

The Canadian dollar opened at US97.73¢, up 0.02 cent from Friday.

The future of Hudson’s Bay Co. is unclear following the weekend death of owner Jerry Zucker. The retailer is now in the hands of the South Carolina billionaire’s widow.

In today’s economic news, U.S. retail sales took a surprising turn upward during March, rising 0.2%, the U.S. Commerce Department said.

Statistics Canada reported that the number of new motor vehicles sold fell 3.2% in February, after two months of very strong growth.

Separately, StatsCan said 2007’s pace for investment in non-residential building construction continued into the first three months of 2008, as a result of office buildings underway in Alberta and Ontario. First-quarter investment hit $10.3 billion, up 1.6% from the fourth quarter and the 20th consecutive quarterly increase.

In other earnings news, Philips Electronics reported a 75% drop in first-quarter net profit as growth in its health-care and lighting units was offset by lower television sales.

Astral Media Inc. reported continued growth in revenue and profit for the second quarter ended February 29. Consolidated net earnings for the second quarter increased by 18% over the same quarter last year, rising to $29 million, or 51¢ a share, from $24.6 million, or 47¢ a share.

In M&A news, Blockbuster said it is willing to offer between US$6 and US$8 a share for Circuit City Stores, making the proposed deal worth more than US$1 billion.

Crude oil edged up 59¢ to US$110.73 per barrel and gold rose $2.20 to $929.20 an ounce.

Overseas, Japan’s Nikkei 225 index fell 3.1% to close at 12,917.5, pulled down by financial stocks, technology shares and automakers. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index fell 3.5% to 23,811.20, and the Shanghai composite index plunged 5.6%.

In midday European trading, London’s FTSE 100 dropped 0.6%, the French CAC 40 fell 0.7% and Germany’s DAX was down 0.8%.

On Friday, North American markets closed lower Friday as weak earnings from General Electric made investors wary along with weak consumer confidence reports.

In Toronto, the S&P/TSX composite index tumbled 226.55 points, or 1.63%, at 13,683.03.

The junior S&P/TSX Venture composite index closed down 10.11 points, or 0.39%, at 2,557.34.

In New York, GE’s weaker than expected earnings hit stock markets hit hard. The Dow Jones industrial average sank 256.56 points, or 2.04%, to end at 12,325.42. The S&P 500 lost 27.72 points, or 2.04%, to close at 1,332.83.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq composite index fell 61.46 points, or 2.61%, to 2,290.24.

For the week, the Dow was down 2.3%, the S&P was down 2.7% and the Nasdaq fell 3.4%.