Stocks are expected to open this morning, as year-end optimism appears set to overcome a slew of bad news.

Argentina’s government fell overnight, amid escalating riots.

Corporate news isn’t great either. Nortel Networks Corp. says it expects fourth-quarter restructuring costs of US$630 million from job cuts and plant closings, and it sees weak revenues and earnings.

Zurich Financial Services AG, the Swiss insurance giant, says that it may lose as much as US$400 million this year because of investment writedowns and the terrorist attacks in the United States.

However, stock futures are climbing, rallying on news that Nike Inc. and Western Digital Corp. have reported improving results.

On the economic front, U.S. third-quarter GDP came in down 1.3%, which was weaker than preliminary estimates.

In Canada, it was reported that foreign investors increased their holdings of Canadian securities by $13.5 billion in October, as Canadian corporations issued a record amount of new bonds. Canadian investors reduced their holdings of foreign securities by $3.4 billion, mainly of foreign bonds.

On the labour front, labour productivity in the business sector was up 0.8% in the third quarter of 2001 from the second quarter. This quarterly increase in productivity is higher than the 0.3% registered in the second quarter.

Also in October, average hourly earnings for hourly-paid employees stood at $17.03, unchanged from September but 3.5% higher than in October 2000. On a year-over-year basis, average weekly earnings were up 2%. The number of employees on payrolls increased slightly in October (+0.05% or +6,800 employees).

In Europe, stocks are generally up, as gains in consumer stocks, such as drugs and food, are making gains. The FTSE is up 27 points to 5,107. The CAC 40 has gained 37 points to 4,464. The DAX is up 19 points to 4,953.

Overnight in Asia, stocks finished the week on a down note. The yen dropped, but general economic turmoil seems to be the culprit. The Nikkei shed 99 points to 10,335. The Hang Seng surrendered 443 points to 11,158.

In M&A news, Solvay SA is buying Ausimont NV for US$1.2 billion in cash and assumed debt.

Finally, CryptoLogic Inc. announced that it is extending its offer to purchase up to 1 million common shares by way of a Dutch auction. The offer was to expire on December 21, it has now been extended to January 11.