Stocks are looking weaker on the open yet again today after U.S. retail sales dropped 0.9% in May. Excluding autos, sales were down 0.4%. Consumer spending had been the one resilient area helping to drive the recovery.

In other economic news, the U.S. Producer Price Index also dropped 0.4% in May. The core rate was more or less unchanged, indicating that inflation is still not a concern for its central bankers. But it is also a sign that companies still don’t have pricing power.

Finally, one bit of good economic news in the U.S. is that initial jobless claims are tailing off, suggesting that workforce cuts are not as pressing as they have been.

In Canada, the only data was a report showing that new motor vehicle sales rose 1.7% in April compared with March.

Tech stocks are also in for particular negative attention on news that Lucent Technologies Inc. says that its sales may drop as much as 15% in the second quarter due to weak demand.

Crude oil prices are rising this morning on fears that Norwegian oil workers may call a strike. As well, oil inventories are down a bit.

In Europe, stocks are down modestly so far today. The FTSE has dropped 20 points to 4,831. The CAC 40 is also off by 20 ticks to 3,985. The DAX is down just two points to 4,508.

Overnight in Asia stocks closed lower again. The Nikkei shed 182 points to 11,145. The Hang Seng gave away 29 points to 11,119.

In earnings news, Transat A.T. Inc. recorded a net loss of $3.3 million over the last six months, compared with net income of $15.9 million in the period.