Stocks are looking to open weaker Thursday on some negative corporate news and building war tension. Morgan Stanley saw its fourth quarter earnings fall 16%, while Goldman Sachs Group saw its profit rise by only 1.6%. Lehman Brothers had a good quarter, with earnings up 87%, beating analyst expectations.

Prices for both gold and crude oil are up today on heightening fears of war with Iraq, and that is souring traders too. There is fear that higher oil prices could stall the U.S. recovery.

In economic news, Canadian wholesale sales rose 0.6% in October to $35.5 billion dollars. However, had it not been for strong wholesale sales of automotive products, total wholesale sales would have been essentially flat. Total wholesale trade has grown 5% since the start of 2002. The rise was largely the result of healthy wholesale sales in sectors with strong ties to consumer spending.

In the U.S., initial jobless claims declined by 11,000 last week. The drop was less than expected, and still left claims above 400,000.

In Europe, stocks are down too on fears that recovery in the U.S. could be wilting. The FTSE is down six ticks to 3,829. The CAC 40 is much weaker, dropping 57 points to 3,020. And, the DAX is down 90 points to 2,933.

Overnight in Asia, stocks actually recovered a little. The Nikkei gained 44 points to 8,388. And, the Hang Seng rose nine points to 9558.

In M&A news, Dole Food is being bought by its CEO David Murdock for US$2.5 billion.

Also, General Dynamics is buying GM’s defense unit for US$1.1 billion in cash.