Stocks are looking at a weak opening this morning on yet another flood of corporate earnings. Concern about corporate accounting practices has also re-emerged.

One stock that is leading the way lower is controversial conglomerate Tyco International Ltd. The company has dropped a plan to split itself into four units, taken a US$3.3 billion charge, and cut 7,100 workers. Tyco also said it would earn less than expected this year.

On the profit front, WorldCom Inc. reported weaker results. Eastman Kodak saw its profit drop 74%, and offers little hope for recovery. However, mega-insurer American International Group Inc. saw a small 6.5% profit rise in its latest quarter. DaimlerChrysler AG also saw a return to profitability.

Despite some of the good news on the profit front, there’s also news that energy trader Dynegy Inc. is under a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission inquiry into its accounting, and is restating some of its financials.

At the same time, Network Associates Inc. has abandoned its US$225 million offer for McAfee.com Corp., after it said it found accounting errors in its 1999 and 2000 financial statements.

In local earnings news, Slater Steel Inc. reported net earnings of $568,000 for the latest quarter, versus net earnings of $5.4 million in the corresponding period in 2001.

Nexfor Inc. announced earnings of $4 million for the first three months of 2002. For the same period a year earlier, a loss of $5 million was reported. Stronger markets and earnings for North American building materials offset weak market dynamics in the paper and pulp sector. European panel markets continued to be very competitive.

Astral Media Inc. reported net earnings from continuing operations were up 121% to $32.5 million while earnings per share were up 97% to 67¢ per share for the first half of 2002 compared to the same period last year. These net earnings include the non-recurring items and reflect the adoption of new accounting policies. The results include an after-tax gain of $13 million on the sale of The Comedy Network Inc. And they also include a one-time $5.6 million recovery of future income taxes recorded in the second quarter.

WestJet today announced that its net earnings for the first quarter of 2002 were $7.1 million, an increase of 22.4% over the $5.8 million in net earnings achieved in the first quarter of 2001.

Biovail Corp. announced its net income increased 82% and was $53.1 million for the first quarter 2002 versus first quarter 2001 net income of $29.2 million.

Hemosol Inc. announced that for the first quarter it recorded a net loss of $11.7 million, compared to a loss of $6.9 million in the corresponding prior year quarter.

In economic news, the U.S. Employment Cost Index came in up just 0.8%. This puts the ECI growing at its slowest rate in three years. The number signals that the Fed is right to be cautious on the U.S. recovery.

It was also reported that Canadian investors added $10.1 billion to their holdings of foreign securities in February, the second largest monthly increase ever.

Two-thirds of the $6.1 billion worth of foreign stocks acquired in February came from a foreign takeover. As well, Canadians’ $4 billion investment in foreign bonds was a record acquisition.

Foreign investors made a $1.3 billion investment in Canadian bonds while selling off small amounts of stocks and money market instruments. The investment in bonds was mostly in issues of the federal government and its enterprises.

Overseas markets have been predominantly negative so far today, again with corporate news dominating the trends. In Europe, stocks are down across the board. The FTSE has dropped 64 points to 5,154. The CAC 40 is down 90 points to 4,437. The DAX has lost 114 points to 5,046.

Overnight in Asia, markets remained mixed once again. The Nikkei lost 24 points to 11,649. The Hang Seng managed a 13 point gain to 11,409.