By James Langton

(May 10 – 09:00 ET) – Overnight markets were very quiet. Traders are waiting for upcoming inflation data and the U.S. Federal Reserve meeting. The Bank of Canada is releasing the minutes from its board of directors meeting later this afternoon, and some rate watchers will be keen to see them.

European markets are mixed, with Unilever leading the upside after announcing strong results and media stocks sliding. London’s FTSE is up 30 points to 6154. France’s CAC 40 has lost 44 ticks 6325. Germany’s DAX is down 59 points to 7221.

In merger news International Paper is upping its offer for Champion International Corp. by 17% to US$9.5 billion, trumping a bid by UPM-Kymmene Oyj. This big deal should boost paper stocks.

The Euro continued to rise on speculation that the European Central Bank will step in to prop it up.

Asian markets slid a little overnight, too. The Nikkei lost 143 points to 17,701. The Hang Seng dropped 284 points to close at 14,493.

Canadian Natural Resources is reporting net income of $1.27 per share, up from 10¢ per share in 1999.