U.S. stock futures were sharply lower Tuesday amid nervousness about the fate of North America’s auto makers.

Executives of General Motors, Ford Motor, and Chrysler and the head of the United Auto Workers union are to testify at a U.S. Senate Banking Committee hearing. The car makers are seeking US$25 billion in government aid.

Canadian politicians are also under pressure to protect Ontario car-industry jobs.

A day after General Motors parted with its stake in Suzuki Motor Co., Ford said it would cut its stake in Mazda Motor to over 13% from 33% for US$540 million.

Investors will be focusing on testimony by Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson and FDIC Chairman Sheila Bair before the House Financial Services Committee .

In today’s economic news, U.S. producer prices posted a record drop in October, falling 2.8%, the U.S. Labour Department said.

Later today, the U.S. National Association of Realtors releases third-quarter area home prices and sales, and the National Association of Home Builders issues its monthly outlook.

Here at home, the Canadian dollar opened down 0.67 cent at US81.08¢.

In earnings news, Home Depot posted a better-than-expected 31% fall in fiscal third-quarter net income and lowered its full-year sales forecast.

Hewlett-Packard posted stronger-than-expected earnings results a week early and providing 2009 earnings guidance above consensus views.

In international banking news, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc., Japan’s largest bank, said its six-month profit plunged 64% to 92.02 billion yen (US$955.6 million), hit by bad loans and investment losses.

And HSBC Holdings PLC, said it will cut 500 jobs in Asia due to the global economic slump. The bank announced 1,100 job cuts worldwide in September.

In other corporate news, Yahoo Inc. founder Jerry Yang is stepping down as chief executive. Observers believe Yang’s departure will accelerate an overhaul of Yahoo and lead to a sale of the Internet company to Microsoft.

In commodities news, oil futures dropped below US$55 a barrel. Light sweet crude was down 42¢ to US$54.53 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Overeseas, the Nikkei 225 Index lost 2.3% in Tokyo and the FTSE 100 Index fell 1.3% in London.


Toronto stocks kicked off the week with more losses as global economic woes continue to dampen the mood of nervous investors.

The S&P/TSX composite index fell 260.51 points, or 2.88% to 8,795.45.

The junior S&P/TSX Venture index moved down 15.82 points, or 2%, to 785.79.

In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average declined 223.73 points, or 2.6%, to 8,273.58.

The S&P 500 index shed 22.54 points, or 2.6%, to 850.75, and the Nasdaq composite index dipped 34.8 points, or 2.3%, to end at 1,482.05.

IE