Stocks are looking at a flat to down open this morning as negative corporate news dominates the headlines.

Monsanto Co. has cut its profit forecasts, as has Safeway Inc. Both Siebel Systems Inc. and Juniper Networks Inc. made negative comments about their business prospects.

On the upside, Procter & Gamble Co. said that its fourth-quarter profit will actually be higher than forecast.

In economic news, U.S. import prices came in more or less unchanged in May. Prices dropped slightly, 0.1%, when petroleum is excluded.

In Europe, stocks are down once again, led by tech stocks. Firms such as telecom giants Nokia Oyj and Ericsson AB are leadingthe way lower. The euro is also a bit weaker.

The FTSE is down 76 points to 4,859. The CAC 40 has dropped 79 ticks to 4,030. And, the DAX has dropped 66 points to 4,540.

Overnight in Asia, stocks were also weaker. The Nikkei closed down 122 points to 11,327. The Hang Seng shed 67 ticks to 11,148.

In M&A news, TV broadcaster Univision Communications Inc. is buying radio broadcaster Hispanic Broadcasting Corp. for US$3.5 billion in stock.

CGI Group Inc. says that it closed the acquisition of privately-held Stewart & Stewart Consulting Inc. for an undisclosed price.

In other news, Thomson Corp. has entered into an agreement for a public offering for total proceeds of approximately $1 billion. Thomson common shares will also commence trading today on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol TOC.

Approximately $456 million of the proceeds will be received by Thomson, with the rest going to fees and a large selling shareholder. Proceeds received by Thomson will be used for general corporate purposes including the repayment of existing indebtedness.

Finally, for fiscal 2002, Certicom reported a pro forma net loss (excluding non-operating and restructuring charges) of US$23.2 million, and a GAAP net loss of US$95.8 million, compared with a loss of US$40.7 million in the previous year.