Stocks are expected to continue their roller coaster ride with another slide this morning. Profit taking and some weak corporate news look likely to spur slides.

Techs are leading the way lower after Siebel Systems Inc. reported its first loss in four years. Broadcom Corp. issued a weak sales forecast. Biogen Inc. saw its profit slump 40% last quarter. UAL Corp. managed to narrow its third-quarter loss to US$889 million.

In economic news, the U.S. Consumer Price Index rose 0.2% on the headline and just 0.1% on the core rate for September. Inflation remains a non-issue
in the U.S.

It was also reported that the U.S. trade gap grew to a record US$38.5 billion in August. Higher imports drove the move, as companies built up their stock in anticipation of the dockworkers strike.

Meanwhile, Canadian merchandise exports fell $195 million to $34.8 billion, with exports to the European Union dropping nearly half a billion dollars. Exports to the U.S. leveled off too. Exports declined 0.6%, with four of seven major sectors falling, but imports rose 2.6% to $30.7 billion because of strong activity in the energy and automotive sectors. This resulted in a slide of nearly $1 billion in Canada’s merchandise trade surplus with the world to $4.1 billion.

In Europe, stocks are down so far today on bad corporate news. The weakness came after cell phone firm Ericsson AB reported lower sales and a 10:1 share consolidation. It also cut its sales forecast. The FTSE is down 68 points to 4103 The CAC 40 dropped 66 points to 3117. The DAX is down 63 points to 3109.

Overnight in Asia stocks closed the week on the upside. The Nikkei gained 126 points to 9086. The Hang Seng added 37 points to 9613.

In M&A news, Enbridge announced that it has completed the sale of the Cornwall Street Railway Light and Power Co. to Fortis Inc. for $67 million Canadian. The sale was approved by the Competition Bureau and the Ontario Energy Board.