U.S. stock-market futures fell Thursday after a sharp jump in jobless-claims numbers, meanwhile Canadian investors woke up to news that the BCE takeover deal is dead.

A legal fight looms between BCE Inc. and its would-be purchasers over the issue of a $1.2 billion break-up fee after the $52 billion proposed privatization of Canada’s largest telecommunications company was officially declared dead on Thursday.

The $42.75-a-share cash offering for Bell Canada’s parent corporation by a group led by the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan suffered a fatal blow late last month when auditor KPMG determined that the company-to-be wouldn’t pass a solvency test required as a condition of closing the deal.

In other corporate news, both Petro-Canada and EnCana Corp. said they are reducing 2009 capital spending.

South of the border, the number of U.S. workers filing new claims for state unemployment benefits rose more than twice as much as expected last week to a 26-year high, the U.S. Labour Department said. Initial claims for jobless benefits spiked 58,000 to a seasonally adjusted 573,000 in the week ended Dec. 6. Economists had expected claims would rise by just 24,000.

In other economic news, the U.S. trade deficit unexpectedly widened in October, rising for the first time in three months as a record increase in quantity of oil imported offset falling oil prices and plunging car purchases. The U.S. deficit in international trade of goods and services rose by 1.1% to US$57.19 billion from September’s revised US$56.56 billion, the U.S. Commerce Department said.

Meanwhile U.S. House of Representatives Wednesday approved the multi-billion federal-loan package for the auto Industry, investors are warily watching how the plan will fare in the U.S. Senate.

Those opposed are arguing that any support for the domestic auto industry should carry significant concessions from auto workers and creditors and reject tougher environmental rules imposed by House Democrats.


Costco Wholesale said fiscal first-quarter net income was about flat, reflecting bargain-hunting shoppers looking for deals in a downbeat economy. Same store sales edged up 1% and total sales rose 3.6%.

Procter & Gamble became the latest corpoarte giant to cut its sales view for the current quarter, noting retailers, distributors and consumers are all cutting back inventories around the world.

Eli Lilly & Co. said it will post a net loss for the year on more than US$4 billion on fourth-quarter charges from its US$6.5 billion acquisition of ImClone Systems.

In commodities news, light, sweet crude for January delivery was up US$1.98 to US$45.50 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Overseas, Asian markets ended mostly higher with Tokyo’s Nikkei rising 0.7%. European markets were mixed. London’s FTSE rose 0.4%.

Toronto stocks finished higher on Wednesday as rising oil prices fanned a rally in energy shares.

The S&P/TSX composite index jumped 236.44 points, or 2.82%, to 8,634.00, with six of its 10 main sectors ending higher.

The junior S&P/TSX Venture composite index gained 19.52 points, 2.85%, to 704.54.

In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average rose 70.09 points, or 0.81%, to 8,761.42. The S&P 500 gained 10.57 points, or 1.19%, to 899.24. The tech-heavy Nasdaq composite index was up 18.14 points, or 1.17%, at 1,565.48.

IE