Wall Street stock futures were higher Thursday, with financial stocks gaining ground after UBS named a new CEO and Royal Bank of Scotland posted a loss that wasn’t as steep as expected.

UBS named ex-Credit Suisse chief Oswald Grübel as chief executive, succeeding Marcel Rohner, who is resigning.

Royal Bank of Scotland Group reported a US$34.15 billion annual loss, which wasn’t as steep as what the Edinburgh-based bank had warned it could lose.

Here at home, CIBC swung to a profit of $147 million for the first quarter ended Jan. 31, compared to a net loss of $1,456 million for the same period last year. Earnings per share were 29¢, compared to a loss per share of $4.39 a year ago.

Royal Bank of Canada reported net income of $1,053 million for the first quarter, down $192 million or 15% from a year ago and down $67 million or 6% from last quarter.

The bank said its results “were impacted by higher losses related to market environment impacts including unfavourable credit valuation adjustments.”

In other earnings news, General Motors said it lost US$9.6 billion in the fourth quarter and burned through US$6.2 billion in cash as it sought government help to avoid running out of cash.

The worsening economy hit Torstar Corp. in the last quarter. While fourth-quarter revenues of $412.8 million were up $9.9 million from $402.9 million in the last quarter of 2007, Torstar reported a net loss of $211.2 million in the same quarter, including $229.5 million of losses from associated businesses and investment writedowns in companies like CTVglobemedia, of which Torstar owns a 20% share.

Robert Prichard, who has served as president and CEO of Torstar for seven years, will step down at the firm’s annual meeting in May.

In M&A news, Bank of America said it is looking to sell First Republic Bank, a private bank it inherited in the Merrill Lynch deal.

On today’s economic calendar, U.S. government figures are expected to show a drop in orders for durable goods.

Investors also expect U.S. government data will show that new home sales fell slightly in January to a record low for the second straight month.

In Canadian economic news, Canadian corporations earned $65.4 billion in operating profits in the fourth quarter of 2008, down 16.3% from the third quarter.

Statistics Canada said this marked the largest quarterly decline in 16 years. Declines were widespread as 16 of 22 industries reported lower profits.

Oil futures climbed 48¢ to US$42.98 a barrel by afternoon in Singapore on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Gold futures fell over US$17 an ounce.

Asian markets ended mostly lower Thursday after a volatile trading session amid concerns about the global economy.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 stock average closed largely flat, off just 3.29 points at 7,457.93 after being up more than 1%. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng lost 0.85% to 12,894.94. The Shanghai benchmark plunged 3.9% to 2,121.25.

In Europe, gains for RBS and UBS lifted stocks, with the FTSE 100 up 1.1% and the German DAX 30 up 0.8%.

On Wednesday, the Toronto Stock Exchange climbed higher for a second consecutive day, boosted by strength in financial stocks.

The S&P/TSX composite index rose 72.97 points, or 0.9%, to finish at 7,932.3.

The financials group advanced 3.1%.

Shares of Toronto-Dominion Bank advanced $0.60, or 1.7%, to $35.85 after the company reported a 27% drop in net income for the first quarter ended Jan. 31, and a 15% boost in revenue in the same period.

Shares of Agrium Inc. tumbled $4.27, or 8.5%, to $46.03 after the company announced it had launched a hostile bid to take over rival CF Industries Holdings, Inc. for US$3.6 billion.

The S&P/TSX Venture composite index gained 1.38 points, or 0.2%, to close at 854.97.

Stock markets south of the border retreated on more dismal economic news: existing home sales dropped 5.3% in January to their lowest level in almost 12 years.

In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average dropped 80.05 points, or 1.1%, to end at 7,270.89.

The S&P 500 index fell 8.24 points, or 1.1%, to 764.9.

The Nasdaq composite index declined 16.4 points, or 1.1%, to 1,425.43.

IE