Stocks are poised to open lower this morning after the U.S. Producer Price Index came in weaker than expected.

The PPI was up 0.1% on the headline, but down 0.1% on the core rate. Hefty food price increases were behind the rise.

Also, accounting worries continue to weigh on the market on news that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is investigating accounting issues at Nvidia Corp. This may spark some tech selling particularly.

In Europe, stocks are little changed at midday, and trading mixed for that matter. Lloyds TSB Group plc said it plans to cut 3,000 jobs, or 4% of its workforce. As well, French industrial production fell in December.

The FTSE is up half a point to 5,209. The CAC 40 is down 13 points to 4,416. The DAX is off by 25 points to 4,949.

Overnight in Asia stocks were mixed, too. In Japan, the Nikkei closed down 33 points to 10,048. The Hang Seng opened for one more trading day this week after a prolonged holiday to celebrate the Chinese New Year. It closed up by 129 points to 10,962.

In M&A news, Fishery Products International’s acquisition of Clearwater Fine Foods Inc. will not go ahead. FPI says that Clearwater no longer wants to proceed with the transaction.

In other news, Four Seasons Hotels Inc. reported net earnings for the quarter ended December 31 were $9.3 million, as compared to $38.5 million for the quarter in 2000.

Xenos reported a net loss of $283,000 in its latest quarter, compared with a net loss of $1,724,000 for the first quarter of fiscal 2001.