S&P index futures slip after Ireland downgrade
S&P 500 index futures dipped on Friday on renewed concerns about the euro zone debt crisis after Ireland's credit rating was slashed.
* European Union leaders agreed to create a permanent financial safety net starting in 2013, and the European Central Bank will nearly double its capital to cope with bigger credit risk.
* European bank stocks were hit hard after Moody's slashed Ireland's credit rating by five notches.
* U.S.-listed shares of Barclays
* The U.S. House of Representatives approved a compromise deal between President Barack Obama and Republicans late Thursday to extend expiring tax cuts -- a high-stakes gamble to create jobs at a cost of deepening the U.S. debt. Congress was racing to enact the legislation as it faced an end-of-year deadline when the Bush-era tax cuts were set to expire.
* S&P 500 futures were down 2.1 point but in line with fair value, a formula that evaluates pricing by taking into account interest rates, dividends and time to expiration on the contract. Dow Jones industrial average futures gained 12 points, while Nasdaq 100 futures fell 2.75 points.
* The Conference Board releases its report on November leading economic indicators at 10:00 a.m. EST (1500 GMT). Economists in a Reuters survey forecast a 1.1 percent rise, compared with a 0.5 percent increase in the prior month.
* Ford Motor Co
* Blackstone Group LP
* Oracle Corp
* U.S. stocks, bucking a trend of late-day selloffs, ended higher Thursday as economic bellwether FedEx offered a bullish profit outlook that augured well for broad growth.
(Reporting by Angela Moon; editing by Jeffrey Benkoe)
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