FALL

Boeing Co shares sank more than 6 percent on Monday as analysts said cuts in production would hurt the plane maker's earnings this year.

The sense of freefall for the U.S. economy is likely to end in the middle of the year, though the road to recovery could take some time, Lawrence Summers, U.S. President Barack Obama's top White House economic policy aide, said on Thursday.

Most U.S. retailers posted lower March sales at stores open at least a year, as shoppers remained focused on necessities and put off spring purchases because of a later Easter holiday this year.

Wal-Mart Stores Inc on Thursday reported March same-store sales.

Stock index futures pointed to a lower open on Wednesday Dow component Alcoa kicked off the earnings season with its second consecutive quarterly loss and reignited concern about the global economy.

Stock index futures pointed to a lower open on Wednesday Dow component Alcoa kicked off the earnings season with its second consecutive quarterly loss and reignited concern about the global economy.

Stock index futures pointed to a lower open on Wall Street on Wednesday, as mounting fears over corporate results knocked down stock markets around the world.

World stocks slipped for a third session in a row on Wednesday and government bonds and the low-yielding yen gained as poor earnings from U.S. aluminum group Alcoa sparked concerns about other corporates.

Alcoa Inc shares fell on Tuesday, hours before the aluminum producer was scheduled to report what was expected to be a second consecutive quarterly loss.

Shares of Sun Microsystems Inc dropped on Monday after a source with knowledge of the matter told Reuters that IBM's talks to acquire its smaller rival broke down.

Shares of Sun Microsystems Inc dropped on Monday after a source with knowledge of the matter told Reuters that IBM's talks to acquire its smaller rival broke down.

Credit rating firm Standard & Poor's cut its outlook on Sprint Nextel Corp to negative from stable, saying the wireless carrier's financial health could deteriorate further this year as it loses more subscribers.

Ford Motor Co posted a 41 percent drop in U.S. sales in March from a year ago with declines across all its major vehicle segments as the industry continued to feel the impact from a deep recession.

Global information technology spending will fare worse in 2009 than during the dotcom bubble collapse of 2001, industry research firm Gartner Inc said on Tuesday in cutting earlier projections.

Arena Pharmaceuticals said its experimental obesity drug helped patients shed only about 10 pounds more than those taking placebos, sending its shares down 27 percent.

Shares in UBS (UBSN.VX: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz)(UBS.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) were down 7 percent in early trading on Monday amid expectations the bank could announce more writedowns and job cuts as early as this week.

U.S. stocks fell on Friday as investors booked profits following a recent rapid surge, while the energy sector dropped along with the price of oil.

Technology outsourcing and consulting firm Accenture Ltd reported a drop in quarterly sales and lowered its profit outlook for the full year due to the global economic slowdown, dragging its shares down 6 percent.

Britain's greenhouse gas emissions fell two percent in 2008, firmly putting the country on course to meet its targets under the Kyoto Protocol, the government's environment agency said Wednesday. Provisional statistics published by the Department for Energy and Climate Change (DECC) showed that total greenhouse gas emissions dropped to 623.8 million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent last year, down from 636.6 million metric tons in 2007.

McCormick & Company Inc. said Tuesday, its first quarter sells revenue declined 1% and its profit increased 12 %, due to Lawry’s acquisition and consumers cutting back to save money, Alan D. Wilson, President and CEO said.

Stocks fell on Friday, as long-standing worries about the health of the banking system resurfaced and a brokerage said American Express may post yearly losses and cut its dividend.