it looks like we will get another dumping tomorrow, it is...

it looks like we will get another dumping tomorrow, it is looking similar to the tech crash, but with 160 points wiped of in 4 days, it is looking worse than the tech crash


U.S. Stock-Index Futures Fall; Wal-Mart, Coca-Cola Slide
March 29 (Bloomberg) -- U.S. stock-index futures fell on speculation the Conference Board's measure of consumer confidence slipped for a second straight month in March, raising concern about the pace of expansion in the world's biggest economy.

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and Coca-Cola Co. dropped in Europe.

``Everyone's fear is we'll see a weaker consumer in the U.S.,'' said Mark Bousfield, a fund manager at Brewin Dolphin Holdings Plc in Guernsey, Channel Islands, which oversees about $26 billion in assets. ``This will unnerve investors and push stocks lower.''

Standard & Poor's 500 Index futures expiring in June dropped 4.2 to 1173.5 as of 11:55 a.m. in London. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures slid 34 to 10,465 and Nasdaq-100 Index futures lost 7 to 1474.5. Twenty-three of the 29 Dow stocks trading in Europe declined.

American International Group Inc. retreated after the company said Maurice ``Hank'' Greenberg plans to step down as chairman after U.S. regulators broadened an investigation of reinsurance contracts that may have manipulated earnings.

Futures were also weighed down by Asian stocks which slumped as government reports in Japan and South Korea suggested economic recoveries in both countries are faltering.

Wal-Mart, the world's largest retailer, lost 34 cents to $50.65 in Germany. Coca-Cola, the biggest soft-drink maker, declined $1.06 to $40.75.

The Conference Board's index likely fell to 103, the median forecast of 41 economists surveyed by Bloomberg News, from 104 in February, as higher gasoline prices discouraged spending. January's 105.1 was the highest reading in six months.

Gasoline Prices

The average price of a gallon of gasoline has exceeded $2 this month, eroding some of the spending power from job growth, economists said. Gasoline cost a record $2.19 as of March 28, the Energy Department said yesterday in a weekly report. The Conference Board report is due at 10:00 a.m. in Washington.

``An increase in raw materials has a negative impact on people's perception of their future buying power,'' said Jacques Porta, a fund manager at Ofivalmo Patrimoine in Paris, which oversees $167.5 million in stocks. He recently bought shares of Arch Coal Inc.

AIG, the world's largest insurer, lost 34 cents to $56.68 in Germany. Greenberg, 79, is giving up the post two weeks after stepping down as chief executive officer. Frank Zarb will take on the chairman duties as lead director of AIG's board, the company said in a statement yesterday.

Government reports today showed that consumer spending in Japan declined and factory production in South Korea slid to the lowest in almost seven years. The Nikkei 225 Share Average fell 1.6 percent, its biggest drop in four months.

Punitive Damages

Altria Group Inc. lost 3 cents to $64.47 in Switzerland. The company's Philip Morris USA, the nation's largest cigarette maker, was ordered to pay a lung-cancer patient and her husband $18.8 million in what would be the largest payment to an individual smoker. A New York jury yesterday awarded punitive damages of $17.1 million to Norma Rose, 72, and her husband Leonard. Those damages are added to an earlier $1.7 million compensatory award in New York State Supreme Court in Manhattan.

Krispy Kreme Doughnuts Inc. fell 14 cents to $8.49 in Germany. The No. 2 U.S. doughnut chain will get a loan from Credit Suisse First Boston and hedge fund Silver Point Capital LP to avoid defaulting on its credit line, people familiar with the situation said. CSFB is arranging the financing after the company's lenders froze a $150 million credit line because Krispy Kreme failed to meet a deadline to disclose earnings.

Google Acquisition

Google Inc. lost 95 cents to $180.47 in Germany. The world's most-used Internet search engine agreed to buy Urchin Software Corp. to add services that help Web site owners boost the return on their advertising dollars. Terms of the deal, which is expected to close in April, weren't disclosed.

Morgan Stanley added 1 cent to $55.49 in Germany. Chief Executive Officer Philip Purcell named Zoe Cruz and Stephen Crawford as his top deputies at the world's second-biggest securities firm, after shareholders and former executives criticized his leadership.

Russ Berrie & Co., the maker of teddy bears and other gift items, said it's delaying its fourth-quarter financial report for a second time. Russ Berrie didn't provide a reason for the postponement in a PR Newswire statement. The shares didn't trade in Europe.

Saks Inc., the owner of Saks Fifth Avenue and regional department stores, said the SEC opened a formal investigation into whether the company improperly collected as much as $21.5 million from vendors. The stock didn't trade in Europe.

Millennium Cell

Millennium Cell Inc. jumped 32 cents to $2.19 in Germany. The developer of hydrogen fuel cells said in a Business Wire statement that it delivered a 5-kilowatt product for test at the U.S. Department of Defense Fuel Cell Test and Evaluation Center.

Other U.S. economic releases scheduled for this week include the final estimate of fourth-quarter gross domestic product growth on March 30 and the monthly jobs report on April 1.

U.S. stocks pared gains in the last hour of trading yesterday. A magnitude 8.7 earthquake, among the 10 most powerful worldwide since 1900, struck near the west coast of Sumatra in Indonesia, sparking panic as governments issued tsunami warnings in Indian Ocean countries that are trying to recover from the Dec. 26 disaster.