Stock futures pointed to a weaker start for Wall Street on Monday. Futures for the Dow, the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq were down 0.2-0.4 percent by 3:58 a.m. EDT.
Belgian drugs, chemicals and plastics maker Solvay (SOLB.BR) said it would sell its drugs unit to U.S. partner Abbott Laboratories (ABT.N) for 4.5 billion euros ($6.6 billion) in cash. Abbott Laboratories shares in Frankfurt were up 0.8 percent.
The yen jumped to an eight-month high against the dollar on Monday but later lost ground as Japan's finance minister tried to tone down earlier comments suggesting intervention was unlikely, remarks that prompted speculators to pile into the rise and sent the Nikkei average (.N225) down 2.5 percent.
The Dutch biotechnology firm Crucell (CRCL.AS) (CRXL.O) said Johnson & Johnson (JNJ.N) had bought 14.6 million new Crucell shares for 302 million euros ($443.5 million) as part of a flu vaccine development deal. Johnson & Johnson shares in Frankfurt (JNJ.F) added 0.1 percent.
Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago releases its National Activity Index for August at 8:30 a.m. EDT. The index read -0.74 the prior month.
Toyota Motor Corp (7203.T) has raised its global sales forecast for the 2009 calendar year by 3 percent to 6.7 million cars, the Tokyo Shimbun daily reported on Saturday, in the latest sign of a nascent recovery in auto demand.
European shares also fell, on track for their third day of losses. The FTSEurofirst 300 (.FTEU3) index of top European shares was down 0.8 percent at 976.36 points. But E.ON (EONGn.DE) and RWE (RWEG.DE) rose as analysts said the energy suppliers might see support due to potentially longer lifetimes for German nuclear power plants as a result of the German elections, which Chancellor Angela Merkel clinched a majority with the pro-business Free Democrats.
Goldman Sachs (GS.N) plans to recruit up to 200 people for its asset management business, a spokeswoman said.
Citigroup (C.N) sued Morgan Stanley (MS.N) on Friday for breach of contract, saying the Wall Street firm owed it $245.4 million for protection it bought on a loan.
China Unicom (0762.HK), the country's No. 2 mobile carrier, said Apple's (AAPL.O) popular iPhone would be sold in China from October at a retail price of 5,000 yuan ($732.5). France Telecom's (FTE.PA) Orange UK also said it would sell iPhone later this year.
Time Warner (TWX.N) will eventually sell the Time Inc magazine unit and could buy holdings in its core entertainment category, Gordon Crawford, managing director of its largest shareholders, said during a presentation this week.
Bank of America (BAC.N) has suspended its current commitments to ACORN Housing, an affiliate of Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN), a scandal-hit U.S. liberal grassroots group, the Wall Street Journal said on Monday.
U.S. stocks fell for a third straight day on Friday on disappointing housing and durable goods data, while Research In Motion's lackluster results dented optimism about technology spending.
The Dow Jones industrial average (.DJI) fell 42.25 points, or 0.44 percent, to 9,665.19. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index (.SPX) dropped 6.40 points, or 0.61 percent, to 1,044.38. The Nasdaq Composite Index (.IXIC) declined 16.69 points, or 0.79 percent, to 2,090.92.
