News – US Stock Futures Decline on China, Credit-Rating Concerns – BusinessWeek
The S&P 500 slipped from a 17-month high on March 12 as a drop in consumer confidence overshadowed an unexpected increase in retail sales. Wen rebuffed calls yesterday for a stronger yuan, while Morgan Stanley said it expects increases in bank-reserve ratio requirements and higher interest rates as early as April. European shares slipped today as the region’s finance ministers plan work on still-secret plans to help Greece overcome its debt crisis today, while counting on the country’s belt-tightening steps to make a bailout unnecessary. Copper, lead, nickel, tin and zinc all fell on the London Metal Exchange today as a stronger dollar weighed on commodities. Wal-Mart’s “price savings no longer outweigh the experience and convenience of shopping the supermarkets,” Citigroup wrote in a report dated March 14. The world’s second-largest soda maker said its directors approved a 7 percent increase in the annual dividend on PepsiCo common stock from the current annual rate to $1. read more