Stock Futures Down with Weak Earnings

A number of big companies, including Boeing, Wachovia, and AT&T, are announcing disappointing earnings, which are moving stock futures to a lower open. Notably Wachovia, which is being taken over by Wells Fargo, had a $23.9 billion loss in the third quarter--"compared with net income of $1.6 billion" during the same period last year. Yahoo posted losses yesterday, but Apple says its 26% rise in third quarter profit was due to the new 3G iPhone; still, it wasn't enough to keep the U.S. markets from falling. Markets in Asia fell, and European markets are down.