Before the Bell

It's not unusual for Wall Street to have opening-bell jitters, but this morning's case has a lot to do with you and your attitude.

Stock futures are pointing down ahead of consumer confidence data that's going to show whether the subprime mortgage crisis is bumming you out about the economy in general. And while we're on the subject of housing, Lennar is also putting the market in a tizzy.

The home builder reported a sharper-than-expected drop in quarterly profit and scrapped its 2007 outlook. The downbeat stock market is helping U.S. Treasuries build on gains from yesterday, when weak housing data revived expectations of an interest-rate cut. But the Fed is more concerned about inflation than slow economic growth, the president of its Chicago branch said in Beijing.

The dollar has steadied against European currencies.

Oil prices have eased from their 2007 high set yesterday, but they're still around $62.50. A strike in the French Mediterranean oil port of Fos-Lavera, now in its 14th day, is beginning to hit refinery output ahead of the summer driving season. Talk about ambivalence.

According to the Times in London, the chairman of Sanofi-Aventis says the French drug maker should buy Bristol-Myers, while its CEO says it shouldn't.

Lisa Von Ahn
Reuters.com