Before the Bell

Wall Street is waking up to higher oil prices and the prospect of more economic news. Those factors, plus a natural inclination to rest after a rally, are making its climb more slippery this morning, and stock futures are pointing sideways.

London Brent crude is up near $69 a barrel and U.S. crude is close to $63 as refinery closures cut gasoline supplies less than two weeks before Memorial Day weekend. For its part, OPEC is happy when oil's around $60 to $65, its secretary general says.

Weekly jobless claim figures are due shortly. After the opening bell, look for the Conference Board's report on leading economic indicators and the Philly Fed's business activity survey. Speaking of the Fed, chief Ben Bernanke will be speaking ... on subprime mortgage markets and regulation.

The dollar is up against the yen as investors remain infatuated with higher-yielding currencies. U.S. Treasuries are holding steady. Business data provider Acxiom has accepted a private equity takeover bid of $3 billion, including the assumption of debt. Cerberus is apparently as ravenous as you'd expect a company named for a three-headed beast to be.

The Globe and Mail reports that the prospective Chrysler buyer is now planning to make a bid for Bell Canada parent BCE Inc. Sun Micro shares are up after the company's board authorized a $3 billion stock buyback. And investors are bidding up Hewlett-Packard shares after the computer maker reported higher earnings and sales.

Lisa Von Ahn - Editor
www.reuters.com