Ub News

U.S. stock futures traded lower on Tuesday in choppy trade, with FedEx’s improved guidance not enough to steer the broader market.

After early gains, stock futures turned lower as U.S. traders started the day. Weak industrial production out of Germany and concerns over mounting debt in Dubai and Greece contributed to the bearish tone.

S&P 500 futures dropped 7.4 points to 1,096.30 and Nasdaq 100 futures fell 14.25 points to 1,769.20. Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 68 points.

U.S. stocks finished a quiet Monday with little movement: the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1 points, while the S&P 500 fell 2 points and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 4 points.

Wall Street is eagerly awaiting results of a Bank of America (BAC) board meeting on Tuesday, at which directors will likely discuss CEO candidates, and perhaps select one to replace outgoing CEO Ken Lewis. Bank of America Corp. (NYSE:BAC, $15.89, -$0.39, -2.4%) fell 0.69 percent to $15.78 on Tuesday morning pre-market trading session, even on Monday, shares of Bank of America slipped 2.4 percent and closed on $15.89, BofA jumped 5.58 percent in the past one month trading.

Citigroup (C) is racing against the clock to convince US authorities that it be allowed to repay $20bn (£12bn) of bail-out funds, with insiders and regulators arguing that unless the bank acts in the next 10 days it will have to wait for more than a month. Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C, $4.03, -$0.03, -0.74%) dropped 0.50 percent to $4.01 on Tuesday morning pre-market trading session, even on Monday, Citigroup shares were down 0.74 percent and closed on $4.03.

Russian stocks were cut to “neutral” from “overweight” within global emerging markets at JPMorgan Chase & Co., which cited a “potential correction” in energy and commodity markets. Gains in the U.S. dollar, a reversal of fund inflows out of commodity markets and regulatory intervention are the key risks that may halt a rally in raw material prices, JPMorgan analysts led by Adrian Mowat wrote in a report today, according to Bloomberg. JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM, $41.25, -$0.49, -1.17%) fell 0.48 percent to $41.05 on Tuesday morning pre-market trading session, even on Monday, shares of JPMorgan declined 1.17 percent and closed on $41.25.

Wells Fargo & Co. (WFC) Chief Executive John Stumpf said on Tuesday that he expects the bank’s credit losses to peak in 2010. John Stumpf reiterated on Tuesday that his firm wants to repay the government’s TARP investment, but he didn’t provide any more details. “Let me reiterate what I said in the past,” Stumpf said. Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC, $26.36, -$0.6, -2.23%) dropped 0.87 percent to $26.13 on Tuesday morning pre-market trading session, even on Monday, Wells Fargo shares were down 2.23 percent and closed on $26.36.

U.K. taxpayers are insuring more than 167 billion pounds ($273 billion) of Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc’s risky assets outside the U.K., 59 percent of the total covered by the government’s Asset Protection Scheme. RBS put 75.4 billion pounds of European Union assets, 43.6 billion pounds of U.S. assets and 48.4 billion pounds from other countries into the program, the Treasury said yesterday in a document on its Web site. The remaining 114.5 billion pounds of insured assets are from the U.K., according to the document. Royal Bank of Scotland Group plc (NYSE:RBS, $10.83, -$0.66, -5.74%) fell 7.66 percent to $10.00 on Tuesday morning pre-market trading session, even on Monday, shares of RBS declined 5.74 percent and closed on $10.83.

H&R Block Inc (HRB.N), the largest U.S. tax preparer, posted a narrower-than-expected second-quarter loss, aided mainly by better results in Tax Services segment. The net loss narrowed to $128.6 million, or 38 cents a share, in the quarter ended Oct. 31 from $135.9 million, or 41 cents, in the same period a year ago. H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE:HRB, $20.48, +$0.26, 1.29%) doesn’t has any changes in Tuesday morning pre-market trading session, even on Monday, H&R Block shares were up 1.29 percent and closed on $20.48.