Stock futures were unsettled as investors assessed earnings from Altria and Merck, OPEC eyed output, the Fed considers rates and the State of the Union looms.
European markets were lifted by oil majors, while Japan's Nikkei extended gains. Crude backed off from $68.
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Wendy's International (WEN, Trade) was upgraded to neutral from sell at Banc of America Securities, which cited an improved outlook for the entire restaurant industry.
UBS cut asset-management firm Janus Capital Group, Inc. (JNS, Trade) to reduce from hold because of valuation.
Deutsche Bank cut Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. (GT, Trade) to sell from hold, citing the company's fourth-quarter warning.
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Google Inc. (GOOG, Trade) is reportedly considering an alliance with Napster Inc. (NAPS, Trade) that could lead to an outright acquisition of the music service, The New York Post reported, citing music industry sources. Google prefers to have a subscription rather than per-song model like Apple Computer's (AAPL, Trade) iTunes, the report said.
The costs of employing a worker in the United States increased 0.8% in the fourth quarter, matching the third quarter's gain, the Labor Department said.
Altria Group Inc. (MO, Trade) reported fourth-quarter earnings from continuing operations of $2.29 billion, or $1.09 a share, up from a year-ago equivalent profit of $1.99 billion, or 96 cents a share. Revenue rose 9.4% in the latest three months to $24.49 billion from $22.38 billion a year earlier.
Merck & Co. (MRK, Trade) reported fourth-quarter earnings of $1.119 billion, or 51 cents a share, up slightly from a year-ago profit of $1.101 billion, or 50 cents a share. Sales edged higher to $5.77 billion in the latest three months from $5.75 billion a year earlier. Merck reaffirmed its outlook for 2006 earnings of $2.28 to $2.36 a share, excluding restructuring charges. The Dow component said its restructuring program remains on track and that it was able to eliminate roughly 1,100 positions by the end of 2005.
Merck also provided an update on legal matters related to Vioxx, an arthritis pain drug it pulled in September 2004 due to concerns about cardiovascular safety, saying it was aware of 9,650 lawsuits related to the matter as of Dec. 31. The company also said it's received a civil investigative demand from a group of Attorneys General representing 31 states and the District of Columbia that are probing whether Merck violated state consumer protection laws when marketing Vioxx.
Wyeth (WYE, Trade) posted fourth-quarter reported income of $731.7 million, or 54 cents a share, compared with a reported loss of $1.76 billion, or $1.32, a year ago. The quarter included $124 million of licensing costs. It also included charges of $94.8 million related to productivity initiatives.
Newspaper publisher Knight Ridder Inc. (KRI, Trade) said net income dropped 22.2% to $83.3 million, or $1.24 a share, as operating revenue nudged 3.1% higher at $820 million. Analysts polled by Thomson First Call were expecting earnings of $1.22 a share and revenue of $817 million.
Kraft Foods (KFT, Trade) said it's going to cut "a number" of European jobs as it consolidates its European operations.
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