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[milbank]

By Simon Kennedy, MarketWatch Last Update: 8:15 AM ET 2/22/08 LONDON (MarketWatch) -- U.S. stock market futures edged lower Friday continuing the previous session's downbeat tone, with mortgage-finance firms Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae likely to come under pressure from a downgrade. In a quiet day for economic data Friday, the dollar slipped against both the euro and the yen, losing 0.5% against the Japanese currency at 106.90 yen. Crude oil prices gained after coming off highs earlier in the week. The April-dated light crude price rose 43 cents to $98.66 a barrel. In broker news, Merrill Lynch took a more bearish view on the future for mortgage finance firms Freddie Mac (FRE) and Fannie Mae (FNM) , downgrading the pair to sell from neutral. Among upgrades, Cowen raised biotech company ImClone Systems (IMCL) to outperform from neutral, saying that based on conversations with physician consultants, it believes the group's Erbitux drug's prospects for gaining significant market share are good. Shares in Intuit (INTU) may come under pressure after the software group reported a 21% decline in second-quarter profit late Thursday. Shares in Express Scripts (ESRX) , on the other hand, may rise after its earnings topped forecasts and revenue also edged higher. In other earnings news, insurer Fairfax Financial Holdings (FFH) reported its fourth-quarter profit more than tripled to $563.6 million as successful bets on the mortgage meltdown helped boost its investment income. AstraZeneca (AZN) said it will appeal a court ruling in Alabama that awarded over $200 million of damages to the state's Medicaid agency in a dispute over drug pricing. Motorola Inc. (MOT) named Paul Liska as its new chief financial officer, effective March 1. Among companies due to report earnings, Energy-based holding company PG&E Corp. (PCG) is projected to report a fourth-quarter profit of 56 cents a share. Most Asian markets were in retreat, with exporters weighing on the Japanese market. European stocks were also lower, with the German DAX 30 the biggest faller of the main indexes -- down 1.1% -- after weak results from heavyweight utility RWE. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Simon Kennedy is the City correspondent for MarketWatch in London

Edited by milbank, 22 February 2008 - 08:48 AM.