U.S. stock futures slip before payrolls; dollar drop continues - MarketWatch

U.S. stock futures slip before payrolls; dollar drop continues - MarketWatch

Ahead of the jobs data, the dollar touched a fresh record low against the euro, and the dollar fell below the 102 yen level for the first time the U.S. currency has done so since 2005. There was market speculation emerging from Asia of the possibility of an emergency U.S. interest rate cut which some attributed to the dollar's weakness.

Yields on 10-year Treasury bonds fell to 3.5%, gold futures rose $3.30 to $980.40 an ounce while oil futures fell 55 cents to $104.92 a barrel.

While the economy is struggling, the situation in credit markets is even worse.

Ambac Financial (ABK:

ABK

on Friday said it raised $1.5 billion through selling common stock as well as bonds that convert into stocks. Its common stock offering was priced at $6.75 vs. a close on Thursday of $7.42.

Carlyle Capital, the investment fund affiliated with The Carlyle Group, meanwhile reported a fresh wave of margin calls and said some of its residential mortgage-backed securities have already been liquidated by investors.

Elsewhere, National Semiconductor (NSM:

NSM

may rise after reporting better-than-forecast gross margins during its fiscal third quarter. The company, which last month had trimmed its revenue outlook for the third quarter, also missed analyst estimates on current quarter revenue.

Marvell Technology (MRVL:

MRVL

which had rallied heading into Friday's results, topped analyst estimates on fourth-quarter earnings, citing strong revenue growth of storage and Ethernet connectivity products.

Atari (ATAR:

ATAR

may gain after majority owner Infogrames Entertainment submitted an offer to buy out the shares it doesn't already own. Atari is forming a special committee to consider the bid.

Ciena (CIEN:

CIEN

is the highest-profile company scheduled to report earnings on Friday.

After the Wall Street losses on Thursday, international stock markets suffered. The Nikkei 225 and the Hang Seng each lost over 3%, while European stocks dropped over 1%.