Wall Street futures are recovering after some positive news on jobless claims. Earlier in the morning a dire report from Kodak had futures struggling.

Kodak has announced plans to cut as many as 15,000 jobs over the next three years. Meanwhile, the U.S. Labour Department says initial jobless claims dropped for a second week in a row last week. Claims fell by 1,000 last week 341,000. Economists had expected claims to rise by 2,000.

The news in Canada is not so positive. Statistics Canada is reporting that the annual inflation rate rose 2% in December. In November, the 12-month advance was 1.6%. Most of the increase in the 12-month change was due to a refund given to many Ontario electricity consumers in December 2002, causing the average bill in December 2003 to be significantly higher than the December 2002 bill.

Excluding energy, the CPI rose 1.7% from December 2002 to December 2003. This is very similar to the 12-month advance of 1.8% observed in November.

In Europe at midday, London’s FTSE100 Share Index is down 3.80 points, or 0.1%, to 4,507.40. In Paris the CAC40 Index is up 21.36 points, or 0.6%, to 3,697.74. Frankfurt’s Xetra Dax Index is up 4.97, or 0.1%, to 4,143.01.

Japan’s Nikkei Stock Average fell1.69 points to 11,000.7 after cautious investors cashed in on recent gains ahead of the end of the fiscal year on March 31. Hong Kong’s market is closed through Friday for the lunar New Year holiday.

In earnings news, Ford posted a wider net loss of US$793 million in the fourth quarter on a charge to bail out its former parts unit, Visteon. Ford’s core auto operations showed signs of a rebound, reporting a small loss.

Pfizer’s net income fell 79% amid costs related to its merger with Pharmacia and provisions for legal matters. Revenue at the world’s largest pharmaceuticals company soared 52% on increased drug sales.

AT&T’s net income fell 34% to US$340 million as revenue declined 13%, hurt by a competitive long-distance market.

Southwest Airlines’ earnings jumped 56% in the fourth quarter as business travel recovered, but it warned that cost pressures and slower bookings could weigh on the next quarter.

Novartis reported a 14% increase in net income and said it increased its stake in Roche to a third, raising fresh speculation that it plans to attempt a takeover of the rival drug maker.

Nokia said its fourth-quarter profit climbed 12% as handset sales rose.

On Wednesday, the S&P/TSX composite index finished 1.74 points lower at 8,621.88. The TSX Venture Exchange added 17.86 at 1,813.12.

The Dow Jones industrial average closed up 94.96 points at 10,623.62.The Nasdaq composite index slipped 5.53 points to 2,142.42. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index rose 8.85 to 1,147.62.