Updated 8:15 a.m. EDT (12:15 UTC)

•GE earnings down: Poor performance by the financial arm of General Electric led to a 43 percent drop in third quarter earnings to $2.4 billion. GE Capital posted a loss of 87 percent. Separately, Bank of America and Halliburton posted losses of $1 billion and $410 million, respectively.

•Sony Ericsson posts losses: The European mobile phone joint venture saw a €164 million drop in third quarter profit due to slow sales. Still, Ericsson shares rose 2.25 percent on news that the company secured €455 million in financing.

•Asian stocks down: After strong advances, Asian stocks fell for the first time in four days on the back of product price cut forecasts by Korea's LG Display, the world's second largest liquid-crystal display makers, and disappointment with earnings from Goldman Sachs Group and Citigroup.

•Oil spurs Gulf: Most markets in the Persian Gulf region rose as oil traded for up to $78 per barrel, the highest in a year, with Abu Dhabi stocks reaching an 11-month peak. Oil prices settled around $77.

•In my backyard: Turbulence is forecast at troubled British Airways where unions representing cabin crew say that strike action is inevitable unless a deal with management is reached by Monday. The airline wants to save £140 million a year from its cabin crew budget while instituting changes to working practices.

— Ben Quinn is a Monitor correspondent based in London. Where did all that stimulus money go, anyway? Check out the Monitor's take on the government's clearinghouse for stimulus data.