* Fed interest rate meeting in focus
* Uncertainty over automakers aid remains
* Honeywell says profit to decline next year
* For up-to-the-minute market news, please click on
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By Leah Schnurr
NEW YORK, Dec 15 (Reuters) - U.S. stocks were set for a
higher open on Monday as investors bet on more U.S. interest
rate cuts as part of an aggressive campaign to stimulate
growth, while uncertainty over aid for automakers lingered.
The U.S. Federal Reserve is expected to cut interest rates
this week at a regularly scheduled monetary policy meeting in
an effort to push more money into the sputtering U.S. economy.
In the latest news on efforts to secure government aid for
ailing U.S. automakers, U.S. President George W. Bush said an
announcement on a rescue for the struggling industry was not
imminent, highlighting continuing uncertainty over its fate.
For details see [].
Lawmakers over the weekend said they expect the White House
to act soon to head off a potential collapse in the industry.
An attempt to offer the three big Detroit automakers a
financial lifeline failed to get past the Senate last week, but
on Friday the White House said it could be willing to provide
emergency funding.
"The market is expecting a bailout. Whether or not it
happens this week or early next week, I think it's already in
the marketplace," said Peter Cardillo, chief market economist
at Avalon Partners in New York.
"If the market manages to move a bit higher in the first
few days of the week, then we could probably see the year-end
rally stay in tact."
S&P 500 futures <SPc2> were off 3 points and were above
fair value, a formula that evaluates pricing by taking into
account interest rates, dividends and time to expiration on the
contract. Dow Jones industrial average futures <DJc2> was down
18 points, and Nasdaq 100 <NDc2> futures were up 0.50 point.
General Motors <GM.N>, Ford <F.N> and Chrysler employ
nearly 250,000 people directly and 100,000 more jobs at parts
suppliers could depend on their survival. The industry fears
the failure of one Detroit manufacturer could drag down the
other two, while massive job losses could exacerbate the
economic slowdown.
Shares of Ford were up 3 percent at $3.13, while GM rose
4.3 percent to $4.3 in pre-market trading.
Former Dow component Honeywell International Inc <HON.N>
said it expects profit to decline by about 13 percent next year
as it feels the effects of the deepening global recession.
[].
The Wall Street Journal reported over the weekend that
President-elect Barack Obama's team is considering a plan to
boost the U.S. economy that could be larger than previous
estimates and might reach $1 trillion over two years.
[].
Underscoring global economic turmoil, Japan reported its
sharpest crash in business sentiment in three decades, while
industrial output in China grew at its slowest pace since 1999.
[].
More banks revealed exposure to the alleged $50 billion
fraud surrounding Wall Street trader Bernard Madoff, including
Royal Bank of Scotland <RBS.L>, Man Group <EMG.L> and Nomura
<8604.T>. [].
On Friday, stocks rose on hopes that there could still be a
rescue package for ailing U.S. automakers, while investors bet
the large stockpiles in cash at technology companies will help
them weather the economic downturn.
The gains helped the broad market recover further from the
S&P 500's 11-year intraday low hit on Nov. 21. So far this year
the S&P 500 is down about 40 percent, but since the November
low it has pulled itself back up almost 19 percent.
(Editing by James Dalgleish)
