Another weak prognosis for the housing sector has dampened the mood on Wall Street after yesterday's late rally. Stocks looked to open lower after the latest housing report suggested the industry had not yet bottomed out. Shortly for 9 a.m., Dow, Nasdaq and S&P 500 futures were trading well below fair value. Housing starts fell to annual rate of 817,000 units last month, well below analysts' estimates of 870,000 homes. At the same time, building permits, which are used to project the industry's near-term health, fell to annual rate of 786,000. Most economists agree that a broader economic recovery will begin with a turnaround in the housing sector. The latest results offered little hope of a near-term fix. Still, the tech sector, which is less dependent on the success of the U.S. economy, offered rosy third-quarter results. Google (GOOG: 353.02, +13.85, +4.08%) and IBM (IBM: 91.52, +3.23, +3.65%) each beat analysts' estimates. IBM said it expects to meets its profit guidance on strength in emerging markets. Google said more than half of its third-quarter revenue came from overseas. In energy, oil prices remained fairly flat after yesterday's decline. By 8:50 a.m., crude traded up 59 cents at $70.44 a barrel. Corporate News Schlumberger (SLB: 53.20, -1.20, -2.20%) posted a 24% increase in third-quarter sales, but the energy firm expects that growth to decelerate amidst tightening credit conditions and the declining cost of oil. Schlumberger -- perhaps the most fun name to enunciate in the entire energy industry -- brought in $7.26 billion in sales for the period. The firm earned $1.53 billion, or $1.25 a share, up from $1.35 billion, or $1.09 a share, in the year-ago period. General Motors (GM: 6.40, +0.18, +2.89%) is ramping up negotiations with Chrysler for a potential merger, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing anonymous sources. The new push for a deal comes as potential financiers, including JPMorgan Chase (JPM: 40.49, +2.00, +5.19%), have shown interest seeing the two companies joined. Still, some members of GM's board remain reluctant to greenlight buying Chrysler. Honeywell (HON: 30.93, +1.85, +6.36%), the diversified manufacturer and erstwhile Dow component, posted a 16.3% jump in third-quarter net income, topping analysts' estimates. The firm earned $719 million, or 97 cents a share, up from $618 million, or 81 cents a share, in the year-ago period. However, Honeywell lowered the ceiling of the range of its full-year guidance to $3.80 a share, down from a prior estimate of $3.85 a share. The Economy Housing starts fell to an annual rate of 817,000 units in September, down from a revised rate of 872,000 in August, the Commerce Department said. Building permits, a leading indicator for the housing market, fell to annual rate of 786,000 last month, down from a revised annual rate of 857,000 in August. Economists had expected housing starts to come in at an annual rate of 870,000 for September and building permits to come in at an annual rate of 840,000. REPORT The preliminary October reading of the Survey of Consumers is scheduled to be released Friday at 10 a.m. by Reuters and the University of Michigan. Economists expect a reading of 65.0, down from a September reading of 70.3. ReadMe The New York Times on Tobin's Q: The indicator suggests it's time to buy, but there are other factors to consider. STORY BusinessWeek on valuing companies: What does it mean when a company is trading for less than its cash on hand? STORY The Motley Fool on Citigroup: The firm is underperforming compared to the other big banks; here's what could turn it around. STORY WatchMe Reuters on Boston: The restructuring of the financial sector is likely to have consequences in Boston, the heart of the mutual fund universe. On the upside, the Red Sox will play a Game 6 in the ALCS. VIDEO CNBC on the doomsday scenario: Christoffer Moltke-Leth, head of sales trading, Asia Pacific at Saxo Capital Markets, says a worldwide recession could trigger a 10% decline in the global GDP. VIDEO What's With That Really Expensive House?: The special pokes fun at people who buy high-priced homes. HGTV, 9 p.m.

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