U.S. stock futures fell, indicating the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index may decline from its highest level in almost a month, as investors awaited details from the Federal Reserve on new measures to revive the economy. International Business Machines Corp. retreated 2.1 percent after the Wall Street Journal said the company is in talks to buy Sun Microsystems Inc., which rallied 60 percent. Continental Airlines Inc. may drop after the fourth-largest U.S. carrier said deterioration in its unit revenue has accelerated since January. Futures on the S&P 500 expiring in June slipped 0.6 percent to 770.50 at 10:52 a.m. in London after the index closed at the highest since Feb. 19. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures decreased 0.6 percent to 7,312. Nasdaq-100 Index futures fell 0.3 percent to 1,186.50. “There will be a debate on how to intervene from the Fed” said Christian Gattiker, head of research and strategy at Bank Julius Baer & Co. “The market might get some more information with specifics and details. But I don’t think this will surprise as some of the other central banks have done. With the Fed, a lot of it is already expected,” he told Bloomberg Television. Fed policy makers will likely determine today that the U.S. recession is still deepening, while clashing on what to do about it. Officials will debate how to provide further stimulus to the economy, from purchasing more mortgage bonds to buying Treasury securities. They’ll also keep the benchmark interest rate as low as zero percent, according to all 71 forecasters in a Bloomberg News survey. The Open Market Committee is scheduled to issue its statement around 2:15 p.m. today in Washington. Profitable Banks Stocks advanced yesterday, erasing more than half the loss in the S&P 500 since President Barack Obama took office Jan. 20, as a report showed an unexpected rebound in homebuilding. The benchmark index for U.S. equities has clawed back 15 percent from a 12-year low on March 9, helped by speculation the worst of the financial crisis may be over after Citigroup Inc., Bank of America Corp. and JPMorgan Chase & Co. said they were profitable in the first two months of the year. IBM slipped 2.1 percent to $90.20 in early New York trading, while Sun Micro jumped 60 percent $7.94. The Wall Street Journal said IBM may pay at least $6.5 billion for Sun Micro, citing people familiar with the matter. An agreement may not be reached, the newspaper also reported. Arlene Wainstein, a spokeswoman for IBM in Paris, said it’s company policy not to comment on reports. Shabita Wu, a spokeswoman at Sun in Taipei, declined to comment on the report. Continental Sales Continental may drop. Revenue for each seat flown a mile has fallen sequentially this year, the airline said. This is in contrast with Delta Air Lines Inc., the world’s largest carrier. Delta President Ed Bastian said “the revenue picture is stabilizing” last week at a transportation conference hosted by JPMorgan. The shares fell 0.5 percent to $8.70 in after-hours trading in New York. MetLife Inc. will probably be active after Bank of America raised its recommendation on the biggest U.S. life insurer to “buy,” saying in a report “we do not see the need for a large common stock offering.” The shares didn’t trade in Europe. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner told congressional leaders the U.S. will recoup executive bonuses paid by American International Group Inc. as outraged lawmakers raced to take back such payments from all companies getting federal bailouts. AIG Chief Executive Officer Edward Liddy testifies today before a subcommittee of the House Financial Services Committee. The stock slipped 1 percent to 95 cents in Germany. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index gained for a fourth day, the longest winning streak since the start of the year, as the Bank of Japan said it will buy more bonds from banks to spur lending. Europe’s Dow Jones Stoxx 600 Index was little changed.

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