U.S. stock futures slumped on Monday, as the White House said bankruptcy was a possibility for General Motors and Chrysler while hopes for a new round of global stimulus spending appear thwarted. S&P 500 futures fell 18 points to 798.10 and Nasdaq 100 futures fell 23.25 points to 1,232.70. Dow industrial futures fell 167 points. U.S. stocks, despite a weak Friday, enjoyed a strong week, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average up nearly 7% and the other major indexes rising around 6% as the U.S. Treasury announced a program designed to get a combination of public and private money buying the toxic assets from banks. But worries for General Motors and Chrysler grew as the White House said a structured bankruptcy plan for the two automakers could give them their "best chance at success." The White House rejected viability plans the automakers submitted in response to requests for government loans. In addition, GM CEO Rick Wagoner was ousted, though it appears Chrysler CEO Bob Nardelli will escape the axe. Wagoner's successor, COO Fritz Henderson, wasn't warmly received. "If GM is to be allowed to survive, it needs someone with a totally fresh mind, someone untainted by decades of failed management and strategy," said Howard Wheeldon, senior strategist at BGC Partners in London. President Obama is due to deliver a speech on the automakers on Monday morning. GM shares slumped 17% in pre-market action. Its euro-denominated debt due to mature in 2013 was quoted at 15% of face value. Meanwhile, leaks of the draft G20 communique indicate there won't be a fresh round of coordinated stimulus spending to come out of this week's London meeting. There does appear to be agreements to increase the resources of the International Monetary Fund as well as support emerging-markets economies, though specific commitments have yet to be agreed. "We believe markets may be disappointed by the lack of any sort of coordinated fiscal stimulus announcement, as the U.S. and Europe appear far apart on what constitutes the appropriate fiscal response to the current downturn," said analysts at Brown Brothers Harriman. Meanwhile, with the quarter coming to a close, some investors may start worrying about what's expected to be a grim series of first-quarter results. "It's probably asking for a lot that the market continue to move higher over the next three weeks. We have some formidable challenges coming up ahead, and it would seem that it's time for a breather," said Hugh Johnson, chairman of Johnson Illington Advisors. International stock markets stumbled sharply. The Nikkei 225 slumped 4.5% in Tokyo and the Hang Seng fell 4.7% in Hong Kong. In Europe, which also had an automotive CEO ousted as Christian Streiff left Peugeot, stocks also took a hit, with the FTSE 100 down 1.7% in London and the CAC 40 losing 2.3% in Paris. Gold futures dropped nearly $11 an ounce, and oil futures fell $1.78 a barrel. Bonds also drew interest, with the yield on 10-year Treasury bonds falling 6 basis points to 2.70%. Yields move in the opposite direction to prices. The dollar dropped sharply against the Japanese yen, falling 1.2% to 96.61 yen, while rising by nearly the same percentage against the British pound. See currencies.

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