Credit fears weigh on Wall Street
Futures decline amid concerns over collapse of Clear Channel deal; durable goods, home sales reports on deck.
LONDON (CNNMoney.com) -- U.S. stock futures fell early Wednesday after talk of the collapse of the $19 billion sale of radio broadcaster Clear Channels spurred credit fears.
At 4:17 a.m. ET, Nasdaq and S&P futures were lower and pointing to a negative open for Wall Street.
Banks are unwilling to provide financing for Clear Channel's (CCU, Fortune 500) sale to private-equity firms, according to published reports.
If the deal collapses, it would be the latest in a string of buyouts to fall victim to the tightening credit markets.
Investors have been on edge amid concerns about a deep recession in the U.S. Stocks finished Tuesday's session mixed after readings on housing and consumer confidence came in weak.
On the economic front, a report on durable goods orders is due before the market open. A reading on new home sales comes later at 10 a.m. ET.
Among companies to watch, Citigroup (C, Fortune 500) could come under pressure. Oppenheimer & Co. analyst Meredith Whitney lowered her first-quarter earnings estimate for the firm, according to Bloomberg.
Automaker Ford (F, Fortune 500) is expected to announce the sale of its luxury brands Land Rover and Jaguar to India's Tata Motors for $2 billion, according to published reports.
Cable giants Comcast (CMCSA) and Time Warner Cable (TWC) are discussing a plan to fund a new wireless Internet venture that would be run by Sprint Nextel (S, Fortune 500) and Clearwire (CLWR), the Wall Street Journal reported.
In global trade, shares in Japan finished lower. European markets tumbled in early trading. 
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