Stocks impacted by Lehmen announcement

U.S. stock futures have come well off their highs following Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc.‘s announcement that it plans to sell a majority stake in its investment management division and would consider selling itself.
   
The company’s statement Wednesday that its preliminary third-quarter losses totaled about $3.9 billion and that it plans to slash its annual dividend to 5 cents from 68 cents weighed on stock futures. Investors also seemed unnerved that Lehman hadn’t announced any outside investors who could help shore up its balance sheet.
   
The company also says it would consider all alternatives to boost shareholder value, often a reference on Wall Street to a company’s willingness to consider a sale.
   
Dow Jones industrial average futures, which had been up about 100 ahead of the announcement, rose 5 to 11,252.