U.S. stock index futures pointed to a lower opening on Wall Street on Wednesday, with futures for the S&P 500 and Dow Jones down around 0.1 percent, while the Nasdaq 100 fell 0.4 percent at 4:10 a.m. EDT.

The expected weakness on Wall Street chimes with fresh 2012 lows in Europe, where the FTSEurofirst 300 (.FTEU3) traded down 0.9 percent, and in Asia (.N225) as investors fret about Greece.

Greek political leaders will attempt on Wednesday to form a caretaker government to take the country to a second election in just over a month, with its euro membership at stake and its president speaking of "fear that could develop into panic" at its banks.

Global mining shares have been hit after BHP Billiton (BHP.AX) (BLT.L) said it expects commodity markets to cool further and that investors have lost confidence in the longer-term health of the global economy.

Wednesday's data diary features housing starts and building permits for April at 1230 GMT, followed by industrial production figures at 1315 GMT, with both expected to show an improvement from the previous month. (MI/DIARY)

The minutes from the Federal Reserve's April meeting, due at 1800 GMT, will be scrutinized for any discussion on the health of the labor market as investors debate the likelihood of more stimulus measures.

A fairly thin earnings calendar includes first quarter figures from the farm equipment maker Deere (DE.N), Victoria's Secret parent Limited Brands Inc (LTD.N), office supply chain Staples (SPLS.O) and retail giant Target (TGT.N).

The retailers will be in the spotlight after J.C. Penney (JCP.N) posted a steeper-than-expected drop in first quarter sales late on Tuesday, sending its shares down nearly 13 percent after the bell.

U.S. stocks fell for the eighth day in the past 10 on Tuesday. The Dow Jones industrial average (DJI:^DJI - News) dropped 63.35 points, or 0.50 percent, to close at 12,632.00. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index (MXP:^GSPC - News) lost 7.69 points, or 0.57 percent, to 1,330.66. The Nasdaq Composite Index (NAS:^COMP) fell 8.82 points, or 0.30 percent, to close at 2,893.76.

Facebook Inc will increase the size of its initial public offering by 25 percent, a source familiar with the matter said, and could raise as much as $16 billion as strong investor demand for a share of the No.1 social network trumps debate about the company's long-term potential to make money.

The news comes as General Motors Co (GM.N) plans to stop advertising on Facebook, with a source familiar with the matter saying the automaker had decided the ads had little impact on consumers.

General Electric Co (GE.N) is buying two mining equipment firms, Australia's Industrea Ltd (IDL.AX) for $700 million as well as a privately held U.S. company, as it seeks to boost its presence in a $61 billion industry.

NYSE Euronext (NYX.N) is out of the race to buy the London Metal Exchange, after its reported 800 million pound ($1.28 billion) bid was deemed too low.

The FBI has opened an inquiry into the multibillion-dollar trading losses at JPMorgan Chase (JPM.N), stepping up pressure on the bank after key U.S. agencies said they were looking into high-risk trades that first drew regulators' attention last month.

(Reporting by Toni Vorobyova; Editing by Catherine Evans)

By Grant McCool

NEW YORK (Reuters) - JPMorgan Chase & Co was the target of two separate lawsuits by shareholders on Wednesday, accusing the bank and its management of excessive risk that led to trading losses of at least $2 billion.

A spokesman for JPMorgan Chase declined to comment on the lawsuits, which were filed in U.S. District Court in Manhattan, days after Chief Executive Jamie Dimon's May 10 statement that a "failed hedging strategy" caused the massive loss over the last month.

"What the Company did not reveal was that those losses were the result of a marked shift in the company's allowable risk model, undisclosed to investors, and the similarly clandestine conversion of a unit within the company that was touted as providing a conservative risk-reduction function into a risky, short-term trading enterprise that exposed the company to large losses instead," said one of the complaints.

It was filed derivatively by California shareholder James Baker on behalf of JPMorgan Chase against Dimon, Chief Financial Officer Douglas Braunstein and board members.

The lawsuit charged the JPMorgan defendants with breach of fiduciary duty, waste of corporate assets and unjust enrichment.

A separate lawsuit was filed at the same time by shareholder Saratoga Advantage Trust financial services portfolio on behalf of owners of common stock.

It said Dimon and Braunstein made "materially false and misleading statements and omissions" on an April 13, 2012 earnings conference call with investors.

"Defendants misrepresented the losses and risk of loss to the company arising from massive bets on derivative contracts related to credit indexes reflecting interest rates on corporate bonds," the complaint said. "These derivative bets went horribly wrong, resulting in billions of dollars in lost capital for the company and billions more in lost market capitalization for JPMorgan shareholders."

The cases are James Baker, derivatively on behalf of JPMorgan Chase & Co v James Dimon, et al in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, No. 12-3878 and Saratoga Advantage Trust v JPMorgan Chase & Co in the same court No. 12-3879.

(Reporting By Grant McCool; editing by Gerald E. McCormick and Jeffrey Benkoe)

(Reuters) - J.C. Penney Co Inc (JCP) shares plunged nearly 20 percent on Wednesday, their worst decline ever, wiping away $1.43 billion in market value a day after the retailer shocked Wall Street with a much worse-than-expected drop in sales and by scrapping its dividend.

A number of leading Wall Street firms also lowered their price targets on the company.

Penney shares closed down $6.57 at $26.75 on the New York Stock Exchange. The decline was the worst percentage decline since the company listed its shares on the exchange in 1929, according to Center for Research in Security Prices at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business.

The move pushed the stock well below the $30.11 closing price on June 13, the day before it named Apple Inc (AAPL) retail store head Ron Johnson as chief executive.

The retailer said on Tuesday after the stock market close that sales at stores open at least a year fell 18.9 percent in the first quarter, which coincided with the kickoff of its multi-year overhaul, and reported a loss, missing Wall Street estimates on both counts by a wide margin. The company also scrapped its dividend.

JP Morgan cut its price target on Penney's shares to $40 from $49, Goldman cuts its target to $31 from $35, and Citi lowered its target to $40 from $50.

Option turnover was 6.7 times the average daily levels with 129,000 puts and 67,000 calls traded in Penney, according to option analytics firm Trade Alert.

Investors often turn to equity puts, granting them the right to sell shares at a fixed price any time until expiration, to speculate on potential weakness in the stock or to protect an existing long position in the shares.

Penney is in the process of a multi-year transformation, beginning with a new pricing strategy that eschews the use of coupons and sales events in favor of everyday lower prices on most items.

Johnson told analysts at a meeting on Tuesday that the company had not adequately conveyed to shoppers, accustomed to discounts, the benefits of its pricing strategy.

Deutsche Bank analyst Charles Grom said in a research note that Johnson "strongly believes that same store sales will be positive by February 2013."

Barclays analyst Robert Drbul lowered his full year profit estimates, citing the efforts Penney will need to exert "to re-educate the JCP consumer away from coupons and discounts."

Johnson faulted the company's advertising.

"It is not doing the hard work we need it to do right now," Johnson conceded.

Penney's ad campaign has featured comedienne Ellen DeGeneres and been designed to entertain and change the chain's image, rather than emphasize merchandise.

But in April, Penney started running ads called "Do the Math," which uses a summer dress to illustrate how its everyday lower price comes out to less for a shopper than a sale and a coupon.

The next phase of the transformation will come in August when the first of the 100 boutiques each store will house are unveiled. At Tuesday's analyst meeting, Penney announced deals with designers like Vivienne Tam, Betsey Johnson and Michael Graves.

Penney's largest shareholder, William Ackman, on Tuesday reiterated his support for Penney's efforts during its multi-year turnaround.

(Reporting by Phil Wahba in New York, additional reporting by Doris Frankel and Brad Dorfman in Chicago; Editing by Leslie Gevirtz and Phil Berlowitz)

By Jonathan Stempel

(Reuters) - Adidas AG has sued to stop a U.S. sporting goods retailer and a skateboarding equipment maker from selling sneakers with three parallel diagonal stripes, a design it said looks too much like its own.

The world's second-largest sporting goods company claimed that sneakers made by World Industries Inc and sold by Big 5 Sporting Goods Corp are knock-offs that infringe many Adidas trademarks.

Adidas first used the three-stripe motif in 1952 and began trademarking it in the United States in 1994.

World Industries could not immediately be reached for comment. Big 5, which has roughly 407 stores, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The stripes on World Industries' sneakers resemble those on Adidas' sneakers, but with tips shaped like arrows. Adidas attached to its complaint a Big 5 ad with adjacent World Industries and Adidas sneakers bearing a three-stripe design.

"World Industries' merchandise is likely to cause consumer confusion, deceive the public regarding its source, and dilute and tarnish the distinctive quality of Adidas' Three-Stripe Mark," Adidas said.

Adidas filed its complaint with the U.S. District Court in Portland, Oregon, where the German company's Adidas America unit is based. It seeks to halt the sale of infringing sneakers, the destruction of the sneakers, and money damages.

World Industries is based in Costa Mesa, California, and Big 5 in El Segundo, California.

Adidas has in recent years filed similar lawsuits against other retailers including Wal-Mart Stores Inc, which it said sold knock-off sneakers with two or four parallel stripes.

In 2008, a federal judge awarded Adidas $65.3 million in its trademark case against Payless ShoeSource Inc, reducing an earlier $305 million award by a jury. The companies later reached a confidential settlement, court records show.

Nike Inc and Asics Corp are among Adidas rivals to file lawsuits to protect their respective designs.

The case is Adidas America Inc et al v. World Industries Inc et al, U.S. District Court, District of Oregon, No. 12-00859.

(Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; Editing by Kenneth Barry)

By Deepa Seetharaman

DETROIT (Reuters) - Major automakers will launch new models through 2016 in the United States at a faster pace than in the last two decades, according to a Bank of America Merrill Lynch report.

New models draw more traffic to showrooms, which can boost a company's market share, profit and stock price. Automakers are expanding their lineups to better compete in the growing U.S. auto market after a "lull" during the economic downturn, the annual report said.

"As automakers emerge from the trough in the cycle, more are aiming to spur demand by launching fresh product rather than discounting stale models at the expense of margins," according to the report, a copy of which was obtained by Reuters.

Automakers will unveil 176 new models for the model years 2013 to 2016, or 44 models per year, according to the research note published Wednesday. From 1992 to 2012, 38 new models were launched each year, on average.

About 70 percent of the new models will be crossovers, luxury cars and light trucks, John Murphy, managing director at Bank of America Merrill Lynch, wrote in the report.

General Motors Co (GM) will introduce a slew of new pickup trucks for the 2014 model year, including a new Chevrolet Silverado. Ford Motor Co's (F.MI) overhaul includes a revamped 2013 Fusion mid-size sedan and a 2013 Escape sport-utility vehicle.

Historically, the three U.S. automakers refreshed their lineups every 7-8 years, while their foreign rivals did so every 4-5 years.

This sluggishness cost them market share in the United States and forced them to discount their cars and trucks to spur sales. Those practices, coupled with the U.S. economic recession, pushed GM and Chrysler to file for bankruptcy protection in 2009.

FORD, GM LEAD PACK

But over the next four years, Ford and GM will refresh their lineups faster than other major automakers.

On average, automakers plan to replace 23 percent of their lineups for the 2013 to 2016 model years, well above the historical rate of 16 percent.

Ford, the No. 2 U.S. automaker, will lead the pack with a 26 percent replacement rate, while GM plans to replace a quarter of its lineup through the 2016 model year.

Bank of America Merrill Lynch analysts said Ford could boost its U.S. market share to 16 percent by 2015 on the strength of its new models. GM's launches should help the largest U.S. automaker at least cement its position.

Toyota Motor Corp (TM.N)<7203.T> will boast a rate of 24 percent and Nissan Motor Co <7201.T> will replace 23 percent of its lineup by 2016 - in line with the industry's average, according to the report.

Korean upstarts Hyundai Motor Co <005380.KS> and its partner Kia Motors <000270.KS> may give back some of their gains in the U.S. market because their 18 percent replacement rate is the lowest of the major automakers.

Chrysler Group LLC, majority owned by Italian automaker Fiat SpA, and Honda Motor Co's, the second-largest Japanese automaker, will both refresh 20 percent of their lineups.

Chrysler, majority owned by Fiat SpA (F.MI), is at one of the "toughest points of its product cycle" because the smallest U.S. automaker will not launch its Ram pickup truck until the 2017 model year, the report said.

(Reporting by Deepa Seetharaman; Editing by Richard Chang)