Futures Lower On Chinese Growth, Italian Political Fears U.S. equity futures slipped in early pre-market trade Monday as China's economy took a setback in March and Italy's political crisis flared over the weekend. General Mills (NYSE: GIS ) shares fell 0.63 percent on fears of inflating input costs as commodities guru Jim Rodgers sees strong inflation in the near future in grains and agricultural commodities. Pfizer (NYSE: PFE ) shares rose 0.14 percent pre-market after last week's European Commission approval of a new leukemia drug called BOSULIF.