U.S. MARKETS:

- S&P 500 futures down 1.5% to 2,468.25

- Brent Futures down 1.4% to $53.05/bbl

- Gold spot up 0.4% to $1,288.01

- U.S. Dollar Index up 0.1% to 96.18


GLOBAL NEWS:

Still interested in Aphria. Green Growth Brands reaffirms its commitment to launch an offer to purchase Aphria, valued at C$11.00 per share, amid doubts from short-seller, Bloomberg reports. APHA shares are down 8.1%.

No more sports. Bic has completed the sale of Bic Sports to Tahé Outdoors for an enterprise value of €6-9 million (depending on future results). The subsidiary is specialized in water sports. In parallel, Bic has finalized the takeover of HACO's assets in East Africa, in order to develop on the continent.

Vinci Airports is growing. Vinci's airports division has taken control of London Gatwick, the second largest airport in the U..K, for a price of £2.9 billion for 50.01% of the capital. The transaction was announced on December 27 and received a positive response.

Activision Blizzard ousts CFO. The group notified Chief Financial Officer Spencer Neumann that it intends to terminate his employment for cause unrelated to the company’s financial reporting or disclosure controls and procedures, according to Bloomberg.

Nissan. Carlos Ghosn's police custody was extended until January 11 in Japan.

The stock market that came from the cold. A few days ago, Euronext announced that it had secured the contribution of more than 50% of the capital of the operator of the Olso stock exchange, as part of a €625 million offer. The group is seeking the support of the target's board.

Hard blow. Fineska decided not to buy the Graphics and Creative Papers division of Arjowiggins (Sequana), which is considering its options. The announcement took place on December 27.

Self-censorship at Netflix? The American group was accused of censorship after withdrawing an episode of "Patriot Act with Hasan Minhaj" criticizing Saudi Arabia. The Financial Times claims that the video was withdrawn after an intervention by the Saudi authorities. Netflix didn't react.

The superstar pharmacist. When the markets rock, the defensives come back in grace. This is a reality on the Dow Jones: Merck (+36%) is ahead of Pfizer (+20%) on the 2018 stock market performance podium.

DT is fighting back. Deutsche Telekom has launched a legal action against the German telecoms regulator in the context of the 5G auction, according to 'Die Welt'. The operator said it allowed the arrival of new entrants without any infrastructure. Vodafone and Telefonica had already taken legal action.

DB is fighting back. Deutsche Bank President Paul Achtleiner reiterated in'FAZ' that his institution needs no one to get back on track and that the recovery plan is bearing fruit.