US MARKETS:

S&P 500 futures up 0.3% to 2,938.50
Brent futures down 0.4% to $66.32/bbl
Gold spot up 0.3% to $1,413.71
US Dollar Index down 0.1% to 96.07

GLOBAL NEWS:

Switzerland loses stock exchange equivalence. As of Monday, Switzerland loses its stock exchange equivalence that the European Union had previously granted to the SIX. In response, as of Monday, European stock exchanges will no longer be able to offer investments in Swiss equities.

Lego and Blackstone buy Merlin Entertainments. A consortium composed of Kirkbi, the investment vehicle of the founding family of Lego, the Blackstone Fund and the CPPIB, the Canadian Pension Fund, is acquiring Merlin Entertainments, owner of the Madame Tussauds Wax Museum in London, for £5.9 billion.

Jony Ive leaves Apple. Jony Ive, Apple's design boss, will leave the company to create an independent company while continuing to provide services to the apple brand.  He designed the iPhone, iMac and iPod. Steve Jobs' once described him as a "spiritual partner".

Tax-friendly. A senior Google executive said the group is in favor of increasing its taxes in the countries where it does business rather than in their home countries. "We support the movement for a new international and global framework for how multinationals are taxed," Karan Bhatia, who advocates a global and multisectoral solution to avoid unilateral taxation, said on his blog. France has embarked on this path because it has not obtained sufficient support from its partners.

In Fall, at best. Boeing was heckled yesterday on the stock exchange over a possible delay in the B737 MAX's return to service: the manufacturer mentioned the month of October at the earliest. A new software problem identified during the FAA tests forces the aircraft manufacturer to revise its copy, which should only be submitted in September. This is also a major blow for airline customers as the summer season is launched.

100% success. Deutsche Bank passed the Federal Reserve's annual stress tests, while Credit Suisse received only a conditional green light due to weaknesses in its capital procedures. The success of the German bank was not a foregone conclusion and is a pleasant surprise for many observers.

Heavy goods vehicle. Volkswagen's truck division, Traton, was floated on the stock market at the lower end of the range at EUR 27 per share. The division, known for its MAN and Scania brands, is valued at €13.5 billion.

In other news. Nissan and Dongfeng are discussing with Chinese VTC services specialist Didi Chuxing the creation of a joint venture to manage Didi's vehicle fleet. Nike exceeds sales expectations in its last fiscal quarter, but disappoints on its profit. Toyota is investing €1.76 billion in electric vehicles in Indonesia. Disaster in a Glencore mine in the DRC, with 41 victims. The group also takes control of the American mining company PolyMet. D'Ieteren wants to spin off its automotive distribution and retail activity, D'Ieteren Auto. In Switzerland, the issue price of the Aluflexpack shares is CHF 21. The FDA criticizes a Medtronic insulin pump for its vulnerability to hackers. Twitter will start removing tweets from politicians who do not respect the platform's rules.