US MARKETS:

S&P 500 futures up 0.2% to 3,013.00
Brent Futures up 0.1% to $63.47/bbl
Gold spot up 0.2% to $1,418.03
US Dollar Index up 0.08% to 97.89

GLOBAL NEWS:

Earnings season. McDonald's, AbbVie, Charter Communications, Colgate-Palmolive, Aon, Twitter and Phillips 66 are among companies reporting earnings today in the United States. Nestlé, ENI, Electricité de France, Hexagon, Caixabank, Renault, Suez, Pearson, SES, Sopra or CGG in Europe.

A brief update on results around the world. Post-closing on Wall Street, Alphabet, Intel, Mattel and Starbucks exceeded expectations and published robust prospects, while Amazon.com disappointed on its expectations. Nestlé's organic growth reached 3.6% compared to the expected 3.7% in the 1st half, but the overall content is reassuring. Cellnex expects to reach the top of its 2019 forecast. Pearson has raised his profit forecast.

SoftBank Group unveiled a new fund for technology investments. The Japanese conglomerate is looking to raise a total of $108 billion for the second Vision Fund, collecting money from Apple, Microsoft Corp, Foxconn Technology Group and the sovereign wealth fund of Kazakhstan.

Good news for Sprint-T-Mobile US merger. The US Department of Justice had some concerns about competition and hasn’t yet allowed a merger between Sprint and T-Mobile. But Dish Network has agreed to acquire $5 billion in assets from both companies and would become the fourth largest mobile operator in the country, as recommended by the Department of Justice. This could mean that the merger will now go ahead.

Chip transfer. Intel has, as expected, sold its smartphone chips to Apple for $1 billion. The contract includes a patent portfolio and approximately 2,200 employees, who will move from one company to another.

Calendar problem. Boeing was again heckled yesterday (-3.7%) after the US Civil Aviation Agency (FAA) deviated from the manufacturer's position citing a resumption of B737 MAX flights in October. The FAA has indicated that it does not have a schedule available at this time.

Remaining position. China criticizes Fedex for withholding about 100 packages related to Huawei, according to the New China Agency. The telecom equipment manufacturer and Beijing had previously complained about package diversions, considering the American delivery company's explanations to be unreliable.

Bayer Monsanto, Act III. The US courts have significantly reduced Bayer's conviction in one of the ongoing glyphosate trials of its subsidiary Monsanto, reducing the amount of damages awarded to a couple from $2 billion to $86.7 million. This is the third trial in which the chemist succeeds in reducing the amount of his conviction. It also illustrates the complexity of the American judicial system, from which the European legal culture is moving away.

In other news. Moody is buying RiskFirst. Ford, BMW, Volkswagen and Honda have agreed with the State of California on more restrictive fuel efficiency rules than normal. Charles Schwab acquires $1.8 billion in assets from USAA Investment. Idorsia will receive sales commissions for ponesimod if it is marketed, following the success of Janssen (J&J)'s treatment for multiple sclerosis in Phase III. Vodafone will create an entity combining its base offices in 10 European markets, which may be listed on the stock exchange in the future.