US MARKETS:

S&P 500 futures down 0.1% to 2,916.25

Brent futures down 0.2% to $58.23/bbl

Gold spot up 0.2% to $1,507.94

US Dollar Index down 0.3% to 98.81

 

GLOBAL MARKETS:

Bankrupcy allowed.PG&E's stock dropped by 30% in premarket trading after a judge gave the go ahead for a bankruptcy plan, as markets worry about Elliott Management Group and other bondholders filing for their own chapter 11 plan, Dow Jones reports.

Luxury, calm and voluptuousness. LVMH reported higher than expected organic revenue growth in the third quarter, despite the turmoil in Hong Kong. Revenues increased by 17% on a reported basis and 11% on an organic basis. All divisions are on the rise, with once again a special mention for the fashion & leather goods branch, to be credited with an 18% increase. "Very strong organic growth," says Luca Sola at Bernstein, not surprised by the modest impact of the demonstrations in Hong Kong.

LHN gives up on BASF. LafargeHolcim has given up buying the chemical activities of BASF's construction chemicals business, Bloomberg reports, because the German was too demanding when it comes to pricing, which would be around €3 billion. In July, the financial agency was already at the origin of the Franco-Swiss rumor of interest, stating that other potential buyers were then on board, in particular well-known investment funds.

UCB breaks its piggy bank. UCB will acquire Ra Pharmaceuticals, a Nasdaq-listed laboratory whose lead candidate, zilucoplan, a C5 inhibitor, is in Phase III. The two boards of directors agreed on a price of USD 48 per share, i.e. an invoice of USD 2.5 billion (€2.2 billion) or USD 2.1 billion including Ra's available cash. It will be financed from the company's existing resources and new lines of credit.

Good results for Givaudan. The flavors and fragrances specialist saw its revenues increase by 14.5% after nine months of activity in 2019, to CHF 4.66 billion (in line with the AWP consensus). On a like-for-like basis, Givaudan's growth was 6.4%. The medium-term objectives are confirmed.

In other news. Apple has deleted an application, HKmap.live, used by Hong Kong demonstrators to track police movements. Mark Zuckerberg (Facebook) will be heard by a committee of the US House of Representatives on Libra later this month. According to the New York Times, the United States will license some American companies to supply "non-sensitive" equipment to Huawei. Samsung Display, Samsung Electronics' subsidiary specializing in displays, will invest $11 billion by 2025 to modernize itself. Fidelity joins its rivals in abolishing transaction fees on online orders.