US MARKETS:

S&P 500 futures down 0.2% to 2,895.00
Brent Futures down 0.4% to $71.31/bbl
Gold spot up 0.1% to $1,275.23
US Dollar Index up 0.2% to 97.24

GLOBAL NEWS:

Earnings season. Nestlé, Unilever, Schneider Electric, Pernod Ricard, Accor, Getlink, Taiwan Semiconductor, Philip Morris, Honeywell, American Express, Danaher, Blackstone and Travelers are among companies reporting earnings.

Commerzbank has several suitors. As merger talks stall between Deutsche Bank and Commerzbank, several groups have voiced their interest in Commerzbank. According to Bloomberg, Dutch lender ING Groep has reached out to the bank and the German government to seek talks, and UniCredit SpA is weighing a potential bid.

Lower the curtain. Amazon.com will close its market place in China as of July 18. The group has assured the vendors using its technology that it is making the necessary efforts to ensure a smooth transition. The American is rarely in failure but this is the case here: the local Alibaba and JD.com control more than 80% of the market.

Pinterest is well valued. Pinterest is valued at $12.7 billion as part of its initial public offering at $19 per share. This is better than the range initially planned of USD 15 to 17, which gives a little more spice to the American mega-IPOs, after a complicated finish for Lyft.

Lyft sued. After a steep plunge in stock prices, Lyft is being sued by investors who claim the ride-sharing company overstated its market position when it went public last month. Two separate class-action complaints against Lyft, were filed Wednesday in state court in San Francisco, Bloomberg reports.

A feminine touch. JP Morgan Chase puts two women leaders in a position to take over from James Dimon as CEO. CFO Marianne Lake will take over the reins of the powerful household lending division. Lake had been approached for a time to take over Wells Fargo's command. Jenn Piepszak was promoted to succeed her. The seven largest American banks are run by white men.

End of tests. Boeing is in the process of finalizing the software update test of its B737MAX. The last test flight was carried out on Tuesday. The amendment will now be submitted to the US authorities.

Arm wrestling. Valeo and Continental have informed the EU of Nokia's behavior on patents related to in-vehicle communication. In March, Daimler and Bury had done the same. The complaint was filed on the basis of abuse of dominant position. The relationship between manufacturers and technology suppliers will continue to make people talk about them in the future.

Impressive, but. Kering's organic growth slowed slightly in the first quarter, but remains very high, thanks in particular to Gucci. Analysts are wondering this morning whether these results will be sufficient to allow the current stock dynamics to continue. Some believe that small negative elements could take over, including less homogeneous regional growth than in previous publications, and a slowdown in the United States. High valuation, higher requirements.

A step in the right direction. EssilorLuxottica has launched the search for the Group's future Chief Executive Officer by calling on two international recruitment firms. The objective is to find the rare gem so that he can take up his position by the end of 2020, initially as Deputy Managing Director, to ensure a smooth transition. The group's leadership is at the heart of a merciless struggle between the French and Italian clans, who accuse each other of violating the initial merger agreements.

In other news. The FCC should prohibit China Mobile USA from becoming a telecom operator in the United States. Facebook admits that it mistakenly downloaded the contacts of 1.5 million users in 2016. Due to lack of funding, the Indian company Jet Airways had to cease operations, resulting in a plunge of more than 30% for the stock market share this morning. Ancestry.com is readying an initial public offering, Bloomberg reports. PPG completes the acquisition of German automotive coatings manufacturer Hemmelrath. Upstream of its IPO, Uber would be close to forming an alliance with investors for its $7.25 billion autonomous vehicle division. Canopy Growth would be close to buying Acreage. Osram heckled on the stock market while rumors are circulating that Bain and Carlyle may have renounced a buyout.