US MARKETS:

S&P 500 futures down 0.8% to 2,833.50
Brent futures down 1.4% to $70.02/bbl
Gold spot up 0.2% to $1,275.59
US Dollar Index up 0.2% to 98.26

GLOBAL NEWS:

Earnings season. Medtronic, Royal Bank of Canada, Intuit, HP Inc, Best Buy, Autogrill, CTS Eventim, Gimv, Intertek, and TalkTalk are among companies reporting earnings.

Amazon and emotions. The e-commerce giant could be working on an intelligent device that can detect our emotions. Bloomberg has unearthed patent documents showing a device that would be worn on the wrist. It is described as a health and wellness product. Designed to work with a smartphone application, the device includes microphones coupled with software to distinguish the person's emotional state from the sound of their voice, helping Amazon understand potential health issues or better target advertising or product recommendations. Amazon did not want to comment on this.

Easy on the bass. As investment funds are reluctant to pay the price Vivendi asked for the opening of Universal Music Group's capital, Vivendi will turn to industrialists, according to Bloomberg. The group expects 25 to 30 billion euros of valuation for its division. And to think that everyone thought a few years ago that streaming would kill producers! In the short term, however, these rumors are bad news, showing that the group is struggling to convince investors.

Rihanna. Yesterday in Paris, the singer presented the first collection of Fenty, her fashion brand supported by LVMH. She unveiled her creations in an ephemeral store in the Marais district of Paris. Prices are high, but far from those of the group's flagship brands such as Vuitton.

Four is better? Some rumors circulate about the US Department of Justice leaning towards rejecting the merger between Sprint and T-Mobile US. Its final position is not expected for another month. The consequences of a change from four to three operators are widely debated.

FTC 1, Qualcomm 0: Very complicated stock market session yesterday for Qualcomm, which lost more than 10% after being accused by the American courts of abuse of a dominant position. In particular, the courts have broached the company's practices in the microprocessor segment for mobile phones. Qualcomm obviously totally disagrees with the judgment following a complaint from the US Federal Telecommunications Commission.

Kantar courted.  Four contenders, including Vista Equity Partners, would be on the list for the takeover of Kantar, the data analysis subsidiary of WPP Group, Reuters learned. Previous rumors also mentioned Bain Capital, Apollo and Platinum as being interested. Goldman Sachs is responsible for selecting the winner.

Operation seduction. The US Civil Aviation Agency has not yet set a timetable for the Boeing 737 MAX's return to flight. Moreover, the manufacturer has not yet formally submitted the corrective elements that the authorities must examine. The FAA invited its counterparts from 33 countries this Thursday to update them on the latest developments and restore its tarnished image after recent revelations about certification processes in the United States.

In other news. Daimler's shareholders at yesterday's general meeting approved the manufacturer's reorganization, which will make it possible to split the passenger car and heavy goods vehicle branches more clearly. Deutsche Bank will have to provide documents on Donald Trump to American parliamentarians after the President and his family's appeal has been rejected by the courts. Nestlé and Fonterra are thinking about the future of their Brazilian joint venture.