US MARKETS:

S&P 500 futures up 0.2% to 3,003.75

Brent futures down 0.9% to $64.20/bbl

Gold spot down 0.1% to $1,520.39

US Dollar Index little changed to 98.64

 

GLOBAL NEWS:

Call for help. XL Airways, which has officially been placed in receivership, with the possibility of filing bids by Saturday noon, reiterates its call for Air France-KLM.

Climate action. Nineteen multinationals are proposing a coalition for climate and biodiversity, including Danone, Nestlé, L'Oréal, Kering, Barry Callebaut and Unilever.

$11 billion. Samsung Display (Samsung Electronics) is considering an investment of $11 billion in a South Korean plant.

Ongoing strike. The UAW strike at General Motors is entering its ninth day. American Express will repurchase up to 120 million shares and increase its dividend.

Apple succeeds. Apple ended the session on the rise yesterday, after obtaining from Washington 10 of the 15 requests for customs duty exemptions claimed.

This time it's the right one. Anheuser-Busch InBev sets the IPO price of its Hong Kong subsidiary Budweiser Brewing Company APAC at HKD 27 at the bottom of the range, which will nevertheless raise $5 billion. The group could obtain an additional $750 million if the options were exercised. It plans to use all the proceeds of the transaction to reduce its debt. AB InBev had had to abandon the initial IPO project earlier in the summer, due to a more than warm welcome.

Investigation. The European Commission could open an antitrust investigation into Boeing's takeover of Embraer. The American manufacturer stated that it was working with the various regulatory authorities to obtain the green light for this operation. The concentration of the aeronautics sector began with Airbus' takeover of Bombardier's single-aisle program, strengthening the duopoly between the European and Boeing.

Compensation. Boeing has proposed a $100 million fund to compensate the families of the 346 victims of the two B737MAX accidents, or USD 144,500 per family, regardless of any litigation that may occur later, which means that families will be able to obtain additional compensation later, whether or not they have accepted the amounts from the fund.

Mastermind. Facebook is buying the startup CTRL-Labs, a company specializing in machine control through thought, for an amount that could be between $500 million and $1 billion. The start-up will join Facebook Reality Labs. The proposed technology would require a bracelet capable of interpreting electrical impulses.

Scandalous. The German courts have indicted the Chairman of the Executive Board and the Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Volkswagen in the case of polluting emissions.  Daimler, for its part, will pay a fine of €870 million to Germany, a decision that the manufacturer will not contest.

In other news. Facebook, Twitter, Google and others will create an independent structure to strengthen their fight against extremism. American Express will repurchase up to 120 million shares and increase its dividend. SGS acquires Argus International in the United States. Solvay is investing €185 million over 3 years in the United States and Bulgaria to increase its production of soda ash and bicarbonate. EQT sets its IPO price at 67 SEK, at the top of the expected range (62 to 68 SEK). Umicore benefits from a beautiful contract with LG Chem. The EU considers that the right to forget does not apply outside its borders, proving Google right.