Earnings season. Rio Tinto, Schlumberger, State Street, Flutter, Lonza, Mediclinic, Man Group, Kinnevik, GTT and Orkla are among companies reporting their earnings today.

LVMH takes the first hit. LVMH's sales fell by 17% in the first quarter of 2020 (€10.6 billion), while the group reduced its dividend proposal by 30% to €4.80 (including an interim dividend of €2.20 already paid). A contraction fairly close to expectations, even if the "soft luxury" business line (mainly clothing to leather goods, including Louis Vuitton) held up better than expected. Unsurprisingly, selective distribution was severely affected by the closure of air traffic. Analysts at Bernstein and Jefferies are not really surprised by the figures.

L'Oréal communicates on the glass half full. L'Oréal reports a -4.8% contraction in its first quarter turnover (€7.22bn), but signals a recovery in China and strong growth in online sales. J.P. Morgan maintained its neutral recommendation and its price target of EUR 220.

Return to growth. Gilead shares soared out of trading after the release of partial data suggesting that remdesivir has a positive effect on critically ill patients after Covid-19 infection, although the laboratory said more data was needed for the test to be reliable.

Roche will propose a new Covid-19 serological test. The Swiss laboratory will make available in early May a new serological test, Elecsys Anti-SARS-CoV-2, which can identify antibodies in patients exposed to the virus. This detection can indicate whether the person concerned has developed immunity or not. Roche says the test will be available in countries accepting CE marking, while discussions are ongoing with the FDA in the United States.

Timid resumption in Seattle. Boeing will resume production of its commercial aircraft in Washington State next week, affecting 27,000 employees. This gradual resumption will enable the production sites to be restarted and will reactivate the industry's ecosystem, which includes hundreds of suppliers. "We are in uncharted waters. The impact of the pandemic will change our business for many years to come," new director David Calhoun wrote to the company's employees.

Buying back into the seedling business. NVIDIA has received approval from the Chinese authorities to acquire Mellanox, a $6.9 billion deal. The microprocessor manufacturer had already received the green light from the European Commission, while the legal deadline for examining the transaction in the United States ended without any particular grievance. As a result, the closing of the transaction is scheduled for April 27. Mellanox will strengthen NVIDIA's capabilities in data centre components.

Swatch reduces its dividend. The Biel-based group will hold this year's Annual General Meeting behind closed doors on May 14. In view of the coronavirus situation, the Board of Directors has also decided to propose a dividend at the meeting that is approximately 30 percent lower than originally planned. The remuneration of the members of the Board of Directors of The Swatch Group will also be reduced by 30%.

Ouch. Schlumberger recorded an exceptional depreciation charge of $8.5 billion in its accounts following the fall in petrol prices. At the same time, the quarterly interim dividend was reduced by 75%.

Apple loses appeal. Goldman Sachs has lowered its recommendation to "sell" on Apple, anticipating a sharper than expected drop in demand until mid-2020 and a weaker than expected recovery until early 2021.

Amazon still stuck in France. The managing director of Amazon.com France, Frédéric Duval, announced that the appeal proceedings against a court decision forcing it to restrict its activity because of the coronavirus epidemic would take place next week.

In other news. T-Mobile US receives final approval to merge with Sprint. Moderna has received public funding in the US to further the development of an experimental coronavirus vaccine. Two groups of investors have reportedly approached Australia's second largest airline, Virgin Australia Holdings, according to local press reports, to evaluate a takeover. Uber is going to take around $2 billion in depreciation on its minority investments and is withdrawing its forecasts. KBC Group warns that its quarterly results will be severely deteriorated. Procter & Gamble saw its sales grow in the first quarter, but annual targets are being abandoned out of caution.