US MARKETS:

S&P 500 futures down 0.5% to 2,905.75
Brent Futures down 1% to $57.92/bbl
Gold spot up 0.4% to $1,503.00
US Dollar Index up 0.2% to 97.70

GLOBAL NEWS:

Earnings season: Bloom, MediPharm Labs, Tencent Music and Victory Capital are among companies reporting earnings today.

AMS gets another try on Osram. Austrian semiconductor manufacturer AMS is once again considering the acquisition of the German group Osram Licht.  AMS's latest offer includes the same conditions as the previous one made mid-July, namely 38.50 euros per share. Last week, a competing offer at €35 per share, made by Bain Capital and the Carlyle Group, was rejected by Osram on the grounds that it was too low.

Viacom-CBS merger accelerates. CBS and Viacom are getting closer to a merger deal, with the only remaining obstacle being the stock exchange ratio, Variety reports. The deal could be reached today or Tuesday. The provisional price values Viacom at around $13bn.

Saudi Aramco aims to acquire a stake in Reliance and reports a 12% decline in profits. Saudi Aramco is considering a major investment in Reliance Industries. It said it is diversifying its activities, as low oil prices reduced its first half profits by 12%. Aramco unveiled its results for 2018 in order to obtain a public rating and start issuing international bonds. The world's largest oil producer plans to launch an initial public offering by 2020-2021.

Burford Capital, the litigation financing specialist which has become the latest target of short seller Muddy Waters, said there was market manipulation in the trading of its shares last week designed to artificially alter the price of the stock, the Financial Times reports. Last week, Muddy Waters, the company said Burford is a “poor business masquerading as a great one”, sending shares down by more than 50 percent. The group criticized the declaration as a “short attack”.

Thomas Cook expects an additional capital injection. British tour operator Thomas Cook announced on Monday that it expects an additional £150 million injection from its creditors, in addition to the £750 million expected in early October as part of its takeover by the Chinese Fosun.

China launches its own crypto. The Central Bank of China has just announced that it will soon launch its cryptocurrency. The project, initiated in 2014, is now almost completed. The architecture of this digital central bank currency will not only be based on the blockchain and will be characterized by two levels of operation: Central Bank and Retail Banks.