US MARKETS:

S&P 500 futures down 0.2% to 2,861.00
Brent futures down 0.7% to $71.71/bbl
Gold spot little changed at $1,274.45
US Dollar Index little changed at 98.02

GLOBAL NEWS:

Earnings season. Lowe's, Target, Analog Devices, VF Corp, SSE Plc, Salmar, Elia, Babcock, LDC or Derichebourg are among companies reporting earnings today.

Apple forced to replace defective keyboards on some of its MacBooks. Apple has just updated its 13 and 15-inch MacBook Pro with a revised keyboard, and 8th and 9th generation Intel CPUs. The keyboard has been updated and uses new materials, which should reduce the problems encountered on previous iterations.

PPG refuses to consider a split despite pressure from activists. PPG Industries refused to give in to pressure. It announced on Tuesday that it will not separate from its paint and coatings divisions as requested by the activist fund Trian Fund Management. The American group explained that preserving its current structure was the best strategic option.

Dear leaders. Only 72% of JP Morgan Chase's executive compensation was approved by the shareholders at the Annual General Meeting, compared with 93% the previous year. The shareholder consulting firm ISS had advised against the executive compensation plan, considering that the allocation criteria were too vague and subjective on the variable portion. The general assembly was heckled by climate activists, calling on the bank to stop financing fossil fuels.

Consolidation in cosmetics. The Brazilian Natura is expected to buy Avon Products for $2 billion, according to the sevral reports in the press. In 2017, we remember that Natura had acquired The Body Shop from L'Oréal.

Rumors. According to Bloomberg, Assicurazioni Generali will discuss a takeover of MetLife's Central European assets. UBS could settle its Italian tax dispute for $110 million.

In other news. Telecom Italia must find ways to keep control of its fixed network if it merges it with Open Fiber, said its managing director, Luigi Gubitosi. The Supervisory Board of ThyssenKrupp supported the Executive Board's strategy, in particular the IPO of the elevator division. Mallinckrodt goes public after revealing an expensive arm wrestling match with health authorities. Disappointing results follow one another in the American distribution: after Kohl's, J C Penney published bad figures.