U.S. MARKETS:

* S&P 500 futures down 0.3% to 2,808.25
* Brent futures down 0.8% to $79.40/bbl
* Gold spot up 0.2% to $1,224.54
* U.S. Dollar Index little changed at 95.52

GLOBAL NEWS:

Treasury yields soar. Benchmark U.S. Treasury yields climbed back toward seven-year highs after minutes showing the Federal Reserve may favor more rate hikes next year. Stocks were mixed and the dollar held gains. The 10-year Treasury yield climbed as high as 3.21 percent.

Earning season. BNY Mellon, Blackstone, Danaher, Philip Morris, American Express, and PayPal are among companies reporting earnings.

New acquisition for Novartis. Novartis AG agreed to buy cancer drugmaker Endocyte for $2.1 billion, or $24 a share, expanding further into the increasingly competitive and lucrative field of oncology.

TSMC’s sales outlook disappoints. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. forecast revenue below analysts’ estimates, as the sole supplier of Apple Inc.’s iPhone processors grapples with a stalling global smartphone market.

Nestle loses chief for Asia. Nestle SA’s highest-ranking executive in Asia is leaving the Swiss food giant just as the top job at arrival Unilever is set to open up. Wan Ling Martello, 60, is leaving at the end of this year to explore new opportunities and will be replaced by Chris Johnson.

Fed officials debated hiking rates to restrictive territory. Federal Reserve officials stepped deeper into a debate over how high to push interest rates, as a majority favored an eventual and temporary move above the level they deem neutral for the economy in the long run. “A substantial majority of participants expected that the year-end 2020 and 2021 federal funds rate would be above their estimates of the longer-run rate,” according to a document seen by Bloomberg.

Seeding and construction materials drop. TSMC's cautious comments in semiconductors and HeidelbergCement's warning in construction lead both sectors to bright red.

Turbulence zone. Airbus is allegedly working on a new series of movements in its senior management, Bloomberg learned. The changes would take place in the sale after Christian Scherrer's arrival.

Increased offer for AF. Air France KLM will increase its winter offer by 2.5% compared to the previous year, particularly in long-haul and low-cost services.

The hydrolinks of discord. Bpifrance and TechnipFMC are attacking Naval Group after its decision to stop the hydroelectric activity of their joint subsidiary Naval Energies, in which Naval Group holds 60%.

Ciao Italia. Derichebourg has sold its Italian waste subsidiary to Iren Ambiente, a transaction that will help reduce debt but will cost around €10 million in losses.

Light my fire. Bic is taking the matter to the European executive to force France and Germany to control the lighter market. The group complains about the authorities' laissez-faire attitude towards products that do not comply with European requirements.

Return of the rumor. ABB could work with Credit Suisse on the future of its network business, Bloomberg learned, including a sale or a spinoff. A valuation of $10 billion is mentioned.

Big money. SoftBank secures $9 billion in loans for Vision Funds, presented as the world's largest future technology investment vehicle. Nomura and Goldman Sachs are reportedly on board.

Pfizer is reducing its workforce. The American laboratory has planned to reduce its staff by 2% by the beginning of 2019, CNBC learned from internal documents.

Zuckerberg out? Several Facebook investors are calling for the departure of Mark Zuckerberg as chairman of the company’s board. They are calling for more supervision in management.