US MARKETS:

-S&P 500 futures up 0.1% to 2,790.25
-Brent futures down 0.2 to $66.96/bbl
-Gold spot down 0.3% to $1,334.15
-US Dollar Index up 0.1% to 96.56


GLOBAL NEWS:

Earnings season. In the United States, Intuit, Baidu, Kraft Heinz, Edison, Hewlett Packard Enterprise or BioMarin are among companies reporting earnings. In Europe, the trio of operators Deutsche Telekom, Telefonica and Orange are expected, as well as AXA, Barclays, Relx, Saint-Gobain, CNP Assurances, Bouygues, Accor, Veolia, Atos, Getlink and Hochtief.

J&J under investigation. Johnson & Johnson is the subject of official investigations by American agencies into asbestos in talcum powder. The Department of Justice and the SEC sent investigative notices to the company.

Threatened by fines. Standard Chartered will set aside £691 million to cover the fines feared in ongoing regulatory investigations in the United States and the United Kingdom.

UBS on appeal. UBS will appeal the French government's sanction, a procedure that will take a long time, warned Managing Director Sergio Ermotti. The bank contests the charges. French justice sanctioned the establishment of several billion euros yesterday, for having encouraged tax evasion by wealthy French citizens.

After Denmark, Sweden. Rumors of a money laundering case are weighing on Swedbank's share. The Estonian prosecutor's office has extended its investigation into Danske Bank to the Swedish bank, whose share price fell by more than 13% yesterday on the stock exchange. A Swedish television channel yesterday revealed that several billion euros had been transferred between accounts of the two banks in the Baltic States between 2007 and 2015.

Altran safe. The consulting group estimates that the process of restoring its systems will soon be completed, three weeks after the violent cyber attack that hit the company. "This program was a crypto locker virus using unparalleled code undetectable by the best firewalls and computer defense mechanisms", which required a specific protocol developed by a specialized global company. Altran and its experts believe that its customers' data have not been and will not be affected. The group insists on the rapid isolation of malware by its services.

Withdrawals. Several giants like Nestlé and McDonald's are suspending their YouTube ads, following a report documenting material on the video service that sexually exploits children.

In other news. Rockwell Automation and Schlumberger create Sensia, a joint venture for automation solutions for the oil and gas industry. Samsung launches a foldable 5G Smartphone at 2000 USD. Lenovo in good shape on the stock market after its results. The Italian payment group SIA is targeting an IPO, while the American Lyft is planning an IPO in March. In China, the port of Dalian bans Australian coal and sets quotas. SK Hynix plans to invest $107 billion in four fabs after 2022.