US MARKETS:

S&P 500 futures little changed at 2,891.00
Brent Futures up 0.1% to $69.95/bbl
Gold spot up 0.2% to $1,287.12
US Dollar Index down 0.2% to 97.47

GLOBAL NEWS:

Earnings season. Aperam, Banco BPM, Bilfinger, Commerzbank, Enel, Genmab, Ahold Delhaize, Leonardo, Osram, Vestas, Wirecard, Walt Disney, Costco Wholesale, Softbank and Honda Motor are among companies reporting earnings today.

Giant contract in Iraq. Iraq is expected to sign a 30-year, $53 billion contract with Exxon Mobil and PetroChina, the Iraqi Prime Minister said. These contracts will eventually increase production from 125,000 to 500,000 barrels per day on the Nahr Ben Oumar and Artaoui fields.

ISS takes a position. The shareholder advisory firm ISS recommended to the participants at Deutsche Bank's next general meeting to reject two resolutions which, if adopted, would be tantamount to supporting the action of the managers.

We're going to have to be convincing. Siemens has confirmed recent rumors: the Power & Gas branch (turbines) will be split up and listed on the stock exchange. The operation is expected to take place by September 2020. The German conglomerate should retain a blocking minority in the capital. Siemens will have to work to make this subsidiary attractive to investors, at a time when it is operating in a stricken sector and its financial performance has been under pressure for a long time.

A negative balance. Airbus received 67 gross aircraft orders between January and April, but the balance is negative with the cancellation of 125 orders. Assessment? -67 aircraft on the order book. Deliveries have totaled 232 aircraft since January 1, including 70 in April. The manufacturer has enough to see coming despite this mediocre start to the year: 7,287 aircraft to produce.

Focus on cybersecurity. Orange is buying SecureLink for €515 million. This transaction on the Dutch company will enable the French telecom operator to strengthen its positions in the field of cybersecurity. SecureLink, which is very well established in the countries of northern Europe, generated sales of €248 million last year. The transaction is expected to close at the end of the second quarter or beginning of the third quarter of 2019. This contribution should enable Orange's dedicated division to generate more than €600 million in annual revenues.

Logistical reorganization. Nestlé will change its pizza and ice cream delivery system in the United States, resulting in the closure of eight logistics sites. The operation will cost about $500 million and will have significant social consequences. The Swiss group will move from a direct store delivery system to a distribution system based on intermediate cold stores.

Tesla is completing her refinancing. The manufacturer has completed a $2.7 billion equity and convertible bond fundraising campaign.

235,000 plaintiffs! BHP Group is the subject of a class action suit in the United Kingdom, totaling $5 billion in claims following the breach of a dam in Brazil in 2015. A record procedure since 235,000 Brazilian individuals and organizations are parties to the complaint, which accuses the group of negligence after the Fundao disaster, which killed 19 people and dumped toxic sludge from the Rio Doce River to the Ocean.

In other news. Unicredit sold 17% of the capital of the online broker FinecoBank, of which the Italian bank retains 18.35%. Alphabet is launching taxi robots in Phoenix in partnership with Lyft. Sprint recorded a significant decline in its mobile subscribers in the first quarter of 2019. Walt Disney is able to publish his film release schedule until 2027. Fiat Chrysler seizes Christian Meunier from Nissan Infiniti to preside over its Jeep brand. Toyota's results are a little short, but the manufacturer has announced a new share buyback. Rumor has it that Uber has enough demand to set the price of its IPO at the top of the expected range. Pfizer will acquire Therachon, a rare disease specialist, for $810 million.