Earnings season. Royal Bank of Canada, Allianz, Deere, Sika, Kingspan, Proximus and Pearson PLC are among companies reporting their earnings today.

Agreement in sight. Wells Fargo is on the verge of reaching an agreement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the U.S. Department of Justice to end investigations into its business practices, the New York Times reported Thursday.

American views? Engie, a French energy company, approached the American group Ameresco, which currently weighs $1.1 billion on the stock exchange, for a takeover, according to information obtained by Reuters. The French group would like to offer a succession solution to the current CEO, aged 72, who owns the majority of the capital. The two companies did not wish to react immediately.

HSBC is reportedly prospecting in Italy. Jean-Pierre Mustier, the head of UniCredit, is well placed to take the helm of HSBC, according to Bloomberg. The current interim CEO of the institution, Noel Quinn, is also on the list of contenders, along with other names.

A bonus being negotiated. Sprint and T-Mobile US are close to an agreement on the modified terms of their merger, according to the Wall Street Journal. The discussion concerns a more favorable parity for T-Mobile US, whose situation has improved since the agreement was signed. T-Mobile US's parent company, Deutsche Telekom, could get more than 43% of the new entity, compared to minus 42% in the previous plan. Softbank would see its stake reduced to 24%.

Intesa goes too low. Shareholders representing about 18% of UBI Banca's capital have found the offer to buy Intesa Sanpaolo "unacceptable" because it is too weak. Intesa surprised everyone by launching an unsolicited takeover bid on UBI Banca, through a share exchange valuing the establishment at €4.9 billion.

Technical unemployment. The coronavirus is still causing damage in the automotive sector. The Japanese manufacturer Honda has postponed the restart of its Wuhan plant until March 11.

In other news. The German justice authorizes Tesla to launch the work of its European factory. Implenia wins three sustainable building projects in Germany and Switzerland. The New Mexico court in the United States has opened proceedings against Alphabet for illegally collecting personal data on children attending school in the state. Still in trouble, Sears is obtaining a $100 million line of credit from the US fund Brigade Capital, Reuters has learned. The Brazilian mining group Vale made a loss in the fourth quarter after exceptional charges on its nickel mine in New Caledonia and its coal mine in Mozambique. Ultimate Software and Kronos embark on a $22 billion merger. GAM Holding will further reduce its workforce. The Norwegian Cruise Line cancels all its stays in Asia until September. Allianz launches a €1.5 billion share buyback program.