US MARKETS:

-S&P 500 futures up 0.3% to 2,814.25
-Brent futures up 0.5% to $67.57/bbl
-Gold spot up 0.6% to $1,303.35
-US Dollar Index down 0.2% to 96.62

GLOBAL MARKETS:

Earnings season. Buckle, Linde, Stella-Jones, H&M, Investec, Bechtle and Nanobiotix are among companies reporting earnings.

UBS only sets aside $516m to cover multi-billion fine. On February 20, UBS was convicted of "illegal door-to-door selling" and "aggravated laundering of tax fraud" over the period 2004-2012 y a French court, and was hit with a fine of €4.5 billion. The number one Swiss bank has set up only $516 million in provisions following its legal setbacks. The group said it is convinced that it will ultimately win its case in court, and paid its boss Sergio Ermotti a stable salary.

The B737 MAX remains in the parking lot. Not surprisingly, Boeing has announced the suspension of its deliveries of B737 MAX, but without reducing production rates by 52 aircraft per month. The aircraft produced will be stored until the B737 MAX can fly again. According to the latest rumors, it is unlikely to be the case in March.

Departures at FB. Chris Cox, the historical head of its product division, is leaving Facebook. He has spent 13 years in the company. Chris Daniels is leaving the WhatsApp subsidiary. "In recent years, Chris has told me that he wants to do something else," said Mark Zuckerberg.

Adjustments. UBS adjusted its 2018 earnings by USD 400 million to include new provisions. The CET1 ratio was reduced to 12.9% at the end of December, compared with 13.1% initially announced.

VW caught up with the SEC. The American stock exchange policeman is suing Volkswagen and its former boss, Martin Winterkorn, for massive fraud against American investors in the bond market. The SEC estimates that the manufacturer placed $13 billion of debt in the United States between April 2014 and May 2015 when its managers knew that more than 500,000 vehicles sold in the United States did not comply with pollution standards.

BAT Canada in Chapter 11. British American Tobacco has placed its Canadian subsidiary in bankruptcy in the United States, after the historic conviction of the group, along with two other players in the sector. BAT was sentenced on appeal to pay CAD 9.2 billion. Earlier this month, the Quebec Court of Appeal upheld the conviction of three cigarette manufacturers to pay more than CAD 15 billion Canadian in damages to Quebec tobacco victims.

The European auto sector improves. New vehicle registrations recorded a sixth consecutive month of decline, ACEA reports, but a moderate decline to -1% in February. Sales rose modestly in Germany, France and the United Kingdom.

New IPO. Genfit launched an initial public offering on the Nasdaq. The subscription price of the ADSs will be determined once the order book has been built. 5 million shares are offered to American investors. The laboratory hopes to use part of the funds to finalize the development of Elafibranor and its possible commercialization.

In other news. Oracle's results exceeded expectations, but disappointed on the forecasts and -3% for the post session title. Toyota plans to invest $749 million in five U.S. plants. Uber could launch his IPO in April, according to the latest rumors. Tesla has unveiled the SUV Model Y, the latest vehicle in its range, which will start at USD 39,000.