Corporate results:

  • Burberry warned that its annual results will be lower than previously forecast.
  • Partners Group reported an increase in assets under management in 2023.
  • Vistry is optimistic for 2024, as demand for affordable housing increases.
  • Bank of America reported a drop in quarterly net income to $3.1 billion
  • JPMorgan posted lower fourth-quarter earnings, down to $9.31 billion, due to provisions of nearly $3 billion for a Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) fund.
  • Wells Fargo’s fourth-quarter net income jumped to 3.45 billion dollars thanks to lower costs.
  • Blackrock announced the acquisition of asset manager Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP) for $12.5 billion, and reported an 8% rise in fourth-quarter adjusted earnings.

In other news:

  • FAA launches (new) investigation into Boeing after latest events on B737MAX 9.
  • Microsoft surpasses Apple's market capitalization in session, first time since 2021. Apple to nominate Wanda Austin for its Board of Directors, as Al Gore and James Bell retire.
  • Tesla Berlin halts most of its production for two weeks due to disruptions in the Red Sea. In addition, the group lowers the prices of certain new Model 3 and Model Y cars in China.
  • Novartis abandons plans to buy Cytokinetics, according to the WSJ.
  • CVS Health to close certain pharmacies in Target stores.
  • Hertz to sell a third of its electric vehicles, demand insufficient.
  • Washington State plans to file suit to block Kroger's acquisition of Albertsons, according to Bloomberg.
  • Morgan Stanley will pay just under $300m in the US to extinguish block trading investigation.
  • DoValue plans to buy Elliott Management's non-performing loan management business.
  • French antitrust authorities impose €19.6m fines on several companies, including Unilever, Andros and General Mills, in the French Bisphenol A cartel case.
  • Safilo and Hugo Boss renew their eyewear agreement early.
  • Delta Air Lines has cut its profit forecast for the current financial year, citing supply chain problems and macroeconomic uncertainties. The share price fell by 5.7% in pre-market trading.
  • Boeing, Alaska Airlines - Six of the airline's passengers, whose door came off one of the planes in mid-flight, have filed a lawsuit against the American aircraft manufacturer over the incident involving the 737 MAX 9, the Axios news site reported on Friday.
  • Apple, Alphabet and Qualcomm - EU antitrust chief Margrethe Vestager said she had met with the CEOs of the three groups to discuss regulation and compliance with competition policy.
  • Alphabet - On Wednesday, the Chilean government announced a partnership with the group to build the first fiber optic submarine cable between South America and Asia-Pacific.
  • UnitedHealth is down 1% in premarket trading due to a higher-than-expected rise in medical costs in the fourth quarter.
  • Resmed - On Thursday, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) classified the recall procedure for certain respiratory masks manufactured by the group as very serious, as their use could lead to serious injury or death.
  • Walt Disney- Pixar, a subsidiary of the group, is expected to lay off 20% of its workforce this year, according to TechCrunch.
  • AT&T and Verizon - The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced on Thursday that it intends to hold a meeting this month with the two groups to continue to closely examine the impact of lead-containing telecommunications cables.
  • Docusign - Bain Capital and Hellman & Friedman are vying to acquire the online signature services provider, which has a market capitalization of around $12.5 billion, according to sources close to the matter.
  • McKesson - The drug distributor is considering selling Canadian pharmacy chain Rexall, The Globe and Mail reported on Thursday. Rexall Health was valued at around $2.24 billion when it was acquired by McKesson in 2016.

Today's main publications: UnitedHealth, JPMorgan, Bank of America, BlackRock, Citigroup, Delta Air Lines... The full earnings calendar is here.