US MARKETS:

S&P 500 futures up 0.3% to 2,897.50
Brent Futures up 0.1% to $62.35/bbl
Gold spot down 0.4% to $1,322.97
US Dollar Index down 0.01% to 96.75

GLOBAL NEWS:

The shadow of a doubt. Donald Trump "wants" the merger between Raytheon and United Technologies to be completed, but expressed concern about the consequences of reduced competition in the sector. It must be said that the United States is the main customer of the defence industry.

Google vs. press publishers. The American professional association News Media Alliance, in a study already contested, accuses Google of taking advantage of press content to earn billions of dollars without adequate compensation. An academic specializing in the sector considers that the calculation methods used in the study are questionable, even if he does not dispute an asymmetry between the income that Alphabet's subsidiary generates from this content and the advantages that Google's tools confer on press publishers in terms of visibility.

Easing tensions. Nissan's CEO is playing a calming role with Renault, calling for the Alliance to be stabilized and strengthened. Hiroto Saikawa took the lead in an interview with the Financial Times. Both manufacturers must "stabilize and strengthen" their partnership, he explained. Complicated, since all parties seem to be pulling the rug out of them. Meanwhile, rumors of renewed contacts with Fiat Chrysler continue to circulate.

ThyssenKruppTata, that's no. The European Commission has vetoed the creation of a steel joint venture by Tata Steel and ThyssenKrupp. "This concentration would have reduced competition and increased prices for different types of steel. The parties have not proposed adequate remedies to address these concerns," the Commission says.

That very dear Amazon. Kantar's latest Brandz study propels Amazon.com, with $315.5 billion, to the top of the world's most "expensive" brands, ahead of Google and Apple. Alibaba is the leading non-American brand in the ranking, with a valuation of $131.25 billion and a 7th place (+3 places). The first European is the German SAP, 16th with a value of 57.53 billion dollars. In Luxury, Louis Vuitton (LVMH) (22nd overall), is ahead of Chanel (31st) and Hermès (37th).

A321XLR. Airbus should take advantage of the Paris Air Show to present the very long-range version of its A321neo, named "XLR", according to Citigroup. This version of the largest single-aisle A320 range would occupy a new niche, that of twin-engine aircraft capable of connecting Europe to American cities beyond the east coast. Or, conversely, from the eastern façade of the United States for direct flights to eastern continental Europe. Airbus already offers an A321LR capable of 4,000 nm (7,400 km). The XLR could have an additional 500 to 700 nm, depending on Citi.

The model is evolving. At E3, Ubisoft announced a monthly subscription offer and its future line-up. The group is therefore embarking on the subscription model, while the sector is undergoing new changes. Sold for 14.99 EUR per month, Ubi's subscription should give access to about a hundred games. It will be launched on PC in September.

In other news. Intel will acquire the startup Barefoot Networks. Merck is offering Tilos Therapeutics for up to $773 million. Slack Technologies, which is scheduled to go public in July, expects its revenues to grow by 50% this year. Audi (Volkswagen) had to recall 540 models of its new E-Tron sold in the United States, due to a risk of battery fire, according to the Bloomberg agency. Roche has obtained a fast track procedure from the US Medicines Agency for the combination of Polivy / Rituxan in the treatment of lymphoma. In Australia, AGL Energy wants to launch itself in the telecoms sector by buying Vocus for 2.1 billion dollars. Apollo Global will buy Shutterfly for $2.7 billion.