US MARKETS:

-S&P 500 futures up 0.2% to 2,577.75
-Brent futures up 1.7% to $59.73/bbl
-Gold spot down 0.3% to $1,281.08
-US Dollar Index down 0.1% to 95.85


GLOBAL NEWS:

Cook wants to reassure. Apple's boss Tim Cook supported his suppliers and said that the group's ecosystem is under-appreciated. He said that Apple's long-term health has never been so good. At the same time, official documents filed with the SEC show that the executive received a salary of $15.7 million in 2018, up 22%, after certain internal objectives were met.

End clause. Fiat Chrysler is reportedly close to reaching an agreement with the US authorities to settle a dispute arising from the polluting emissions of certain SUVs. A fine could be announced as early as this week. The Italian-American manufacturer has set aside 713 million euros for this dispute.

Banca Carige courted? While Italy has created a €1.3 billion fund to help Banca Carige, the institution is investigating a possible back-up. About ten institutions, including Unicredit, Banco BPM and BNP Paribas, were reportedly contacted.

Ghosn remains in detention. Nissan's boss Carlos Ghosn's request for release, claiming his innocence, was rejected by the Japanese court following the case, the Jiji Agency reported early this morning. The preferential treatment accorded to the former manager of Nissan continues to raise questions.

Marriage in trouble. Alstom and Siemens Mobility executives discussed yesterday with the EU Commissioner for Competition to save their marriage, but nothing has filtered through. Antitrust has until February 18 to rule on the transaction, at the confluence of economics, politics and geostrategy. Complex case.

And two. After announcing earlier this week a major contract with Aramco, TechnipFMC is reportedly working on a "significant" contract (between $75 million and $250 million) with BP as part of Phase 3 of the Atlantis project.

In the nails. Finally, Airbus managed to deliver 800 aircraft in 2018, slightly less than its competitor Boeing, which has a total of 806, but in line with the target. The American group was expecting 810 to 815 deliveries. Boeing should l be well ahead of Airbus in terms of orders, the exact content of which is unknown.

Work in progress. Sanofi's powerful diabetes division will continue to suffer this year, explained its CFO. However, new products will more than compensate for the expiry of patents in the United States.

Vinci confirms. The group has made official the information issued by Portuguese authorities: Vinci will invest €1.15 billion to increase the capacity of Lisbon airport and create a second civilian infrastructure by taking advantage of the Montijo military base.

In other news. Verizon recorded a sharp acceleration in mobile subscribers in the 4th quarter. Sears Holdings is waiting for a new offer from its president, otherwise liquidation seems inevitable. Deutsche Bank is allegedly preparing to reduce its bonuses by 10%.