US MARKETS:

-S&P 500 futures down 0.2% to 2,765.25
-Brent futures up 0.9% to $66.55/bbl
-Gold spot little changed at $1,286.50
-US Dollar Index little changed at 96.88

GLOBAL NEWS:

Earnings season. Deutsche Post, Continental, LafargeHolcim, Vonovia and Aviva in Europe. Costco Wholesale, Kroger and Marvell Technology in the United States.

Blackstone attracts money. Blackstone Group is expecting to raise $20 billion for its flagship fund. The first close for its eighth buyout fund may be in March or early April, people with knowledge of the matter told Bloomberg.

Accor repurchases. The Group acquired 6.6 million of its own shares for 250 million euros as part of the second tranche of its share buyback program. Accor has signed a new €250 million tranche with an investment services provider.

New rumors in the semiconductors. NXP Semiconductors is ignited by rumors of interest from Samsung Electronics, which denies it. The news had been released by the South Korean press. The future of NXP has been the subject of speculation since the merger with Qualcomm failed last year.

Hard Brexit. Toyota Motor does not rule out the idea of leaving the United Kingdom in the event of a no-deal Brexit. At the Geneva Motor Show, the group's boss for Europe made no secret of the fact that a withdrawal is one of the options, "if the business environment becomes very, very difficult".

GE wants to reduce its debt. General Electric would look for its 50% stake in the joint venture created with Enel in renewable energies, Reuters learned, an entity that could be worth $ 1 billion. EGPNA Renewable Energy Partners was created at the end of 2016 between Enel Green Power North America and GE Energy Financial Services.

Fewer constraints. The Federal Reserve has reduced bank stress tests, except for the US subsidiaries of Barclays, Credit Suisse, Deutsche Bank, UBS and TD Group, which will continue to be subject to qualitative criteria. Foreign banks in the United States could be sanctioned by Washington for their links with Venezuela, but no names have yet been mentioned.

In other news. Huawei launched a legal offensive against the United States after its equipment was banned. The joint venture between Berkshire Hathaway, JP Morgan and Amazon.com in healthcare was named Haven. The online retail giant has also planned to close its 89 American corners. Facebook confirms its strategic shift towards a more privacy-focused strategy. The Abercrombie share is on the rise after good prospects. Sika acquires the Canadian King Packaged Materials. Bloomberg has learned that Deutsche Bank will severely reduce its 2018 bonuses.