US MARKETS:

-S&P 500 futures up 0.2% to 2,610.25

-Brent futures little changed at $60.64/bbl

-Gold spot little changed at $1,289.58

-US Dollar Index little changed at 95.96


GLOBAL NEWS:

Netflix not expensive enough. Netflix has risen sharply on Wall Street after announcing a major tariff increase in the United States. The group will increase prices from 13 to 18% to finance the production of its original content. The new rates are effective immediately and will be gradually applied to existing customers in the coming months.

To be continued. The German government is continuing its consultations on a possible merger between Deutsche Bank and Commerzbank, according to the Handelsblatt. The BaFin has been consulted.

DSV eyes Panalpina. The Dane offered CHF 170 per share of the Swiss company to buy it back, as part of an unsolicited offer. This represents a 24% premium over the last price of CHF 137. Panalpina's board will study the DSV proposal.

The post-Ghosn period. The French government is reported to have asked Renault's board of directors to consider a successor to Carlos Ghosn, according to Reuters and Bloomberg, with a meeting scheduled for Sunday. The refusal of the leader's request for release on Tuesday probably accelerated decision-making.

Auto sales stagnates in Europe in 2018. New vehicle registrations fell by 8.4% in December, according to figures published by the European Automobile Manufacturers Association (ACEA). In the end, the 2018 balance sheet is marginally better than that of 2017, with 15 158 874 registrations, compared with 15 136 590 registrations a year earlier in the EU (0.1%). With the exception of Daimler (8.9%), all the manufacturers in the Top 10 saw their sales decline.

Cross-Channel emergency. Getlink (Eurotunnel) took note of the British Parliament's vote on Brexit, calling on the authorities to agree as soon as possible on the border crossing, while stressing that they should prepare themselves and then two years for the different scenarios. "As a reminder, 26% of trade between the United Kingdom and the European Union passes through the Tunnel, representing several hundred thousand jobs," the group points out.

Orcel too expensive. Andrea Orcel will ultimately not be CEO of Banco Santander due to a disagreement over his remuneration. The Board of Directors of the Spanish bank explained that it emerged during the discussion that the cost to Santander of compensating Mr Orcel for the deferred compensation he has received over the past seven years and other benefits previously granted to him, would represent a significantly higher amount than initially expected.

In other news. Nestlé will remove plastic straws from February. Apollo is close to buying the aeronautical equipment manufacturer Arconic for 10 billion dollars. BASF considers selling its pigments. Snap's CFO resigns. Teleflex will replace PG&E in the S&P500.