US MARKETS:

S&P 500 futures down 0.1% to 2,981.75
Brent futures up 0.4% to $63.91/bbl
Gold spot down 0.4% to $1,420.66
US Dollar Index down 0.2% to 97.08

GLOBAL MARKETS:

Earnings season: In the United States, American Express, BlackRock, Synchrony Financial and State Street are on the agenda. In Europe, we have Fortum, Sartorius Stedim Biotech, Kinnevik, Plastic Omnium or SFS Group.

Troubles for the T-Mobile-Sprint merger. The US Department of Justice is threatening to block the proposed merger between Sprint and T-Mobile US (Deutsche Telekom) if announcements of asset disposals do not take place by the end of the week, according to consistent rumors.

Still recovering. Publicis, the French advertising giant, issued a warning last night about its 2019 objectives, on the sidelines of the publication of its second quarter revenues, which were below expectations due to a still complicated advertising market in the United States. This year, the group's net income will be "globally stable" at constant scope and exchange rates, whereas the group hoped to do better than in 2018, when it saw growth of 0.8%. In recent years, Publicis has been going through a series of ups and downs in a sector undergoing profound change, which makes it hard to reassure investors.

Azure shines. Microsoft, the largest listed company in the United States, is progressing following the publication of very good quarterly results. Cloud services continue to boost business, although their growth rates tend to mechanically decline over time. The dedicated division, Azure, reached a very symbolic milestone during the quarter: its revenues exceeded those of Windows.

The painful B737 MAX. Boeing incurred a $4.9 billion charge to its accounts in the second quarter due to the B737 MAX immobilization. This amount did not come as a surprise to investors, who expected such a magnitude. The manufacturer still hopes that the aircraft will be able to return to commercial service at the beginning of the fourth quarter of 2019. The airlines are generally a little more pessimistic, and are expecting November instead.

Plan B. Anheuser-Busch Inbev will sell Carlton & United Breweries, its Australian subsidiary, to Asahi Group Holdings for $11.3 billion (in enterprise value). Almost all of the proceeds from the sale will be used to reduce debt. The group continues to believe in the value of an IPO in its Asia-Pacific division, even if it has lost Australian assets. Earlier, the Wall Street Journal revealed that the Belgian giant was preparing to sell its divisions in South Korea, Australia and Central America to reduce its debt, after the failure of the IPO of its Asian subsidiary. Edward Mundy of Jefferies sums up the general sentiment quite well: on the one hand, such a transaction would reduce the risk of the case, free up resources for a future growth operation and calm down the rating agencies. But on the other hand, these disposals may occur on the basis of multiples lower than the acquisition costs of the assets concerned.

WeWork co-Founder bags $700 Million. Adam Neumann, co-founder and largest shareholder of WeWork Cos., has earned more than $700 million from the company ahead of its initial public offering, the Wall Street Journal reports.

In other news. Software AG warns. Oliver Zipse, BMW's production manager, will become chairman of the management board on August 16 in place of Harald Krüger. Vaudoise Insurance acquires Pittet Holding. Blackstone reaches $14 billion in subscriptions for its new infrastructure fund. Honeywell under investigation for corruption in the United States and Brazil. AT&T is reportedly considering selling its activities in Puerto Rico. PepsiCo will acquire Pioneer Foods in South Africa for $1.7 billion. Assicurazioni Generali will buy the Portuguese Seguradoras Unidas for €600 million.