“I have learned through the years that after a good run of profits in the markets, it`s very important to take a few days off as a reward. The natural tendency is to keep pushing until the streak ends. But experience has taught me that a rest in the middle of the streak can often extend it.”– Martin Schwartz

1. Sharp Joins the OLED Revolution — Japan’s Sharp (OTCPK:SHCAY) has finally jumped into the organic light-emitting diode market as it looks to catch up to rivals. The long-awaited decision comes as the major iPhone supplier continues its recovery after being bought two years ago by Taiwan’s Foxconn (OTC:FXCOF). Sharp will offer the OLED panels in its new smartphones later this year and plans to sell the screens to other manufacturers.
2. Exxon Eyes Major Investment at Singapore Refinery — Exxon Mobil is considering a multi-billion dollar investment at its Singapore refinery, the company’s largest, as the shipping and oil refining industries scramble to prepare for new marine fuel regulations starting in 2020. New rules from the International Maritime Organization limit sulfur content to 0.5%, from 3.5% currently, to curb pollution produced by the world’s ships. Singapore is also home to Exxon’s (NYSE:XOM) biggest integrated petrochemical complex.
3. Shell Green Lights Canadian LNG Project — Royal Dutch Shell (RDS.A, RDS.B) is pressing ahead with Canada’s largest-ever infrastructure project, designed to send gas from Canada, where prices are relatively low, to demand centers in Asia. Construction of the 14M tons/year venture – which is expected to generate an internal rate of return of around 13% – will start immediately, with LNG production expected to begin before the mid-2020s. Minority partners include PetroChina (NYSE:PTR), Mitsubishi (OTCPK:MSBHY), Korea Gas and Malaysia’s Petroliam Nasional Bhd.
4. U.S. and Canada Reach Last-Minute Pact to Revise Nafta — the U.S. and Canada struck a deal at the last minute to revise the North American Free Trade Agreement just before a U.S-imposed deadline of October 1. The pact allows Canada to join the accord reached between the U.S. and Mexico in August. The new agreement, to be officially called the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement, now includes rules for financial services and digital business that have emerged since Nafta was originally signed in 1994. Canada agreed to curb protection for its dairy industry, while the U.S. dropped demands to get rid of special Nafta courts that allow member states to challenge trade restrictions imposed by others.
5. AAII Weekly Sentiment Survey — According to the weekly sentiment survey from AAII, bullish sentiment surged 9.4 percentage points to 45.66% from last week’s reading of 36.22%.
That move represents the largest one-week increase since early July and the highest weekly reading since mid-February. While we’re not quite at the 50% reading yet, we would note that the last time optimism in this survey neared the 50% level was in late December. That wasn’t the exact top of the market right before the correction, but it was close to it.

bearish sentiment is back down in the mid-20 percent range, which is a level it has seen repeatedly throughout the year.

6. Chinese Spy Chip Report Weighs on Apple Suppliers — shares in Apple’s suppliers saw a broad decline on the back of a bombshell report that alleged Chinese spy chips were discovered in data center equipment used by Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) and Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL). The tech giants have denied the allegations by Bloomberg Businessweek, which said the hack reached almost 30 U.S. companies and compromised America’s technology supply chain. Companies effected are: AMS,Largan, LG Display, Murata, Wistron, Hon Hai, AAC Tech, Merry, TDK, TSMC .

The week ahead — Economic data from Econoday.com: