“The desire for constant action irrespective of underlying conditions is responsible for many losses in Wall Street.” – Jesse Livermore

1. N.Korea Suspends Nuclear, Missile Tests — North Korea has suspended its long-range missile tests and plans to close its nuclear test site ahead of talks between the two Koreas, and the U.S. in May or June. Kim Jong-un said he would make the move as “the weaponization of nuclear weapons has been verified.” It will also create an “optimal international environment” to build his country’s economy. Also, in a historic summit scheduled for April 27th, 2018, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and South Korean President Moon Jae-in agreed to end a seven-decade war and pursue the “complete denuclearization” of the peninsula. Beyond the geopolitics, many investors are paying attention to the talks. South Korea is critical to the global supply chain and many manufacturers are located close to the border.
2. Amazon Secretly Working on Domestic Robots — according to Bloomberg, Amazon is working on robots for the home and has recently ramped up hiring for the secret project code-named “Vesta.” The effort is being overseen by Gregg Zehr, who runs Amazon’s (NASDAQ:AMZN) Lab126 hardware research. Sources say the robots could be in employee homes by year’s end and with consumers as early as 2019.
3. Treasury Secretary Mnuchin Will Head to China for Trade Talks — Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin is headed to China in “a few days” to resolve the ongoing trade dispute between the world’s two largest economies. “They trade with us [but] we can’t trade with them,” President Trump declared. Both countries have proposed tariffs on the other, after the Trump administration’s “Section 301” investigation into China’s business practices.
4. 10-year Treasury Yields Rises Above 3% — Stocks stumbled last week as the benchmark 10-year Treasury yield hit 3% for the first time in four years, sparking concerns over higher borrowing costs for companies already facing rising commodity prices.
5. EU Closely Watching Aluminum Imports — the European Union has begun monitoring aluminum imports to determine whether U.S. tariffs have led to a surge in shipments into Europe. The EU official journal already found that aluminum product imports increased by 28% between 2013 and 2017, while prices of such imports fell by 5%. Only 16 smelters are still in operation across the bloc, compared with 26 in 2008.
6. S&P500 (SPX) Index Displays Descending Triangle Formation — the chart of the SPX below shows a wedge chart formation, with the SPX bumping up against the downtrend line three times. Typically on the fourth attempt the SPX usually breaks above said downtrend line.

The week ahead — Economic data from Econoday.com: