• Consumer Sentiment Steady - Consumer attitudes about the economy hit 98.8 in a May reading, higher than the 98.5 expected by a survey of Reuters economists.

• Trade Tensions Ease - Wall Street indexes rose, helped by advances in technology stocks after President Trump “softened” his stance on Chinese technology company ZTE Corp.

• Sony Buying Stake in Peanuts Holdings - Japanese electronics maker Sony Corp.’s music unit announced that it is buying a stake in Peanuts Holdings, the company behind Snoopy and Charlie Brown.

• Low Unemployment Warning - April’s solid job growth, with 164,000 jobs added, and low 3.9% unemployment rate are positive signs for the economy, but sluggish productivity growth and lukewarm wage growth at 0.1% raise red flags.

• Nestle, Starbucks Strike a Deal - In a $7 billion deal, Nestlé is buying the rights to market, sell and distribute Starbucks packaged coffee and tea around the world.

• Oil Breaks $70 - Oil prices hit their highest since late 2014, driven by an economic crisis in Venezuela threatening to further hinder its production and exports and worries that the U.S. could re-impose sanctions on Iran.

• Annual Inflation and Consumer Spending Rise - Consumer prices rose 2% year-on-year in March, with a measure of underlying inflation rising to near the Federal Reserve’s 2% target.

• T-Mobile, Sprint Merger - T-Mobile and Sprint are combining in a deal that would create a bigger No. 3 cellular carrier in the U.S.

• Wall Street Rises on Strong Earnings - U.S. stocks rose on Monday due to strong earnings reports & several merger announcements, while inflation concerns were kept “in check” after lukewarm data on U.S. income & spending.

• 10-Year Yield Reaching Higher - The U.S. 10-year Treasury yield could hit the 3 percent threshold — a level deemed “worrying” by investors.

• Wells Fargo Fines - Federal regulators are close to fining Wells Fargo $1 billion for forcing customers into car insurance and charging mortgage borrowers unfair fees.

• Existing Home Sales Rise - The National Association of Realtors said that existing home sales rose 1.1 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.60 million units last month.

• Dow Volatility Continues - The new normal on Wall Street is about “wild fluctuations, mammoth moves and rapid-fire price reversals”.

• Gradual Rate Hikes, Appropriate - Federal Reserve President Charles Evans, said that he is “optimistic” inflation will reach the Fed’s 2% goal and that slow, gradual rate increases will be appropriate.

• Russia’s Ruble Falls - Russia’s ruble experienced its biggest one-day fall for over two years on Monday and stocks in major Russian companies also slid, as investors reacted to a new round of U.S. sanctions.

• Small Business Hiring Falls - According to a report from Paychex, small-business hiring in March fell to the lowest point in over seven years, while hourly earnings grew steadily.

• Apple to Make Own Chips - Shares of Intel fell 6% Monday on a report that Apple plans to start making its own processors for its computers as early as 2020.

• Spotify’s Strong Introduction - Spotify Technology SA shares “appeared on course” for a strong introduction, with opening price ranges well above where the stock had been trading in private markets.