1. Brexit begins: The United Kingdom’s government is officially kickstarting negotiations to leave the European Union nine months after the Brexit vote. Prime Minister Theresa May said that she will trigger Article 50 on Wednesday, which is a two-year legislative plan for the U.K. to leave the bloc of countries.
“The government is clear in its aims: a deal that works for every nation and region of the UK and indeed for all of Europe — a new, positive partnership between the UK and our friends and allies in the European Union,” the government said in a previously released statement.
Investors will be watching the global markets closely to see how they react.
2. Wall bids end: Have an idea to build a “big and beautiful” wall, as President Trump has previously said, between the U.S. and Mexico? Proposals for a prototype of the 1,300-mile wall are due by Wednesday, the government said.
Customs and Border Protection began the process seeking “prototype wall structures” last month, setting a mid-April timeline for awarding contracts. Still, there are a lot of uncertainties blocking it, such as how much money Congress is willing to allocate toward it, legal issues with states and how Trump will get Mexico to pay for it.
The price tag is estimated between $10 billion and $25 billion, according to numerous estimates.
3. Samsung phone: The Samsung Galaxy S8 will be released into orbit on Wednesday morning. The new phone is expected to feature a sleek redesign.
Of course, it’s hard to forget what a spectacular failure Samsung’s Galaxy Note 7 was after battery fires prompted a worldwide recall. The S8 is the first phone released since the disaster, so Samsung hopes features like the Bixby personal assistant, faster hardware and shiny new colors attract defectors and iPhone connoisseurs.
4. Coming this week:
Monday – Wall Street Green Summit begins
Tuesday – New, £1 coin enters circulation; Hillary Clinton delivers keynote at Professional BusinessWomen of California Conference; Carnival Corporation earnings
Wednesday – Samsung launches new phone; Article 50 triggered; Lululemon earnings
Thursday – H&M Q1 earnings
Friday – BlackBerry earnings; Q1 ends
