Monday Watch

Today's Headlines

Bloomberg:          

• Trade Talks in Tatters With Tariffs Looming.  

• China Beige Book Says Manufacturers Stressed Even Before Tariffs.

• Haley Says Iran's Economy Is 'Plummeting' Under U.S. Pressure.  

• The Global Economy Is Vulnerable and Central Banks Aren’t Ready.

• U.S. Stock Futures, Aussie Drop on Trade Woes. U.S. equity futures and the Australian dollar edged lower after China called off planned trade talks with U.S. officials, potentially triggering an escalation in the protracted tariff war between the world’s two-biggest economies. Some early moves Monday faded as the yen erased its advance, though the Australian and New Zealand dollars remained lower just hours before a new round of tariffs between the U.S. and China was due to take effect. Hong Kong stocks opened lower and Australian and New Zealand equities retreated. Markets are closed in Japan, China and South Korea and volumes will likely remain subdued. Treasuries won’t trade until the London open. U.S. stocks finished Friday flat and the 10-year Treasury yield held at 3.06 percent. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index dropped 1 percent as of 9:39 a.m. local time. Developers had among the biggest declines after China’s Guangdong province said it was considering scrapping a system used by developers to get funding and as Hong Kong builders started cutting prices. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index fell 0.3 percent. New Zealand’s S&P/NZX 50 Gross Index lost 0.7 percent. Futures on the S&P 500 slipped 0.3 percent.  

• Five Things You Need to Know to Start Your Day.   

• Global Economy Shaky, Tariff Deadline, China Beige Book: Eco Day.

• OPEC Expects U.S. Shale to Steal Market Share Until Late-2020s.

Wall Street Journal:

• Why the Left Is Consumed With Hate.

• Buybacks Lift Corporate Earnings.

• Struggling U.S. Farmers Have a New Worry: a Resurgent Russia.

• Sky Takeover Proves a Dream Trade for Hedge Funds.

• Oil Producers Signal Confidence in Managing Supply Disruptions.

• Bull Market Charges On, Even Without Tech.

• Used-Car Sales Boom as New Cars Get Too Pricey for Many.

• Year of the Pricey Pig: Investors Fret About Chinese Inflation.

• Iran Seethes at Saudis, West After Deadly Terror Attack.

Fox News:  

• Kavanaugh hit with new allegations as Avenatti claims 'evidence' of 'targeting' women for gang rape.

CNBC:

• Oil industry needs to invest $11 trillion to meet demand through 2040, OPEC says.

• OPEC, Russia rebuff Trump's call for immediate boost to oil output.

• Amazon and Google both want to run your home, but for totally different reasons. 

• China summons US envoys over sanctions linked to Russia deal.  

• US is getting 'very, very close' to moving ahead on a trade deal without Canada, Hassett says.

• Why one small business owner says he's 'thrilled' about Trump's trade war with China and others.

• Macron's popularity falls further in September - poll.

• Risk is rising that all imports from China could be hit with new US tariffs, Goldman Sachs says.

Zero Hedge:     

• Futures, Yuan Slump At Open After China Cancels US Trade Talks.

• Poll Shows GOP Enthusiasm Rising As Midterms Loom; 70% 'Satisfied' With Trump's Economy.

• WaPo Concealed Kavanaugh Party Claim From Public After Coordinating With Accuser: Strassel.

• UK Begged Trump Not To Declassify Russia Docs; Cited "Grave Concerns" Over Steele Involvement.

• "Lifelong Friend" Of Kavanaugh Accuser Denies Attending Party Where Alleged Sexual Assault Occurred.

• Beware The Zombies: BIS Warns That Non-Viable Firms Are Crippling Global Growth.

• Dershowitz Damns Ford's "Outrageous" Demands: "Every Civil Libertarian Should Be Outraged...It's Insane"

• Presumed Guilty: WSJ Opines On "The New Liberal Standard".

• Why We're Ungovernable: Germany's Merkel Demoted To Figurehead.

• James Woods Suspended From Twitter Over Satirical Meme That Could "Impact An Election".

• Gowdy: No National Security Risk In Classified Russia Docs; DOJ Stonewalling Over Brennan, FBI Embarassment.

• Was NYT Story About Rosenstein 'Coup Attempt' A Setup? 

Business Insider:

• Comcast outbids Fox with $39 billion offer for Sky in auction.

• Officials keep talking about intervening in Venezuela, and it's drawing an ominous comparison

• China's state-backed 'National Team' may rescue stocks from trade war woes.

Night Trading

• Asian indices are -1.0% to -.25% on average.

• Asia Ex-Japan Investment Grade CDS Index 80.75 -2.5 basis points.

• Asia Pacific Sovereign CDS Index 9.25 -2.0 basis points.

• Bloomberg Emerging Markets Currency Index 66.46 -.08%.

• FTSE 100 futures -.22%

• S&P 500 futures -.27%.

• NASDAQ 100 futures -.48%.

Morning Preview Links

Earnings of Note

Company/Estimate
Before the Open:

• None of note

After the Close:

• (ASNA)/.02

Economic Releases

8:30 am EST

• The Chicago Fed National Activity Index for August is estimated to rise to .2 versus .13 in July.

10:30 am EST

• The Dallas Fed Manufacturing Activity Index for September is estimated to rise to 31.0 versus 30.9 in August.

Upcoming Splits

• None of note
  

Other Potential Market Movers

• The German IFO Business Climate Index, $37B 2Y T-Note auction, BofA Merrill Real Estate Conference, Johnson Rice Energy Conference and the Stephens Bank Forum could also impact trading today.

BOTTOM LINE: Asian indices are lower, weighed down by industrial and technology shares in the region. I expect US stocks to open modestly lower and to maintain losses into the afternoon.  The Portfolio is 75% net long heading into the week.