Monday Watch

Today's Headlines

Bloomberg:

• Trump Says China Trade Deal Will Be Signed Somewhere in U.S.

• Ross Optimistic on China Trade Deal, Says Huawei Licenses Coming.   

• About 200 Arrested as Hong Kong Protesters, Police Clash.

• U.S. May Not Need to Put Tariffs on European Cars, Ross Says.

• Stocks Rise With Aussie Yields on Trade Optimism. Stocks edged higher in Asia and American equity futures advanced amid optimism China and the U.S. are moving closer to an interim trade deal. Australian bond yields climbed. Shares rose in Sydney and Seoul, though a capital raising at one of Australia’s largest banks capped the positive sentiment. Contracts on the S&P 500 edged up after the index rose 1% on Friday to a fresh all-time high when data showed the economy added more jobs than forecast. South Africa’s rand advanced after the country clung on to its investment-grade credit rating. Markets are shut in Tokyo, so Japanese equities won’t trade and cash Treasuries will begin at the London open. South Korea’s Kospi index rose 0.6% as of 9:03 a.m. in Seoul. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index gained 0.3%. Futures on the S&P 500 Index added 0.1%. The underlying gauge rose 1% on Friday.

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

• Oil Keeps Positive Tone Amid Economic Cheer, Aramco Green Light.

• Trump’s Re-Election Likely If Economy Stays on Course.

• There's a Dark Side to Zero-Cost Investing That Can't Be Ignored.

• Leading Democrat Says Impeachment Poses Risk for Elections.

• Warren-Biden Gap Narrows in ABC/Wash Post Poll: Campaign Update.  

• Trump Tells California Governor ‘Get Your Act Together’ on Fires.   

• Calls Persist for Negative U.S. Yields Even as Fed Signals Pause.

Wall Street Journal:

• People Are Staying in Their Homes Longer—a Big Reason for Slow Sales.

• Netanyahu Prods U.S. to Stay Focused on Iran.

• America’s Miracle Medicines.

• Earnings Tide Lifts Most Stocks.

• Impeachment Increasingly Divides Americans by Political Party.

• Judge Blocks Health-Care Requirement for Immigrants.

• Hong Kong Politician Attacked, as Violent Protests Continue.

• Warren Has a (Fantasy) Plan.

• The Key to Electric Cars Is Batteries. One Chinese Firm Dominates the Industry.

MarketWatch.com:

• Opinion: How the slump in manufacturing created overblown fears of a recession.

• Under Armour’s(UAA) accounting is under federal investigation.

Fox News:

• SNL mocks Warren’s $52T ‘Medicare-for-all’ plan with its ‘pretend’ numbers.

• Whistleblower now willing to take Republican questions, lawyer announces following GOP outcry.

CNBC:

• It’s getting to be the best time of year for stocks, and the Dow could soon set a new high.

• McDonald’s(MCD) fires CEO Steve Easterbrook for violating policy by having relationship with employee.

• Here are the economic issues that will define the year until Election Day 2020.

• Saudi Arabia formally announces Aramco IPO with a domestic listing set for December.

• A ‘market melt-up’ is becoming a real risk as stocks hit new highs, Wall Street bull Ed Yardeni warns.

Zero Hedge:       

• Brennan's Spy? New Theories Emerge About Trump-Ukraine Whistleblower..

• Exposing The Bogus "97% Consensus" Claim Over Climate Change 'Science'.

• The 3 Things Behind Mass Social Unrest In Bolivia, Hong Kong, France, Spain, Iraq, Lebanon, Egypt, And Elsewhere.

• Jeffrey Epstein's Accused Madam Attended Secretive Jeff Bezos 'Writer's Retreat' Last Year.

• Ken Fisher Taking Out "Women Friendly" Ads As Redemptions Near $4 Billion.

• Saudi Arabia Launches Its Long-Awaited IPO Of Aramco.

• Six Charts Showing Just How Much The Government Has Grown.

• "Brutally Cold Air Mass" Set To Unleash Snow Over Northeast Next Week.

• Forgiving Student Loan Debt Would Create Moral Hazard, Exacerbate Problems: Moody's.

• Visualizing The Massive Cost Of Cybercrime.

• Foreign Aid Makes Corrupt Countries More Corrupt.

• Was There Another Reason For Electricity Shutdowns In California?

• How School Districts Put Politics Before Children.

• Uber Eats Says Drone Deliveries Coming To San Diego In 2020.

Business Insider:

• Bernie Sanders' call for 'national rent control' may sound good, but it's actually a lousy idea.
  

Night Trading

• Asian indices are +.75% to +1.25% on average.

• Asia Ex-Japan Investment Grade CDS Index 66.0 -1.25 basis points.

• China Sovereign CDS 39.0 -2.0 basis points.

• Bloomberg Emerging Markets Currency Index 66.53 +.06%.

• FTSE 100 futures +.39%.

• S&P 500 futures +.16%.

• NASDAQ 100 futures +.23%.

Morning Preview Links

Earnings of Note

Company/Estimate

Before the Open:

• (FE)/.73

• (GCI)/.06

• (SOHU)/-.75

• (S)/-.04

• (SUP)/-.22

• (SYY)/.97

• (UAA)/.19

After the Close:

• (AAN)/.82

• (ED)/1.58

• (ETH)/.35

• (FN)/.82

• (GRPN)/.02

• (HIG)/1.23

• (HTZ)/1.50

• (ITRI)/.66

• (MAR)/1.50

• (MOS)/.22

• (MYGN)/.31

• (OXY)/.45

• (PRU)/3.07

• (RNG)/.19

• (SHAK)/.21

• (THC)/.32

• (UBER)/-.54

Economic Releases
10:00 am EST

• Factory Orders for Sept. is estimated to fall -.4% versus a -.1% decline in Aug.
  

Upcoming Splits

• None of note
  

Other Potential Market Movers

• The Australia Central Bank decision, Eurozone Manufacturing report and the (ADBE) analyst meeting could also impact trading today.

BOTTOM LINE: Asian indices are higher, boosted by technology and industrial shares in the region. I expect US stocks to open modestly higher and to maintain gains into the afternoon.  The Portfolio is 100% net long heading into the week.