Monday Watch

Today's Headlines

Bloomberg:  

• Americans Are Giving Made-in-China the Cold Shoulder.

• Trump Aide Accuses China of Using Air Travelers to ‘Seed’ Virus.  

• Pompeo Tells China Not to Interfere With U.S. Media in Hong Kong.  

• Goldman Sees Worst India Recession With 45% Second Quarter Slump.  

• U.S. Steps Up China Blame; India Extends Lockdown: Virus Update.  

• Brazil Awaits New Health Minister Pick as Virus Cases Spiral.  

• U.S. Stock Futures Rise in Early Trade; Yen Slips: Markets Wrap. U.S. stock futures advanced as investors weighed further reopening of economies around the world against fresh warnings that the road to recovery will be long. Asian stock futures pointed to a mixed start, while the yen nudged lower. S&P 500 futures climbed 0.8%, following last week’s retreat for global shares. Equity futures edged down in Hong Kong, while those in Japan and Australia rose. Crude oil climbed. The pound dipped after a Bank of England official said the central bank is examining a range of unconventional policy tools, including negative interest rates. Futures on the S&P 500 rose 0.8% as of 8:02 a.m. in Tokyo. The S&P 500 rose 0.4% on Friday. Futures on Japan’s Nikkei 225 gained 0.5%. Hang Seng futures dipped 0.9% on Friday, when futures on Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index added 0.6%.

• Oil Rises Above $30 as Deep Production Cuts Rebalance Market.

• Pandemic Shatters World Order, Sowing Anger and Mistrust.

• How Covid Is Shifting Human Behavior Around the World.

• Take the Money Before Things Get Worse, Junk Bond Salesmen Say.  

• Apple Says Nearly 100 Stores Globally Have Reopened Their Doors.  

• De Blasio Sounds Alarm Again on NYC Budget and Possible Layoffs.  

• A Crisis Was Supposed to Be Bitcoin’s Time to Shine. It Wasn’t.

Wall Street Journal:

• Cut Through the Fog of Coronavirus War.

• Should Florida Bail Out New York?

• Vaccine Front-Runners Emerge.

• Oil Becomes a Risky Game for Saudis.

• U.S. Expected to Revise Small-Business Aid Program.

• College-Town Economy Shudders as Virus Cancels Graduations.

• Silicon Valley’s Next Big Office Idea: Work From Anywhere.

• Army Deploys Videogames to Reach Recruits.

• U.S. Auto Industry Tries to Reopen.

• Apple, Google Start to Win Over Europe to Virus-Tracking Tech.

• New York City Teachers Push for Specific Safety Measures Before Schools Reopen.

Fox News:

• Dem-imposed coronavirus orders face lawsuits across the nation.

• Outcry builds as UN agency makes this snub before virus assembly.

CNBC: 

• The CDC ‘let the country down’ with coronavirus testing, White House trade advisor Navarro says.

• Powell says a full economic recovery may not happen without a vaccine.

• Top money manager cuts exposure, warns stocks are too expensive.

• Public companies face little risk of punishment for taking PPP loans, legal experts say.

• Stocks could be stuck in a range until there’s more proof reopenings are reviving the economy.

Zero Hedge:            

• Study Points To COVID-19 Lab Creation; Lead Author Suggests 'Forced Selection' Vs. Genetic Engineering.

• Major League Baseball Set To Lose $640,000 Per Game This Season.

• Zoom Is Now Worth More Than The World's 7 Biggest Airlines.

• First Wave Out, Second Wave In: Where The World Is On The Corona Curve.

• Hundreds Of Villages Locked Down In Northeastern China As Beijing Mobilizes 'Army Of Volunteers' To Suppress Latest Outbreak  

• US And Its Allies Will Confront China, Demand Investigation During Tomorrow's Annual WHO Summit.

• What Could Go Wrong?

• The S&P500 Committee Is Facing A Stark Choice: How To Reshape The World's Most Important Index After The COVID Shock.

• NJ Launches "You'd Look Better In A Mask" Awareness Campaign; Cuomo Claims NY Has Achieved "Excess" Testing Capacity: Virus Updates.

• Powell "60 Minutes" Preview: Full Recovery Could Take Until End Of 2021, Will Require A Coronavirus Vaccine.

• "For Lease":  The Commercial Real Estate Apocalypse In Photos.

• State Lockdowns Are Creating A Mental Health Disaster.

• As World Braces For US-China Trade War Fireworks, This Is How One Bank Is Trading The Coming Conflict.

• Obamagate Is Not A Conspiracy Theory.

• Chinese Ambassador To Israel Found Dead In Home, Sparking Avalanche Of Rumors Amid Tensions With US.

• Italian Politician Demands Bill Gates Arrest For Crimes Against Humanity.

• Which Countries Have Escaped COVID-19 (So Far)?

• "Everybody Is A Believer" - COVID Sparks Apocalypse Bunker Boom .

• Watch Live: Massive Fire After Explosion In Downtown LA, Multiple Firefighters "Down".

• FDA Halts Bill Gates-Backed COVID-19 Testing Program.

• Joe Rogan 'Might Move To Texas' Over California's Oppressive COVID-19 Lockdown And 'Ridiculous Taxes'.

MarketWatch.com:

• Opinion: Dud stock picks, bad industry bets, vast underperformance — it’s the end of the Warren Buffett era.

• Alibaba, Walmart and Target are about to show retailers’ view of the pandemic.

• Work-from-home productivity pickup has tech CEOs predicting many employees will never come back to the office.

Business Insider:

• I'm a restaurant owner and entrepreneur who helped develop Georgia's reopening guidelines. Here's what the future of the restaurant industry will look like.

• At least 6 countries reimposed lockdown measures as new coronavirus cases flared up again. Here's what they looked like.

• Police in China, Dubai, and Italy are using surveillance helmets to scan people for COVID-19 as they walk past and it may be our future normal.

• There are fears the US faces a coronavirus-driven meat shortage, but analysts say there's actually plenty to go around: 'We have the meat'.

The Epoch Times:

• Officials in Northeastern China Sacked as Locals Describe Escalating Virus Outbreak.

• Calls for Scrutiny of US-Listed Chinese Companies Will Benefit Investors.

• College Students Call For Closing Confucius Institutes Across America.

John Hopkins University:

• Coronavirus Global Cases. (map)

BNO News:

• Tracking coronavirus: Map, data and timeline.

KFF:

• State Data(Tests/Hospitalizations).

Night Trading

• Asian indices are +.25% to +.75% on average.

• Asia Ex-Japan Investment Grade CDS Index 119.25 -2.0 basis points.

• China Sovereign CDS 53.75 +.5 basis point.

• Bloomberg Emerging Markets Currency Index 58.15 +.08%.

• FTSE 100 futures +1.2%.

• S&P 500 futures +.76%.

• NASDAQ 100 futures +.74%.

Morning Preview Links

Earnings of Note

Company/Estimate

Before the Open:

• (IGT)/-.02

• (SE)/-.29

After the Close:

• (BIDU)/3.98

Economic Releases
10:00 am EST

• The NAHB Housing Market Index for May is estimated to rise to 35.0 versus 30.0 in April.
  

Upcoming Splits

• None of note
  

Other Potential Market Movers

• The RBA Minutes, UBS Virtual Healthcare Conference, UBS Oil and Gas Conference and the JPMorgan Homebuilding/Building Products Conference could also impact trading today.

Market Hours
Normal:

• 9:30 am - 4:00 pm EST

BOTTOM LINE: Asian indices are modestly higher, boosted by commodity and consumer shares in the region. I expect US stocks to open modestly higher and to weaken into the afternoon, finishing mixed.  The Portfolio is 50% net long heading into the week.