Monday Watch

Today's Headlines

Bloomberg:    

• China’s Mega Banks Post Worst Profit Slump on Bad Debt Wave.  
• Australia Says Victoria Jobless Surges as Lockdown Cuts Spending.    
• India’s Economy Faces Worst Quarterly Slump Ever After Lockdown.
• Saudi Aramco Discovers Two Oil, Gas Fields in North of Kingdom.
• TikTok Assets Can’t Be Sold Without China’s Approval.
• U.S., China Signal Progress on Trade Deal as Relations Fray. 
• U.S. Cases Near 6 Million; N.Z. Ends Lockdown: Virus Update.
• S&P 500 Futures Push Higher; Yen Pares Friday Gain. U.S. and Asian futures started the week stronger, suggesting the rally that lifted equities to fresh highs still has legs. The yen pared some of Friday’s gains as Japan looks for a new prime minister. Contracts pointed higher in Japan and Hong Kong, though slipped in Australia. The S&P 500 closed at an all-time high for a sixth consecutive trading session Friday, while the Nasdaq Composite also reached a record. Chinese manufacturing data will give the latest reading on how the world’s second-largest economy is emerging from the coronavirus shutdown. In Japan, the race to replace Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who stepped down for health reasons, gets underway. The dollar steadied near a two-year low against major peers. Treasuries rose Friday. S&P 500 futures rose 0.2% as of 7:19 a.m. in Tokyo. S&P 500 Index rose 0.7% Friday. Nikkei 225 futures rose 0.2% as of Friday. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index futures fell 0.7% as of Friday. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index futures rose 0.2% as of Friday.
• Fed Low Rate Spreads, India Slump, Two-Speed Australia: Eco Day.
• Oil Holds Near $43 as Laura’s Passing Brings Virus Back in Focus.
• Colleges With Covid Outbreaks Advised to Keep Students on Campus.  
• Jack Ma’s Ant Fuels Tech IPO Frenzy Not Seen Since Dotcom Bubble.
• Demand for Online Doctors Forges $39 Billion Sony-Backed Titan.
• Reflation Trades Face Reality Check With Fed’s New Goal in Doubt.
• U.S. Jobless Rate Set to Return to Single Digits.  
• American Air Cuts October Capacity 55% After Dropping 15 Cities.  
• Trump Unleashes Twitter Storm After Portland Protest Death.  
• Trump Raises $76 Million During Convention, Topping Democrats.

Wall Street Journal:

• Trump Surveys Damage From Laura as Cleanup Begins.
• Revamped Dow’s Gap With S&P 500 Is Set to Widen.
• As Trash Piles Up During Covid-19, Residents Raise a Stink
• Companies Rush to Shore Up Covid-19 Testing Ahead of Flu Season..
• Coronavirus Has Left Banks With Lots of Cash and Little to Do With It.
• Activision Does its Duty.
• California Is Coming for You.
• California’s Radical Indoctrination.
• The Portland Clashes.
• Fearing Hong Kong’s Fate, Taiwan Moves to Bolster Its Military Against China.

Fox News:

• ‘Within minutes’ Congress leaked classified info, forcing end to election intel, Ratcliffe tells Fox News.
• 1 dead in clashes between pro-Trump, BLM groups as violence rages.   
  
• This state OKs task force to consider compensation for slavery.
• Ratcliffe coordinating with Durham on investigation of FBI, declassification of documents”.

CNBC:

• S&P 500′s record rally faces near-term trouble, market bull Art Hogan warns.
• Berkshire Hathaway buys stakes in Japan’s five leading trading companies.
• FDA willing to fast track coronavirus vaccine before phase three trials end.
• Coronavirus cases climb in the Midwest as more states report growing outbreaks    
• Retailers are reporting record online sales during the pandemic. But it won’t last forever.
  

Zero Hedge:

• Trump Slams "Do Nothing Democrat Mayor Of Portland" After Wheeler Blames President For Violence.
• Dem Convention Made No Mention Of Russiagate Or Impeachment, Because Those Were Fake Things.
• US Passes 6 Million Confirmed Coronavirus Cases: Live Updates.  
• Pinterest Pays $89.5 Million To Abandon Upcoming Lease In San Francisco.
• Trump Goes After Failed Democrat-Run Cities As Violence Erupts In Chicago And NYC.
• Half-Dozen Democrat Mayors In Minnesota Endorse Trump, Say Biden 'Did Nothing' For Working Class.
• Devastating Consumer Financial Cliff Coming Right Up.
• What's Behind Last Week's Unprecedented Meltup In The VIX? Citadel Explains.
• Rapper 50 Cent: Cancel Culture Is "Unfair" And "Targets Straight Men".
• Suddenly Fear Of Social Unrest Is Everywhere.
• These People Want To Convince Everyone That Looting Is A-Okay.
• Cloward-Piven Strategy To Destroy America Resurgent Amid BLM/Antifa-Led Riots.
• 'The Saker' Asks: Will Hillary & The Dems Get The Civil War They Are Trying To Provoke?
• Kenosha Or Kosovo? Shocking Images Reveal Destruction After Race Riots Leave Buildings In Ruins.
• Sovereign Wealth Funds Shun US Stocks As Valuation Concerns Mount.
• 'I'm Not Sad That A Fu*king Fascist Died Tonight': Left-Wing Portland Protesters Celebrate Murder Of Trump Supporter.
• Greenwald: America's Social Fabric Is Fraying Severely... If Not Unravelling.
  
• $16 Billion Ohio Police & Fire Pension Fund Approves A 5% Allocation For Gold.
• New Jersey Hikes Gas Tax By 22.5%, Bringing Total Increase Since 2016 To 250%.
• Tesla 'Losing Ground' In Europe's Biggest EV Market As July Registrations Crash .
• China's 'Debt-Trap' Diplomacy With Third-World Nations.
• Weaponized Drone Swarms Should Be Declared As "WMD".

  MarketWatch.com: 

• Three things you need to know the Apple stock split that takes effect at Monday’s opening bell.  
• 5 things to know about Tesla ahead of its 5-for-1 stock split.

Business Insider:

• Michael Moore warned that Trump's support among his base is 'off the charts', and he is on course to win the presidential election.

The Epoch Times:

• Taiwanese Government Continues to Remove CCP Infiltration.
• CCP Controls Public Opinion by Fabricating Events and Discussions Online.
  

Digital Blackboard:

• Daily New Cases by Region.

Worldometer:

• New Cases/Deaths by state.

Rt Covid-19:

• How fast virus is growing by state.

KFF:

• State Data(Tests/Hospitalizations).

Night Trading

• Asian indices are -.25% to +.75% on average.
• Asia Ex-Japan Investment Grade CDS Index 62.0 -.75 basis point.
• China Sovereign CDS 35.25 -.5 basis point.
• Bloomberg Emerging Markets Currency Index 60.89 +.03%.
• Bloomberg Global Risk-On/Risk Off Index 640.0 +20.0 points.
• Volatility Index(VIX) futures 26.65 -1.11%. 
• Euro Stoxx 50 futures +.78%.
• S&P 500 futures +.47%.
• NASDAQ 100 futures +.68%.

Morning Preview Links

Earnings of Note

Company/Estimate

Before the Open:

• None of note
  

After the Close:

• (ZM)/.45
• (SCSC)/.21
  

Economic Releases
10:30 am EST

• The Dallas Fed Manufacturing Activity Index for Aug. is estimated to rise to 0.0 versus -3.0 in July.
  

Upcoming Splits

• None of note
  

Other Potential Market Movers

• The China Manufacturing PMI and the German Inflation Data report could also impact trading today.

Market Hours
Normal:

• 9:30 am - 4:00 pm EST

BOTTOM LINE: Asian indices are mostly higher, boosted by technology 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.