Thursday Watch

Evening Headlines

Bloomberg:          

• China Races Toward Plan to Blacklist, Redlist Firms for Behavior. 
• Australia Gets Paid to Borrow in First Sale at Negative Yields.
  
• Economists See Japan’s Stimulus Boost Getting Smaller Not Bigger.
  
• ECB Set to Pump More Cash Into Virus-Hit Economy: Decision Guide.  
• ECB’s Insatiable Appetite Slowly Shuts Down Europe’s Bond Market.
• December Smashes Records for Virus Cases as Deaths Near 300,000.
• U.K. Rollout Hits a Snag; Canada Approves Vaccine: Virus Update.  
• Asian Stocks Retreat After U.S. Tech Giants Slide: Markets Wrap.  
• Oil Wavers As Traders Weigh U.S. Crude Rise Against Vaccine Aims.
• Facebook Risks Instagram-WhatsApp Breakup in Antitrust Case.  
• Mnuchin Says He’s ‘Likely’ to Back Changes to Fannie and Freddie.  
• Lab Meat Is Getting Closer to Supermarket Shelves.  
• Dot-Com Angst Overrun in IPO Market as DoorDash Extends Craze.

Wall Street Journal:

• Facebook Hit With Antitrust Suits by FTC and States.
• How Deals Helped Facebook Extend Its Reach.
• Schumer’s Unemployment Flip-Flop.
• The New Covid Resistance.
• Doctors Say Side Effects Are Possible.
• SEC Approves Plan to Bring More Detailed Stock-Market Data to Public.
• New York Needs to Raise Taxes, Gov. Andrew Cuomo Says.
• France’s Macron Proposes Bill Outlawing ‘Islamist Separatism’.

Fox News:

• Hunter Biden subject of grand jury investigation, links to China funds emerge, sources tells Fox News.
• China sends spies to sleep with members of Congress: ex-intel officer.  
• FBI stepped in after suspected Chinese spy got close to Swalwell, other politicians, report finds.
  

CNBC.com:

• FDA will likely scrutinize allergic reactions to Pfizer Covid vaccine in UK before OKing U.S. use.
• FTC and states sue Facebook, could force it to divest Instagram and WhatsApp.
•   DoorDash trading at steep premium to Uber and GrubHub as investors bet on growth beyond food.
• Airbnb sells shares at $68 in IPO, pricing above range.
• Starbucks shares jump as coffee chain predicts strong rebound next year.
• Housing is doing something it hasn’t done since the bubble.

MarketWatch.com:          

• McConnell lashes out at Democrats as fiscal stimulus discussions stumble forward.  
• As some hospitals near 90% capacity due to COVID-19, this map can tell you if your local hospital is almost full.  
• Researchers fear gig work will spread to grocery industry as demand for delivery surges.

Zero Hedge:

• Hunter Biden Reveals He Is Facing Tax Fraud Investigation.
• One Third Of US States Have Now Joined Texas SCOTUS Bid To Overturn Election.
• Biden Campaign Becomes First In History To Raise $1 Billion From Donors.
• San Francisco Rents Plunge 35% As Exodus Continues .
• Bracing For A Very Painful Year: 38% Of Americans Say That They Will Spend 2021 In "Survival Mode".
• Chart Of The Week: China Credit Impulse.
• Watch Live: Former NYT Opinion Editor Bari Weiss Discusses Cancel Culture And 'Woke' Journalism.
• The Staggering Impact Of Online Shopping.
• Michigan Lawmaker Stripped Of Committees, Faces Further Disciplinary Action After Calling For Attacks On 'Trumpers'.
• In Stunning Rebuke, LA Judge Strikes Down 'Abusive' Outdoor Dining Ban As Lacking 'Science, Evidence Or Logic'.
• California Sees Record 30K+ New COVID Cases; Fauci Says US Won't Return To Normal Until Mid-2021: Live Updates.
• New York State Assembly Introduces Bill Mandating COVID-19 Vaccine.
• Republican Lawmakers Call For "Compromised" Swalwell's Removal From Intel Committee, Congress After Chinese-Spy Links Exposed.
• DASH Double Trashes Tech; Dollar Bid Sparks Bullion & Bitcoin Breakdown.

Newsmax:

• Trump Asks Sen. Cruz to Argue Texas Case at the Supreme Court.
• Dick Morris to Newsmax TV: Lawsuit to Overturn Election by Texas AG Paxton 'Brilliant'.
• 17 States Join Texas Election Suit Amid Trump Pledge to Intervene in Case.  
• YouTube to Pull Vids Claiming Trump Lost Election Due to Fraud.
• Poll: Less Than Quarter of Republicans Trust Election Result.
  

@kylenabecker:

• Democratic Congressman Swalwell wants a probe into who leaked his sexual relationship with the Chinese spy but not that he had one.

TheGatewayPundit.com:

• 66 Missouri Lawmakers Led by Rep. Justin Hill Sign Resolution for MI, WI, PA, GA, AZ and NV to Investigate Rampant Election Fraud or Have Electors Disqualified.
• Arizona Becomes 18th State to Back Texas in Lawsuit Against Michigan, Pennsylvania, Georgia and Wisconsin Over Fraudulent Election.

The Epoch Times: 

• Bought by Beijing’: Pompeo Warns of China’s Threats to US Colleges.
• Experts Reject Beijing’s Misinformation Claiming COVID-19 Origin in Other Countries.

Geller Report: 

• LOOK Who Owns Dominion Voting Systems: Politically Motivated PRIVATE Equity NY Hedge Fund.

The Atlantic:

• The End of the Filibuster—No, Really. Many activists will not tolerate a Democratic-controlled Senate that allows Republicans to block legislation next year.

Politico:

• AOC Lays Out Progressive Wish List for Biden.

Glenn Beck:

• Elizabeth Warren’s ‘progressive wish list’ will destroy America. (video)

Daily Caller:

• Trump Urges Supporters Not To Boycott Georgia Senate Elections. President Donald Trump urged his supporters not to boycott the upcoming runoff Senate elections in Georgia on Friday, saying a boycott would be “playing right into the hands” of Democrats.
  

NTD News:

• "A lot of people, friends of mine, say, let's not vote... But if you do that, the radical left wins. ... You're angry because so many votes were stolen, it was taken away...If you don't vote, the socialists and the communists win"—Trump rallies for Perdue and Loeffler. (video) 

ProtectTheVote.com: 

• Serious allegations of misconduct in the 2020 elections have resulted in unprecedented legal action to ensure our elections are -- and remain -- free and fair. Find out where we’re exposing fraud and how you can help.

HereIsTheEvidence.com:

• This is for aggregating publicly available items of voter fraud evidence in the US election that would be admissible in court.
  

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 equity indices are -.75% to -.25% on average.

• Asia Ex-Japan Investment Grade CDS Index 58.25 +.25 basis point.

• China Sovereign CDS 29.5 -.25 basis point.

• Bloomberg Emerging Markets Currency Index 62.22 +.03%.
• Bloomberg Global Risk-On/Risk Off Index 1,344.0 +12.0 points.
• Volatility Index(VIX) futures 24.20 -.72%
• FTSE 100 futures -.08%.

• S&P 500 futures +.10%.

• NASDAQ 100 futures -.07%.

Morning Preview Links

Earnings of Note 
Company/Estimate 

 

Before the Open: 

• (CIEN)/.63
• (FIZZ)/.91
  

After the Close:

• (AVGO)/6.20
• (COST)/1.93
• (PLAY)/-1.09
• (LULU)/.87
• (ORCL)/1.00
• (NX)/.46
• (MTN)/-3.66
  

Economic Releases

8:30 am EST:

• Initial Jobless Claims for last week are estimated to rise to 725K versus 712K the prior week.
• Continuing Claims are estimated to fall to 5210K versus 5520K prior.
• The CPI MoM for Nov. is estimated to rise +.1% versus unch. in Oct.
• The CPI Ex Food and Energy MoM for Nov. is estimated to rise +.1% versus unch. in Oct.
• Real Avg. Weekly Earnings YoY for Nov.
  

12:00 pm EST

• 3Q Household Change in Net Worth.

2:00 pm EST

• The Monthly Budget Statement for Nov. is estimated at -$200.0B versus -$208.8B in Oct.

Upcoming Splits

• None of note
  

Other Potential Market Movers

• The ECB decision/press conference, (PFE) covid vaccine approval FDA meeting, UK GDP report, $24B 30Y T-Note auction, weekly Bloomberg Consumer Comfort Index, weekly EIA natural gas inventory report, (NTGR) analyst day, (EW) investor day and the (DIS) investor day could also impact trading today.

Market Hours
Normal:

• 9:30 am - 4:00 pm EST
  

BOTTOM LINE: Asian indices are mostly lower, weighed down by technology and industrial shares in the region. I expect US stocks to open mixed and to weaken into the afternoon, finishing modestly lower. The Portfolio is 25% net long heading into the day.