Tuesday Watch

Evening Headlines

Bloomberg:      

• Myanmar’s Army Chief Challenges Biden, Bets Big on China.  
• Diverging Inflation Paths Shape Asian Central Banks’ Room to Act.
• WHO in Wuhan; Japan to Extend State of Emergency: Virus Update.  
• Asian Stocks Gain After U.S. Rally; Dollar Steady: Markets Wrap.
• Oil Holds Biggest Advance in Three Weeks on Demand Optimism.  
• Inflation Pockets of Asia, Climate Fail, U.S. Recovery: Eco Day.
• Covid Deaths Are Starting to Drop in Every Part of the U.S.
• Robinhood’s Forbidden-Stocks List Saw Price Swings Narrow Monday.  
• Carson Block Suspects Hedge Fund Coordination in Short Squeezes.  
• Apple Sells $14 Billion of Bonds as Share Buybacks Seen Rising.  
• Biden’s GOP Relief Talks Called ‘Productive,’ Will Continue.  
• J&J’s One-Dose Shot Gives U.S. a Chance to Plug Vaccination Gaps.  
• Silver Rally Runs Into Roadblock as Margins Rise, Warnings Mount.  
• Muni-Bond Downgrades Top Upgrades for First Time Since 2014.

Wall Street Journal:

• Catholic Schools Are Beating Covid.
• Officer Who Shot Capitol Rioter Shouldn’t Be Charged, Investigators Say.
• Covid-19’s Effects May Linger in Your Body, Even After Asymptomatic Cases.
• Covid Wears on, Essential Workers Carry on: ‘Everybody Forgets You’re Still on the Front Line’.
• Covid-19 Vaccines to Stress-Test Grocery Stores and Pharmacies.
• Exxon to Create ‘Low Carbon’ Business Unit as It Faces Activists.

Fox News:   

• Money talks as Biden pushes green industry's agenda.
  
• Deputy State Dept. spox called police 'largest threat' to national security.
  
• NEWT GINGRICH: Biden says 'unity' but really means 'conformity' – what the real deal would look like.
  

CNBC.com:

• GameStop’s slide continues, down 16% in after-hours trading.
• Amazon, Alphabet and Salesforce are all investing in a $28 billion company that crunches big data.
• Fed’s Bostic says economy could recover more quickly than expected.
• SpaceX to fly first civilian crew to space later this year, with public competitions for two seats.
• Stocks making the biggest moves after hours: Virgin Galactic, GameStop, Cirrus Logic and more.
• Why the GameStop frenzy may hurt retirees along with hedge funds.

MarketWatch.com:     

• AMC Entertainment stock now a ‘sell’ at MKM, as price target drops to $1.  
• Fed’s Kashkari not ‘fazed’ by rush of stock market speculation.  
• Tesla is in decline, SUVs are king, and more insights from the world’s largest electric-vehicle market.  
• GameStop stock tumbles 30% after more than half of short positions eliminated.

Zero Hedge:

• US COVID Vaccinations Top Cases For First Time... But A Majority Of Americans Still Remain Skeptical.
• How FinTech F**ked Financial Market Structure, Exposed The Social Contract, & What Comes Next.
• Financial Services Committee To Hold GameStop Hearing On Feb 18.
• Steve Cohen Opens Fund To New Investor Cash After Losses From Melvin Capital Bailout.
• Carson Block Defends Short Selling, Says He's "Not Part Of The Establishment".
• CME Hikes Silver Margins By 18%: Paper-Physical Disconnect Set To Explode.
• Treasury Now Projects Borrowing $900 Billion Less This Quarter: What That Means For Markets.
• Morgan Stanley: "This Correction Has Arrived And It's Likely To Get Worse And Feel Bad".
  
• Showdown In Chicago As Teachers Defy Mayor's Orders, Ignore Science; Strike Imminent.
• Short-Squeeze Stampede Sends Silver Soaring; Stocks Surge Off Overnight Slump.

Newsmax: 

• Dems Move to Pass $1.9 Trillion Bill Without GOP Support.
• Cotton: Biden's Immigration Orders Will Have 'Sweeping Effect'.
• Biden Asks Supreme Court to Cancel Asylum, Border Wall Arguments.
• US May Delay Afghanistan Withdrawal Amid Violence.

TheGatewayPundit.com:

• BREAKING: Democrat Pennsylvania Secretary of State at Center of Trump Election Concerns Resigns After Botching Requirement for Constitutional Amendment.
• As We Predicted: Non-Voters and Registered Democrats were Among Those Arrested at US Capitol Riots.
• Chris Salcedo Runs Montage of Democrats Threatening Violence Against Trump — But Trump Is Being “Impeached” for Calling for Peaceful Protest? (VIDEO).
• DC Public Schools Using Black Lives Matter Curriculum That Prioritizes ‘Disrupting the Nuclear Family’.
• Dr. Shiva, Jovan Pulitzer and Others Join World View Weekend and Discuss Steps Going Forward to Uncover the Accurate Results of the 2020 Election.
• Michigan’s Governor Aids CNN In Propaganda Campaign To Label Dissenters Of Democrat Party’s Radical Agenda, “Domestic Terrorists” [VIDEO].
• MEDIA BLACKOUT: Antifa Terrorists Armed with Hatchets Take Over Red Lion Hotel in Olympia, WA – Occupy 17 Rooms, Demand Shelter For Homeless (VIDEO).
• Biden White House OUTRAGED After Burmese Military Arrests Country’s Leaders over Alleged November Voter Fraud.
• Stacy Abrams Nominated for Nobel Peace Prize for Overwhelming Georgia Elections System with Questionable Ballots.

The Epoch Times: 

• Majority of Residents in Shanghai District Refuse to Take Chinese COVID-19 Vaccine: Govt Survey.
• Pentagon Commits $30 Million to Texas Rare Earth Plant, Aims to Reduce Reliance on China.
• Secretary of State Blinken Says US Should Allow in Hong Kong Refugees Fleeing Beijing’s Repression.

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 +.25% to +1.25% on average.

• Asia Ex-Japan Investment Grade CDS Index 61.75 -.25 basis point.

• China Sovereign CDS 31.0 -.75 basis point.

• Bloomberg Emerging Markets Currency Index 62.23 +.03%.
• Bloomberg Global Risk-On/Risk Off Index 1,476.0 +59.0 points.
• Volatility Index(VIX) futures 31.07 +.14%.
• FTSE 100 futures unch.

• S&P 500 futures +.01%.

• NASDAQ 100 futures +.12%.

Morning Preview Links

Earnings of Note 
Company/Estimate 

 

Before the Open: 

• (AMG)/3.68
• (CNA)/1.00
• (ENR)/.89
• (GPN)/1.77
• (HAS)/1.14
  

After the Close:

• (CHGG)/.41
  
• (LEG)/.70
  
• (SPG)/2.24
  
• (TTWO)/.94
  

Economic Releases

Afternoon

• Wards Total Vehicle Sales for Jan. is estimated to fall to 16.15M versus 16.27M in Dec.
  

Upcoming Splits

• None of note
  

Other Potential Market Movers

• The Eurozone GDP report, China PMI report and the US weekly retail sales reports 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 commodity shares in the region. I expect US stocks to open mixed and to rally into the afternoon, finishing modestly higher. The Portfolio is 75% net long heading into the day.