Monday Watch

Today's Headlines

Bloomberg:      

• China Huarong Bond Panic Eases After Government Breaks Silence.    
• Rebound of China’s Yuan Is Facing a $68 Billion Roadblock.  
• Won Poised for Rally as Economic Optimism Eclipses Virus Concern.
• China Says It Has No Desire to Replace Dollar With Digital Yuan.  
• U.K. House Prices Hit a Record in Buying Frenzy, Rightmove Says.  
• Mexico Plans Tree Planting, Regional Migration Pitch to Biden.
• Oxford Starts First Study to Reinfect Recovered Covid Patients.  
• Asia Stocks Set to Rise, U.S. Equity Futures Dip: Markets Wrap.
• Five Things You Need to Know to Start Your Day.  
• Historic Oil Glut Amassed During the Pandemic Has Almost Gone.
• Covid Economic Scars, Digital Yuan-Dollar, Debt Crunch: Eco Day.  
• U.S. Passes Vaccine Milestone; Aid Goes to Ontario: Virus Update.
• Coinbase Hangover Rattles Crypto Assets With Bitcoin Falling.
• Banks Face Growing Pressure to Phase Out Fossil-Fuel Lending.  
• Facebook to Soon Announce Social Audio Products, Recode Says.

Wall Street Journal:

• WeWork’s New Stock-Listing Plan Has Echoes of Past.
• If Democrats Pack the Court.
• Investment Options for the Unwoke.
• Landmen Who Once Staked Claims for Oil and Gas Now Hunt Wind and Sun.
• Ohio Politics Is Changing Rapidly Beneath a Stable Surface.
• Fatal Tesla Crash in Texas Believed to Be Driverless.
• Cornyn Says Senate GOP Could Be Open to Smaller Infrastructure Bill.
• Stock Rally Broadens in Encouraging Sign for Bull Market.
• Fauci Predicts J&J Vaccine Returning Friday.
• Drugmakers Go on Trial Over Opioid Epidemic.
  

Fox News:

• WATCH: County officials ignore mother pleading for school reopening.

CNBC:  

• White House warns Russia will face consequences if Putin critic Alexei Navalny dies in prison.
• Bitcoin tumbles from recent high as cryptocurrencies take weekend hit.

Zero Hedge: 

• The State Of The 'Third Wave' In Europe. 
• "Stunning Divergence": Latest Bank Data Reveals Something Is Terminally Broken In The Financial System.
• Biden Blames Russia For The Exact Same "Interference" That US Corporate Media Is Guilty Of. 
• “It’s Totally Insane. Someone Made A Million On Dogecoin With His Stimulus Check".
• Hedge Funds Are Getting The Hell Out Of New York In Favor Of Florida.
• Obama's Chief Energy Scientist Disputes The Climate-Change Propaganda-Peddlers. 
• Navalny's Team Claims He 'Could Die At Any Moment' As US Warns Russia Of "Consequences".
• In San Francisco, Drug Overdoses Claimed Twice As Many Lives As COVID-19.
• Biden Finally Admits There's A "Crisis" At The Border.
• 'Get More Confrontational': Maxine Waters Crosses State Lines To Incite BLM Protesters.
• Bitcoin Crashes As Much As 15% Amid Unsubstantiated Report Of Money Laundering Crackdown.
• Yet Another Ridiculous Stock Market Bubble... In Three Charts.
• Ever Fewer People Need Ever More Money... Said Nobody, Ever (Except The Federal Reserve).
• Bitcoin puke, Fed's BS and risk.
• The Political Economy Of Fear.
• Canadian Cops Refuse To Enforce Ontario's New 'Police State' COVID-Lockdown Laws.
• "Fentanyl Is Here:" Las Vegas Suffers 200% Surge In Overdose Deaths.
• The Plutocrats Of Wall Street And Silicon Valley Are Scamming America.
• Taco Bell Opens "Digital-Only" Location In Times Square That Serves Alcohol.
• Black Lives Matter Activist Charged With Anti-Asian Hate Crime.

MarketWatch.com:   

• These stocks let you tap into the hot housing market.
  

NewsMax:     

• Ex-DNI Ratcliffe: US Rivals 'Testing, Taking Advantage of' Biden.
• Biden, China Agree to Cooperate on Climate Crisis.
• Poll: Only 38 Percent Back Packing Supreme Court.
  

TheGatewayPundit.com:

• WATCH: Rep. Maxine Waters Protests Past Curfew in Brooklyn Center, Calls for BLM to Get ‘More Confrontational’ if Chauvin is Acquitted.
• CNN Host Chris Cuomo Says White People’s Kids Need to ‘Start Getting Killed’ to Prompt Police Reform.
• HUGE: Non-profit EcoHealth Alliance, Received More than $1 Million in US Grants While Its Head Promoted the Made-Up Wuhan Wet-Market Conspiracy.
• NBA Ratings In Free Fall Since Going Woke Left – Down 45 Percent Since 2012.
• “You’ll Get F**king Clapped, Delgado!” – Peaceful Leftist Protesters Threaten to Murder NYC Police Officer at Protest-Riot (VIDEO).
• Arizona Senate Is Ready for Audit of Maricopa County’s 2020 Election Results to Begin – The Democrats Are In a Panic.
• Pompous Fauci Attacks Jim Jordan, Says Mask Mandates, Endless Lockdowns and Vaccine Passports Have Nothing to do with Restricting Civil Liberties (VIDEO).
• Minnesota National Guard Targeted in Drive By Shooting Hours After Rep. Maxine Waters Told BLM To Be ‘More Confrontational’.
• Biden’s Anti-American UN Ambassador Doubles Down, Compares US’ Founding Fathers to How the Chinese Treat the Uyghurs (VIDEO).

The Epoch Times:

• Beijing-Backed Officials and Media Threaten to Shut Down Hong Kong’s ‘Apple Daily’ Newspaper. 
• US, China Agree to Cooperate on Climate, Beijing’s Actions Are Key.

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 +.5% on average.
• Asia Ex-Japan Investment Grade CDS Index 78.75 -7.75 basis points.
• China Sovereign CDS 38.0 +.25 basis point.
• Bloomberg Emerging Markets Currency Index 61.01 -.04%.
• Bloomberg Global Risk-On/Risk Off Index 3,300.0 -2.0 points.
• Volatility Index(VIX) futures 20.15 +.98%. 
• Euro Stoxx 50 futures -.06%.
• S&P 500 futures -.33%.
• NASDAQ 100 futures -.29%

Morning Preview Links

Earnings of Note

Company/Estimate

Before the Open:

• (KO)/.50
• (MTB)/2.96
• (ONB)/.41

After the Close:

• (CCK)/1.39
• (IBM)/1.62
• (STLD)/1.99
• (UAL)/-6.82
• (ZION)/1.16
  

Economic Releases

• None of note
  

Upcoming Splits

• None of note
  

Other Potential Market Movers

• The RBA minutes could also impact trading today.

US Equity Market Hours

• 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 modestly lower and to rally into the afternoon, finishing mixed.  The Portfolio is 75% net long heading into the week.