Friday Watch

Evening Headlines

Bloomberg:            

• China’s PBOC Gets Local Government Help in Avoiding Cash Crunch.
• Asian Stocks Steady as U.S. Shrugs Off CPI Jump: Markets Wrap.
• Oil Poised for Third Weekly Gain on Improving Demand Outlook.
• Inflation Risks, ECB Boosts Stimulus, Taiwan Trade Ties: Eco Day.
• Tech Giants Lift S&P 500 to Record as Reddit Favorites Languish.  
• Bitcoin Ruling Roils Crypto World Seeking Regulatory Clarity.
  
• Bipartisan Senate Group Seals $1.2 Trillion Infrastructure Deal.  
• U.S. Corn Stocks Dwindle in Latest Jolt to Inflation Fears.

Wall Street Journal:

• U.S. Lifts Some Iran Sanctions Amid Stalled Nuclear Talks.
• Which Prices Are Rising—and Staying That Way.
• A Made-in-Washington Inflation Spike.
• The Ruthless Hackers Behind Ransomware Attacks on U.S. Hospitals.
• The Pandemic’s Toll on Teen Mental Health.
• Keystone XL’s Demise Shows Hard Road for New Pipelines.
• Amazon Faces Possible $425 Million EU Privacy Fine.
  

Fox News:

• 8th grader rips school proposal allowing 'boys into girls locker rooms'.
  

CNBC.com:

• GameStop shares crater 27% as ousted CEO walks away with millions: CNBC After Hours.
• Chewy CEO says dog, cat adoption rates have remained high as the economy reopens.
• Meme stocks hit a wall with GameStop, AMC and Clover falling.
• Inflation is hotter than expected, but it looks temporary and likely won’t affect Fed policy yet.

MarketWatch.com:       

• Here’s what sparked the latest talk over $100 oil prices.
  
• Medicare copays for new Alzheimer’s drug could hit $11,500 annually.
  
• House Democrats set to reshape antitrust law with 5 new bills.
  
• AMC board members sold nearly $4 million worth of stock this week.

Zero Hedge: 

• CDC To Hold "Emergency Meeting" After 100s Suffer Heart Inflammation Following COVID Vaccines.
• $1.2 Trillion Manchin-Backed Infrastructure Plan Reached By Bipartisan Group Of Senators.
• Watch: Rand Paul Says "Elitist" Fauci Believes Americans Too Stupid To See Through "Pseudoscience".
• Ford Secures 100,000 Reservations For Electric F-150 As Pre-Order Count Climbs.
• South Korean Inventor Creates "Third Eye" As A Warning To "Smartphone Zombies".
• "A Dangerous Precedent" - 3rd FDA Advisor Quits After Controversial Alzheimer's Drug Approval.
• Melvin Capital Among Hedge Funds Losing $6 Billion On Latest Meme Squeeze.
• BofA Just Threw Up All Over The Fed's "Transitory" Argument: Here's Why.
• Sen. Lindsey Graham: Trump Would Have Won 2020 Election If Wuhan Lab Leak Theory Was Proven.
• Public Health Officials Stumped As Southern States' Vaccination Rate Continues To Drag.
• Guatemala's President Says Biden Admin's Unclear Messaging On Illegal Immigration Fueled Border Surge.
• Household Net Worth Hits Record $137 Trillion, Up $25.6 Trillion Since COVID.
• From Spank Bank To Food Bank: Toobin Post-Masturbation Redemption Tour Kicks Off.
• Bonds & Bullion Bid As Meme-Stocks Are Monkey-Hammer'd.

Newsmax:

• Ric Grenell: Govt. Defense, Intel Contractors Should Not Do Business With China.
• Experts Say $400B in Pandemic Unemployment Funds Likely Stolen.
  

TheGatewayPundit.com:

• President Trump Says the Joint Chiefs of Staff Should All Be Fired If They Think Climate Change Is America’s Greatest Threat.
• More Bad News for Megalomaniac Tony Fauci: Over 70% of Americans Believe It’s at Least Somewhat Likely COVID Was Created in Lab.
• NEW: Passengers on First Fully Vaccinated North American Cruise Test Positive For Covid-19.
• Ilhan Omar Denounced by House Dem Leadership For Comparing America to Hamas and the Taliban.
• CNN Says Kamala Harris’ First Foreign Trip Was a Disaster (VIDEO).

The Epoch Times: 

• Sen. Tommy Tuberville: Federal Pension Funds Should Be Banned from Investing in China.

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 unch. to +.5% on average.

• Asia Ex-Japan Investment Grade CDS Index 83.75 -.25 basis point.

• China Sovereign CDS 35.5 -1.0 basis point.
  

• Bloomberg Emerging Markets Currency Index 61.97 +.06%.
• Bloomberg Global Risk-On/Risk Off Index 3,194.0 -161.0 points.
• Volatility Index(VIX) futures 19.54 +.5%.
• FTSE 100 futures -.01%.

• S&P 500 futures -.01%.

• NASDAQ 100 futures +.07%. 

Morning Preview Links

Earnings of Note 
Company/Estimate 

 

Before the Open: 

• None of note
  

After the Close:

• None of note
  

Economic Releases

10:00 am EST

• Univ. of Mich. Consumer Sentiment for June is estimated to rise to 84.2 versus 82.9 in May.
  

Upcoming Splits

• None of note
  

Other Potential Market Movers

• The UK Industrial Production report, Bloomberg June US Economic Survey and the (FDX) June economic update could also impact global trading today.

US Equity Market Hours

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