Friday Watch

Evening Headlines

Bloomberg:            

• Biden Says U.S. to Warn Business on Deteriorating Hong Kong.  
• China’s Pork Imports Set to Plunge 50% as Local Prices Tumble.
• Stocks Mixed, Treasuries Hold Gain on Growth Worry: Markets Wrap.
• Oil Dips to One-Month Low on Strong Dollar and OPEC+ Uncertainty.
  
• L.A. Orders Masks Indoors; Abu Dhabi Curbs Moves: Virus Update.
  
• Wall Street Has Surrendered to the $500 Billion ETF Rush.  
• Yellen Demurs on Second Powell Term, Saying She’ll Talk to Biden.  
• Biden Says His Covid Team is Weighing Lifting Europe Travel Ban.  
• Alcoa Posts Better-Than-Expected Profit, Sees Demand Rising.
• JPMorgan Strategist Warns of Dot-Com Era ‘Bull Trap’ in Ark Fund.

Wall Street Journal:

• China Buys Friends With Ports and Roads. Now the U.S. Is Trying to Compete.
• The Reassuring Data on the Delta Variant.
• The Climate-Change Agenda Goes Out With a Bang.
• Infrastructure Talks Stall Over Expanded IRS Powers.
• Your Child Tax Credit Payment Just Arrived. Are You Sure You Want It?
• Wall Street Opens Back Up to Oil and Gas—but Not for Drilling.

Fox News:  

• Texas House Speaker 'demanding' Dems who fled to DC to 'secure their seat' on plane he is chartering.
• Outrage over Biden admin's collusion with Facebook to nix 'problematic' posts.
  

CNBC.com:

• Yellen sees ‘several more months of rapid inflation’ before easing, worries about housing impact.
• American Airlines calls off flight attendants’ leaves, plans to hire 800 to meet travel demand.
• Jim Cramer says flood of IPOs is weighing on stock prices.
• Stocks making the biggest moves after hours: Square, Alcoa, American Outdoor Brands & more. 
  

MarketWatch.com:     

• Bond King Jeff Gundlach says there is a simple reason Treasury yields are so low even as inflation surges.  
• Moderna set to join S&P 500, stock rallies 8% after hours.

Zero Hedge:

• Arizona Election Audit: Maricopa County Stonewalling - Will Not Turn Over Routers, Chain Of Custody, Ballot Images As Discrepancies Found.
• Nuclear-Powered Crypto-Mining To Begin In Pennsylvania Next Year.
• "China Senses Weakness": Pence Urges Biden To Take Tougher Stance On CCP.
• Taiwan Semiconductor Sets Sights Expansion Into Japan After Record Q2 Sales.
• Intel To Buy Chip Fabricator GlobalFoundaries For $30 Billion In Biggest Deal Yet: WSJ.
• Chinese Communist Party Officials Share Viral Video Urging Nuclear Strikes On Japan.
• WHO To Correct 'Errors' In Report On Early COVID Cases In Wuhan, Won't Release Underlying Data.
• Paging Greta: China To Release 10 Million Tonnes Of Highly Polluting Coal From Reserves.
• Calling An End To The Commodity Rally? Not So Fast.
• LA County Reinstates Mask Mandate As COVID Cases Rise, Young Black Residents Dominate Unvaxx'd.
• Several Colombians Arrested In Haiti Assassination Received US Military Training: Pentagon.
• Expect A "Marked Slowdown" In Retail Sales.
• "Sick Of Westie Whites" Blatant Anti-White, Anti-Asian Racism In Schools.
• Surgeon General Demands Social Networks Crack Down On COVID Misinformation.
• Fed Fumble Slams Stocks, Bond Yields, & Big Shorts.

Newsmax:

• Trump Gives an I-Told-You-So on Fox News' Early Arizona Call.
  

TheGatewayPundit.com:

• Breaking: Arizona State Senator Demands Biden Electors be Recalled to Arizona and New Election Held Following Thursday’s Stunning Audit Revelations.
• “Germany Does Not Use Voting Machines, Like in the US” – German Minister Defends Country’s Secure Elections Comparing them to Sh*tshow in US.
• California Democrat-Led Legislature Approves First Ever State-Funded Guaranteed Income Plan.
• Black Lives Matter Marxists Blame US for ‘Undermining Cubans’ Right to Choose their Own Government;” Praise Communist Leaders as they Beat and Murder Their People.
• UPDATE: Arizona Audit Team Escorted from Building after Explosive Hearing Confirming Thousands of Fraudulent Votes — Applause Breaks Out! (VIDEO).
• WOW! AZ Audit Finds 74,000 Ballots Returned and Counted in 2020 Election with NO RECORD of Being Sent Out!

KFF:

• How fast virus is growing by state.
• Vaccinations by Race/Ethnicity.
  

Our World in Data:

• New Confirmed Global Covid-19 Cases(7-day rolling average graphs).

Carnegie Mellon:

• Covid-Like Symptoms in Community.

Night Trading 

• Asian equity indices are -.75% to +.25% on average.

• Asia Ex-Japan Investment Grade CDS Index 84.5 -2.25 basis points.

• China Sovereign CDS 37.5 +.5 basis point.
  

• Bloomberg Emerging Markets Currency Index 60.0 -.02%.
• Bloomberg Global Risk-On/Risk Off Index 2,840.0 -166.0 points.
• Volatility Index(VIX) futures 20.02 +1.0%.
• FTSE 100 futures +.07%.

• S&P 500 futures -.22%.

• NASDAQ 100 futures -.26%. 

Morning Preview Links

Earnings of Note 
Company/Estimate 

 

Before the Open: 

• (ALV)/1.38
• (SCHW)/.72
• (ERIC)/1.23
• (KSU)/2.16
• (STT/)1.79
  

After the Close:

• None of note
  

Economic Releases

8:30 am EST

• Retail Sales Advance MoM for June is estimated to fall -.4% versus a -1.3% decline in May.
• Retail Sales Ex Autos MoM for June is estimated to rise +.4% versus a -.7% decline in May.
• Retail Sales Ex Autos and Gas for June is estimated to rise +.6% versus a -.8% decline in May.
  

10:00 am EST

• Business Inventories for May is estimated to rise +.5% versus a -.2% decline in April.
• Univ. of Mich. Consumer Sentiment for July is estimated to rise to 86.5 versus 85.5 in June. 
  

4:00 pm EST

• Net Long-Term TIC Flows for May.

Upcoming Splits

• (NVDA) 4-for-1
  

Other Potential Market Movers

• The Eurozone Trade Balance report could also impact global trading today.

US Equity Market Hours

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