Monday Watch

Today's Headlines

Bloomberg:                   

• China Military Held Beach Assault Drill to Warn Taiwan, U.S. 
• China Signals End to $2 Trillion U.S. Stock Listing Juggernaut.
• Congress Takes Aim at China’s Recruitment of Talent in U.S.
• U.K.’s Big Reopening Marred By Covid Chaos and Johnson’s U-turn.  
• Global Growth Boom May Disappoint, Morgan Stanley’s Sharma Warns.
• Indonesia Daily Covid Deaths Top Brazil as the World’s Highest.
• Political Risk Back on Radar in Emerging-Market Currency Trades.
• Crypto Traders Loved Big Leveraged Bets Until Inexplicable Crash.  
• Stocks Set to Fall, U.S. Futures Weaken; Oil Slips: Markets Wrap.
• UAE Stocks End Little Changed With OPEC+ Deal Eyed: Inside EM. 
• Oil Declines After OPEC+ Agrees to Boost Production Into 2022.   
• Gauff Out of Olympics; Social Media Criticized: Virus Update.
• Jeff Bezos and ‘Star Wars’ Inspire Hunt for $1 Trillion Space Unicorn.
  
• Fed Has a Sunny View of Inflation While Companies See the Clouds.
• GOP Senators Say No ‘Arbitrary’ Deadline for Infrastructure Vote.  
• Record Steel Prices Inject Life Into Long-Suffering Industry.   
• Court Blocks Lifting of Pandemic Rules for Florida Cruise Ships.

Wall Street Journal:

• Red-Hot U.S. Economy Expected to Cool From Here.
• Record Stock Rally Ignores Wall Street’s Phobia About Optimism.
• China Steels Itself for Fight to Roll Back Rising Commodities Prices.
• Selling Your Used Car? You Could Turn a Profit.
• Biden’s Self-Refuting Progressivism.
• How to Be an Anticapitalist.
• Covid-Related Problems Mount as Athletes and Officials Arrive for Tokyo Olympics.
• Escalating Materials Prices Turn Construction Bids Into a Gamble.

Fox News:  

• Mark Levin reveals the two groups pushing 'inhumane' ideology forward – and what they really want.
• Gunfire outside MLB game in DC sends fans, players running; 3 wounded.
• Gates visited Epstein's NYC townhouse multiple times, new book claims.

CNBC:

• OPEC and allies target full end to oil production cuts, increase supply as prices climb.
• Big earnings are expected from these stocks, Wall Street’s top analysts say.
• Chipotle, Target use TikTok to find the workers they need in tight job market. 

Zero Hedge: 

• "Most People Don't Wanna Turn To Brian Stelter To Tell Them What's Real": CNN Guest Obliterates 'Reliable Sources' Host.
• Did Japan Just Warn The US Of An Impending Joint Attack From China And Russia?
• Xiaomi Dethrones Apple As The World's #2 Smartphone Maker.
• Uber's $59 Million Fine Over Sexual Assault Data Was Just Reduced To $150K.
• Goodhart's Law: When Investors Mistake The Distortions Of The Wall Of Money For Wisdom.
• Greenwich Housing Market Has Gone From Bust To Boom As Buyer's Now Guaranteed To Overpay.
• Morgan Stanley: This Cycle Will Be "Hotter But Shorter" Than Usual.
• Top Biden Officials Now Embracing COVID Lab-Leak Theory.
• Republican Confidence In "Science" Collapses: Gallup.
• Now They Are Saying That The Republican Party Is The #1 "National Security Threat To The United States Of America".
• "Stunning Divergence": Latest Bank Data Reveals Something Is Terminally Broken In The US Financial System.
• Damage Control: Elon Musk Admits Cybertruck Could "Flop", Writes Off Summon Feature As Just A "Fun Trick".
• OPEC+ Agrees To Boost Output After Saudi-UAE Reach Production Compromise.
• Fans Panic Exit Washington Nationals' Game After Triple Shooting Outside Nats Stadium.
• Investors Are On The Lookout For A Crash. But Prices Keep Going Up.
• UK Government Minister Suggests New Lockdown Before The Current One Has Even Ended.
• It's A Jeep Thing: Iconic Wrangler Will Be Able To Drive Underwater, Company Teases.
• French Face 6 Months In Jail For Entering A Bar Or Restaurant Without A COVID Pass.
• The World's Tech Giants, Compared To The Size Of Nations' Economies.
• Are Justices Kavanaugh & Barrett Feeling The Threat Of Expansion?

MarketWatch.com:         

• Prices are soaring and Americans aren’t happy about it. Don’t worry, the Fed says.   
• Mortgage rates experience ‘summer swoon’ as Fed maintains status quo.
  

NewsMax: 

• DeSantis Calls Out Biden's 'Double Standard' on 'Political' Migration.
• Trump: Biden, Crime 'Far Worse' Than Even I Thought in 'Fake Election'.

TheGatewayPundit.com:

• Large Crowd Protests at White House Over Crackdowns in Cuba After Biden Blames Covid, Downplays Communism; Thousands Also Gather in Miami.
• Tucker Carlson: Hunter Biden ‘Can Do Literally Whatever He Wants’ (VIDEO).
• New UK Study: People Who Have Been Vaccinated Make Up 47% of New COVID Cases. 
• Macron Threatens Business Owners Who Fail to Check Patrons’ Covid Passports with One Year Prison Sentence, €45,000 Fine.
• Cyber Ninjas Found So Many Issues with the Voting Machines and Processes in Maricopa County It’s a Wonder the Previous Auditors Didn’t Find These Issues Too.
• MUST SEE: Newsmax Reporter Emerald Robinson Questions Dr. Fauci on Wuhan Lab Funding — Watch Him Scurry Away (VIDEO).
• PROJECT VERITAS: Insider Leaks Critical Race Theory ‘Indoctrination’ with Children’s Toy Manufacturer Hasbro (VIDEO).

Covid-19(Data, Maps, Graphs):

• Our World in Data:  New Confirmed Global Covid-19 Cases(7-day rolling average graphs by country).
• FT.com:  Fully Vaccinated by Country(graph)
• NYTimes.com:  Trends and Clusters.
  
• Brown School of Public Health:  Covid Severity by State/County(map).
• CovidActNow:  Covid Severity by Metro Area.
• KFF:  US Vaccinations by Race/Ethnicity.
  
• Carnegie Mellon: Covid-Like Symptoms in Community. 
• Carnegie Mellon: Covid Symptom Searches on Google.
• Safegraph.com:  Commerce Patterns(graphs).

Night Trading

• Asian indices are -1.25% to -.25% on average.
• Asia Ex-Japan Investment Grade CDS Index 84.5 unch.
• China Sovereign CDS 37.5 unch.
• Bloomberg Emerging Markets Currency Index 60.05 -.09%.
• Bloomberg Global Risk-On/Risk Off Index 2,820.0 -46.0 points.
• Volatility Index(VIX) futures 20.96 +1.6%. 
• Euro Stoxx 50 futures -.65%.
• S&P 500 futures -.40%.
• NASDAQ 100 futures -.24%

Morning Preview Links

Earnings of Note

Company/Estimate

Before the Open:

• (AN)/2.57
• (CALM)/.26
• (PLD)/.99
• (TSCO)/2.96
  

After the Close:

• (IBM)/2.29
• (JBHT)/1.57
• (PPG)/2.19
• (STLD)/3.46
• (ZION)/1.26
  

Economic Releases

10:00 am EST

• The NAHB Housing Market Index for July is estimated to rise to 82 versus 81 in June.

Upcoming Splits

• (NVDA) 4-for-1
  

Other Potential Market Movers

• The Japan inflation data report could also impact trading today.

US Equity Market Hours

• 9:30 am - 4:00 pm EST

BOTTOM LINE: Asian indices are lower, weighed down by commodity and technology shares in the region. I expect US stocks to open modestly lower and to maintain losses into the afternoon.  The Portfolio is 50% net long heading into the week.