Friday Watch

Evening Headlines

Bloomberg:           

• China’s Casino Crackdown Part of Bigger Quest to Transform Macau.  
• Taper Warning Signs Flash to Markets From India’s Central Bank.  
• U.K. Confidence Falls as Consumers Brace for Income Squeeze.
• Asian Stocks Set for Steady Open; Bond Yields Jump: Markets Wrap.
• Five Things You Need to Know to Start your Day. 
• Fed Behind the Curve, India Taper Warning, Lonely ECB: Eco Day.
• Biden's Booster Crusade Limps to Finish Line, Dogged by Uncertainty.
  
• Household Net Worth in U.S. Hits Record on Surging Home Values.
• House Democrats Plan Saturday Votes to Advance Tax, Spend Plan.  
• White House Weighs Invoking Defense Law to Get Chip Data.

Wall Street Journal:   

• $3.5 Trillion Is a Phony Number.
• China Prepares for Downfall of Debt-Laden Evergrande.
• Disney Isn’t Investigating Handling of Misconduct Claims, After ABC News Boss Urged Inquiry.  
• Biden’s Reconciliation Mess.  
• Scapegoats at the Texas Border.  
• China’s Answer to Aukus.

Fox News:  

• AOC appears to cry after Squad’s anti-Israeli agenda gets squashed.
  

CNBC.com:  

• Nike shares fall as supply chain havoc leads retailer to slash revenue forecast.
• Costco brings back purchase limits on toilet paper, cleaning supplies and more.

Zero Hedge:

• Federal Workers Sue Biden Over Vaccine Mandate.
• Amid Squalor & Misery, Hospital Strained By Influx Of Illegal Immigrants: Del Rio Democrat Mayor.
• Evergrande Selective Default: Offshore Bondholders "Run Out Of Hope" For Coupon Payment.
• Evergrande Auto Hasn't Sold A Single Car, But Has Enriched Its Founder And His Friends Plenty.
• Tropical Storm Sam Forms In Atlantic Basin, Expected To Become Major Hurricane This Weekend.
• Pelosi Vows To Avert Shutdown As Dems Reportedly Cave To "Republican Blockade".
• Facebook Overpaid FTC Fine By Billions To Shield CEO Zuckerberg From Personal Liability, New Lawsuits Allege.
• Corona Wars: Biden's Battle For Total Control.
• Taiwan On High Alert After 24 Chinese Jets Breach Defense Zone In Two Incidents.
• CDC Panel Approves Pfizer Boosters For Older Americans Despite More Pushback.
• Soaring Stocks Shrug Off Debt Ceiling Doubts As Taper Tantrum Sparks Bond Bloodbath.

 Jerusalem Post:

• COVID-19: New 'Mu variant' from Colombia could be vaccine resistant - WHO.

NBC News: 

• More than 20,000 Haitians are gathered in Colombia for possible migration to U.S.

Newsmax:

• Who's Vetting These Folks? Republicans Say Charges Against Afghan Refugees Raise Alarms.
  
• Rep. Reschenthaler: Hypocrisy 'So Rich' on Hunter Biden's Stories.

TheGatewayPundit.com:

• North Carolina Hospital Systems Suspends Nearly 400 Employees for Refusing to Get Covid Vaccine.
• NEVER FORGET: FOX News Reporter Trey Yingst: “Thousands” of US Green Card Holders Are Stranded in Afghanistan by Joe Biden …(And Democrats Don’t Care).
• UPDATE: Haitian Illegals in Federal Custody Have “HIJACKED” MULTIPLE Transport Buses And Escaped Into the Interior of The US; “They’ve Been Basically Overpowering the Drivers”.
• Hunter Biden Tried to Shake Down Libya For $2 Million Per Year, Plus ‘Success Fees’ to Help Unfreeze Assets While Joe Biden Was Vice President.
• STUNNING: AMA Is Teaching Doctors How to Manipulate Information in Order to Coerce the Unvaccinated.

Covid-19(Data, Maps, Graphs):

• Our World in Data:  New Global Covid-19 Cases(7-day rolling average graphs). New US Covid Hospital Admissions/ICU Admissions/Deaths
  
• FT.com:  Fully Vaccinated by Country(graph). Global Lockdown Stringency Index(map).
• Bloomberg.com:  International Travel Restrictions.  Case Graphs by State.
  
• NYTimes.com:  County Trends and Clusters. Local ICU Occupancy.
  
• Brown School of Public Health:  Covid Severity by State/County(map).  US Hospital Capacity(region).
  
• CovidActNow:  Covid Severity/Infection Rate by Metro Area.
  
• KFF:  US Vaccinations by Race/Ethnicity.
  
• Carnegie Mellon: Covid-Like Symptoms in Community. Covid Symptom Searches on Google. Covid-Related Dr.Visits.  Restaurant Visits. Wearing Masks. (graphs)
  
• Safegraph.com:  Commerce Patterns(graphs).

Night Trading 

• Asian equity indices are unch. to +.5% on average.

• Asia Ex-Japan Investment Grade CDS Index 83.0 -1.75 basis points.

• China Sovereign CDS 42.25 -.75 basis point.
  

• Bloomberg Emerging Markets Currency Index 59.44 +.01%.
• Bloomberg Global Risk-On/Risk Off Index 2,981.0 -96.0 points.
• Volatility Index(VIX) futures 20.6 -.24%.
• FTSE 100 futures +.16%.

• S&P 500 futures +.06%

• NASDAQ 100 futures unch. 

Morning Preview Links

Earnings of Note 
Company/Estimate 

 

Before the Open: 

• (CCL)/-1.36

After the Close:

• None of note
  

Economic Releases

10:00 am EST

• New Home Sales for Aug. is estimated to rise to 715K versus 708K in July.
  

Upcoming Splits

• None of note
  

Other Potential Market Movers

• The Fed's Powell speaking and the Eurozone CFTC data 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 industrial and technology shares in the region. I expect US stocks to open mixed and to rally into the afternoon, finishing modestly higher. The Portfolio is 100% net long heading into the day.