Wednesday Watch

Evening Headlines

Bloomberg:      

• Biden Floated Meeting With Xi That Chinese Leader Declined.
• Macau Casinos Downgraded by JPMorgan as Relicensing Begins.
• Korea Unemployment Drops to Record Low as Job Seekers Stay Home.
• An Expensive Surprise for Rich Heirs Lurks Inside the Democrats' Tax Plan.
• Deese Hails ‘Major Progress’ From House Democrats on Tax Changes .
  
• Elizabeth Warren Asks Fed to Break Up Wells Fargo.  
• N.Y. Vaccine Rule Must Allow Religious Exemptions, Judge Rules.  
• Video Game Spending Hit Record for August, Boosted by Consoles.
• Fidelity Pushed for Bitcoin ETF Approval in Private SEC Meeting. 
• Microsoft Unveils $60 Billion Buyback; Smith Is Named Vice Chair.

Wall Street Journal:  

• Facebook Knows Instagram Is Toxic for Teen Girls, Company Documents Show.  
• Here Comes the Biden Tax Bill.
• Inflation Begins to Erase Wage Gains for Low-Pay Workers.
• Americans’ Incomes Fell in 2020.
• Newsom Faces Recall Election in California.

Fox News:  

• Biden's top military adviser reached out to US enemy about Trump in last months of presidency, book says.
• President's low approval ratings dragged even lower by 2 crucial issues, poll finds.
• Retired Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman says Gen. Milley 'must resign' if his secret calls with China occurred.
  

CNBC.com:

• SEC chair Gary Gensler wants to crack down on the ‘wild west’ of crypto.
• Amazon CEO Andy Jassy: ‘It’s still early days for us in media’.
• Here’s everything Apple just announced at its iPhone 13 event.
• EV start-up Rivian beats Tesla, GM, Ford as first automaker to produce electric pickup.
• DOJ official signals firm stance against ‘killer acquisitions’.
• Senators demand cryptocurrency regulation guidance from SEC Chair Gary Gensler.
• America is short more than 5 million homes, and builders can’t make up the difference.

MarketWatch.com:         

• Apple reveals iPhone 13, iPad Mini price increase and larger Apple Watch.

Zero Hedge:

• Global Debt Hits A Record $300 Trillion, Up $36 Trillion Since COVID.
• "Several Senior Executives" From Chinese Banks Investigated And Arrested In Recent Weeks, Global Times Reports. 
• Massachusetts Activates National Guard To Bus School Children After Vax Mandate Staffing Shortages.
• Jeff Gundlach Warns "History Books Won't Say Inflation Was Transitory", Remains Long-Term Dollar Bear.
• Elizabeth Warren Demands Amazon Censor Best-Selling Books.
• Why The Biden COVID-19 Vaccine Mandate Is Unconstitutional.
• The Political Alchemy Called Modern Monetary Theory.
• Internal Study Finds 32% Of Teen Girls Say "Instagram Makes Me Feel Bad About My Body".
• WTI Extends Gains After Across The Board Inventory Draws.
• The US Economy In A Nutshell: When Critical Parts Are On "Indefinite Back Order", The Machine Grinds To A Halt.
• Bonds, Bullion, & Bitcoin Jump As Stocks Pump'n'Dump After CPI.

Reuters:

• South Africa loosens COVID curbs as third wave eases. Authorities reported 3,961 new cases on Sunday, compared with a peak of about 26,500 per day in early July.
• South Africa has administered at least 14,670,161 doses of COVID vaccines so far. Assuming every person needs 2 doses, that’s enough to have vaccinated about 12.5% of the country’s population.

Newsmax:

• Trump to Newsmax: Obama's 'Probably Running the Government'.
• Rep. Ferguson: Dems Tax Hike Will Leave Businesses 'Gutted'.

TheGatewayPundit.com:

• Japan Warns Citizens to Avoid “Western-owned” Facilities in Six Southeast Asian Countries Due to Possible Terror Attack.
• Chuck Schumer Unveils Legislation to Make Voter Fraud Legal in the US (VIDEO).
• “If it is Actually True… That’s Treason” – President Trump Reacts to Reports Milley Called China Behind His Back (AUDIO).
• National Guard Activated in Massachusetts to Take Children to School.
• Clinton-Appointed Judge Blocks New York’s Vaccine Mandate for Healthcare Workers.
• An Inside Look at Australia’s ‘Mandatory Quarantine Camps:’ A Dystopian Reality in 2021 Where Travelers are Confined “Like Animals at the Zoo” – (Video).
• “I Don’t Know” – Secretary of State Blinken When Asked if Biden Admin Droned an Aid Worker or High-Level ISIS Operative (VIDEO).

The Epoch Times:

• CIA’s Bid to Throttle Down Chinese Espionage May Be Easier Said Than Done: Experts.
• Clyde Prestowitz: How Communist China Entrapped America’s Elite, from Washington to Wall Street
  

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 -.5% to +.25% on average.

• Asia Ex-Japan Investment Grade CDS Index 65.75 unch.

• China Sovereign CDS 33.25 +.25 basis point.
  

• Bloomberg Emerging Markets Currency Index 60.12 -.01%.
• Bloomberg Global Risk-On/Risk Off Index 2,907.0 -11.0 points.
• Volatility Index(VIX) futures 21.3 -1.2%.
• FTSE 100 futures -.06%.

• S&P 500 futures +.17%

• NASDAQ 100 futures +.20%. 

Morning Preview Links

Earnings of Note 
Company/Estimate 

 

Before the Open: 

• (JKS)
  

After the Close:

• None of note
  

Economic Releases

8:30 am EST

• Empire Manufacturing for Sept. is estimated to fall to 18.0 versus 18.3 in Aug.
• The Import Price Index MoM for Aug. is estimated to rise +.2% versus a +.3% gain in July.
• The Import Price Index ex Petroleum for Aug. is estimated to rise +.2% versus a +.1% gain in July.
• The Export Price Index MoM for Aug. is estimated to rise +.4% versus a +1.3% gain in July. 
  

9:15 am EST

• Industrial Production MoM for Aug. is estimated to rise +.5% versus a +.9% decline in July.
• Capacity Utilization for Aug. is estimated to rise to 76.4% versus 76.1% in July.
• Manufacturing Production for Aug. is estimated to rise +.4% versus a +1.4% gain in July.
  

10:30 am EST

• Bloomberg consensus estimates call for a weekly crude oil inventory decline of -2,739,450 barrels versus a -1,528,000 barrel decline the prior week. Gasoline supplies are estimated to fall by -3,311,300 barrels versus a -7,215,000 barrel decline the prior week. Distillate inventories are estimated to fall by -2,623,400 barrels versus a -3,141,00 barrel decline the prior week. Finally, Refinery Utilization is estimated to rise by +1.44% versus a -9.4% decline prior.
  

Upcoming Splits

• None of note
  

Other Potential Market Movers

• The UK PPI report, weekly MBA Mortgage Applications report, BofA Healthcare Conference and the (CSCO) investor day 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 industrial and financial shares in the region. I expect US stocks to open mixed and to weaken into the afternoon, finishing modestly lower. The Portfolio is 50% net long heading into the day.