Tuesday Watch

Today's Headlines

Bloomberg:

• US Warns Against Israeli Assault on Rafah in Draft UN Security Council Text.
• Houthi Strikes Force Crew to Abandon Ship for First Time.
• China Stocks’ Insipid Reopen Adds Pressure on Beijing to Do More.
• US Moves to Restore Stockpiling ‘Panic Button’ in EV Metals Fight with China.
• Stocks Pause Near Record as Traders Await Catalyst: Markets Wrap. 
• Asia Stocks Muted, Baht Falls on PM Rate Cut Plea: Markets Wrap. 
• Oil Holds Near Three-Month High After Another Red Sea Attack.
• Goldman Gauges Show Why Biden’s Benefit From Economy in Doubt.
• Bayer Plans to Slash Dividend by 95% in Bid to Pay Down Debt.
• Largest Covid Vaccine Study Yet Finds Links to Health Conditions.
• Nike Joins Growing List of US Companies Doing Large Layoffs.
• Meeting-Free Fridays Aim to Boost Slumping End-of-Week Productivity.
• Deutsche Bank Ends Prized Covid Custom: Four-Day Weekends From Home. 
• Truist Nears Sale of Insurance Arm to Stone Point, CD&R.
• A $6 Trillion Wall of Cash Is Holding Firm as Fed Delays Cuts.
• Dozens of Banks Rapidly Piled Up Commercial Property Loans.

Zero Hedge:

• Who Is The WOAT President?
• "Enough Is Enough": 'Squad' Member Tlaib Comes Out Against Biden.
• Understanding The Trump Phenomenon: It's Not What The Elites Think.
• Wawa Targets "Most Aggressive Growth" In Company's History With Huge Push South. 
• Medvedev Warns Of Nukes On Berlin, London & Washington Before Russia Would Return To 1991 Borders.
• A Market Only A Mother Or AI Could Love. 
• Presidents' Day News Round Up - Newsquawk Asia-Pac Market Open.
• How The US Regime Subsidizes Immigration (Both Legal & Illegal).
• GOP Efforts To Shore Up Election Security In Swing States Face Challenges.
• "12 Fellas Down. 1 To Go": Nikki Haley Has Terrible, No Good, Very Bad Weekend On Social Media.
• This Is A Cycle Of Illusion: You See What You Want To See.
• Pentagon Confirms $32M Drone Downed Off Yemen, Same Day UK Tanker Destroyed.
• Almost Entire Population Of California Under Weather Alerts Amid Atmospheric River Pounding.
• Cognitive Tests For Presidential Candidates A 'Good Idea,' Reagan’s Daughter Says.
• Hillary Clinton Claims "Wannabe Dictator" Trump Will Pull US Out Of NATO, "Militarize American Law Enforcement".
• COVID Vaccine Shedding Is 'Real', FDA & Pfizer Documents Are Proof: Clinicians.
• Goldman "Focused On Put-Buying" As UBS Warns Of "Difficult Phase For Equity Markets".
• FedEx Founder Issues Dire Warning About 'Unsustainable' Government Debt.
• Key Events This Week: Nvidia Earnings And FOMC Minutes.
• VDH: Biden's Lies On Top Of Lies On Top Of Lies...
• George Santos Sues Jimmy Kimmel For $750K Over Late-Night Prank.
• Moore: The Biden 'Bull Market' Is Just Bull.
• China Plunge Protectors Emerge In Last Hour Of Trading To Push Stocks To Session Highs After 10-Day Holiday.
• Why America Will Never Overcome Its Mountain Of Debt.
• Market's Bullishness On Euro Against Dollar Looks Misplaced.
• Futures Flat With US Markets Closed For President's Day.
• FDA Approves First Medication To Treat Severe Frostbite.
• 200 (Clueless) Economists Demand The EU Incorporate Climate In Economic Models.
• Mainland China bolstered after the holiday break, US markets closed today - Newsquawk Europe Market Open.
• US Officials Concede No Active Surveillance On Long-Term Effects Of COVID-19 Vaccines.
• Mapping The World's Top 50 Science And Technology Hubs.
• Black Activist Lawyer's Idea To Stop Law-Breaking: Just Legalize Crime.

Wall Street Journal:

• Ozempic Is Taking Off With the World’s Largest Obese Population.
• Aboard a U.S. Carrier, a Front-Row Seat to China Tensions.
• America’s Oil Power Might Be Near Its Peak.
• Nvidia’s Staying Power Is the $2 Trillion Question.
• Israel Sets Deadline for Rafah Ground Offensive Within Weeks. 
• One of the Most Expensive Luxury-Property Markets Is Becoming a Lot Cheaper.
• The Boom in Battery Metals for EVs Is Turning to Bust.
• Billions Start Flowing to Chip Makers for New U.S. Factories.
• A Venture Capitalist’s View of AI: Where the Money Is.

CNBC:

• Houthis claim ‘catastrophic’ attack in Red Sea that prompted crew to abandon ship.
• Magnificent 7 profits now exceed almost every country in the world. Should we be worried?

Reuters:

• Germany likely in recession, Bundesbank says.
• Capital One considers acquisition of Discover Financial, source says.

MarketWatch.com:

• As Nvidia prepares to post results, these three Europe chip names are tipped for gains, JPMorgan says.

NewsMax:

• About-Face: Biden Now Willing to Meet With Speaker on Aid Package.
• Israel Expects Up to 8 Weeks of Intense Fighting in Gaza.

Fox News:

• Biden admin reportedly goes full-throttle on trying to prevent you from driving gas cars.
• Border Patrol union slams Biden over border crisis: 'Catastrophic disaster'.
• Chemical found in popular breakfasts linked to potential health issues, study says.

FiveThirtyEight.com: 

• Updated GOP South Carolina Primary Poll Average: Donald Trump 64.7%, Nikkei Haley 31.6%.

TheGatewayPundit.com:

•  NOT Making Headlines: Russian Dissident Navalny Compared Himself to Trump and His Persecution and Censorship by the Democrats and Biden Regime.
• MUST READ: Lara Trump Echoes Clueless Ronna McDaniel in Securing the 2024 Election – It Won’t Cut It and We All Know It – Here Are 10 Points That MUST Be Addressed.
• REPORT: Trucking Company Cancels Shipments to New York City on Monday (VIDEO).
• Chicago Activist Calls for Moratorium on Migrants: Poor and Homeless an ‘Afterthought’ in Their Own City.
• Embalmer Shares Shocking Video of Removing “Strange White Fibrous Clots” from a Dead Body — “I Didn’t Start Seeing This Until Early 2021” (GRAPHIC VIDEO). 
• SHOCK VIDEO: Huge Line of Illegals “As Far as the Eye Can See” Traverse Down Steep, Rocky Mountain After Crossing Into San Diego. 
• Shark Tank’s Kevin O’Leary Says He’s Boycotting in “Loser State” New York — Sets Sights on Oklahoma, North Dakota, West Virginia, Florida, and Texas for Future Ventures. 
• House Panel Issues Subpoena for Penny Pritzker, Others, Over “Continued Failure” to Comply with Harvard Antisemitism Probe.
• Military Survey: One World Leader’s Regime is Overwhelmingly Considered the Greatest Threat to America.
• House Dems Furious After Guest Chaplain Dares to Tell Truth About Liberal America.
• Dr. Michael J. Schwartz, Author of “Fauci’s Fiction” Joins Rose Unplugged (AUDIO).
• Mass Shooter and Cop Killer in Minnesota Previously Defended Obama – Deceased Officers Named.
• EXCLUSIVE FOIA RELEASE: Iranian Regime Interfered in 2020 Presidential Election the Week Before Election – Chris Krebs Kept This from Congress During Testimony.
• Green Tyrants Get Horrible News as Finance Giants Pull Out Left and Right.
• Biden Border Crisis: Military-Age Syrian Men Illegally Cross Into San Diego (VIDEO).
• California Democrats Introduce Bill That Would Force Homeowners and Renters to Disclose Number of Firearms to Insurance Companies, Government.
• Here We Go: WHO Chief Tedros Ghebreyesus Warns of Inevitable ‘Disease X’ Pandemic — ‘A Matter of When, Not If’ (VIDEO).
• Leftist Italian Judge Declares Sending Illegal Migrants Back to Libya is a Crime in Blow to PM Meloni.
• WATCH: Moment Two Minor Teens Get Into Heated Exchange Before Shooting Up Kansas City Chiefs Parade.
• TRUMP’S TOUGH TALK WORKS: Germany Vows To Spend Over 2% GDP in Defense ‘For Decades to Come’, Pressures European Allies To Do the Same.
• Gina Godbehere Running for Maricopa County Attorney Against Incumbent Rachel Mitchell who Defended Maricopa County’s Rigged Elections – SIGN NOMINATION PETITION HERE.

The Epoch Times:

• US Could Lose Space Race to China After NASA Retires International Space Station, Experts Warn.

X:

• @SaltyGoat17 - Dutch MEP Rob Roos says "climate change" is a fabricated crisis, adding, "We are heading to a new kind of communism." He's 100% correct!! Watch and share because what he describes is what is coming our way FAST!! (video)
• @amuse - Hacker shows judge how, with nothing more than a ballpoint pen, he can change vote totals on Georgia’s Dominion voting machines. Gov @BrianKempGA refuses to update the machines or move to paper ballots. Who is paying/pressuting him not to fix them?
• @LaNativePatriot - BREAKING - They Just Made It Official, New Bill Introduced “Courage To Serve Act” This Will Allow Migrants Serve In The US Military & Get Citizenship With Benefits. Please tell me…. How did Rome fall again? (video)
• @stclairashley - This is INSANE. Thank you for covering the migrant crisis
  @nickshirleyy.
• @Resist_CBDC - ALL sides working together to enslave you. No one is coming to save US - WE must save ourselves. "countries are moving to digital ID ... to engage with government and conduct their business" - Digital ID is necessary for #Agenda2030 permanent scarcity and rationing "the real world events is this technology revolution" - AI will permit individualized 24/7 digital manipulation.
• @KanekoaTheGreat - NEW: A recent poll from the Pew Research Center reveals 8 out of 10 Americans hold negative views about the U.S. government's handling of illegal immigration. Astonishingly, 73% of Democrats, 89% of Republicans, and 80% of adults overall believe that the government is doing a "very" or "somewhat" bad job of dealing with illegal immigration. Just 18% have a positive view of the government’s handling of the border, with 1% claiming that the government is doing a "very good" job. Notably, there has been an 11% surge in dissatisfaction among Democrats compared to a similar Pew survey conducted less than 8 months ago. (graph)
• @WallStreetSilv - "They will spend $252 MILLION on the illegal migrants". "17,000 migrants come into this city and that's just in Chicago". "In one generation, the black vote will be null". "They will have an additional 24,000 people on the voting rolls". "They're playing chess, and you all are playing checkers". "You are damning our youth, our next generation to poverty" (video)
• @WallStreetApes - America Being Permanently Rigged & Dismantled Right Before Our Eyes. “Breaking News and a ruling that could decimate the landmark Voting Rights Act. A panel of federal appeals court judges has ruled that only the federal government, not citizens, not groups, can sue under a key part of the voting rights act, which effectively guts that legislation in 7 states.” (video) NEW 2024 Update: 80% Of Americans Tested Positive For Hazardous Pesticide Called Chlormequat. These Pesticides Are Even Commonly Found In Children’s Cereals. Manufacture Don’t Have To Include The Ingredient On The Box Because They’re Pesticides. Important Info About Americans Being Scammed By The Food Industry. FDA Only Requires Grass Fed Beef To Be Fed Grass The Last 30 Days Of Its Life.
• @LaraLogan - Yes - anything that stands in the way of their ability to steal another election must be stopped.
• @GameofTrades_ - ATTENTION: Housing defaults have just hit the highest levels since 2013. This is now starting to look scary.
• @megynkelly - This is what this madness has wrought folks. Being “pc”/polite/saying nothing when you know it’s wrong has gotten us to abusing babies. Pls pls pls find your voice. This is sick. It’s mental illness - and we are enabling it.

OpenVAERS:

• VAERS US COVID Vaccine Adverse Event Reports. 1,003,176 Reports(+2,451 from prior report) Through January 26th, 2024.

SKirsch.com:

• Using the MGH numbers with our own VAERS queries, we have 247 cases per million doses from the MGH study divided by 5.97 cases per million doses from VAERS. 247/5.97 = 41. This suggests that the VAERS under-reporting factor (URF) is 41X.

Night Trading

• Asian indices are -.5% to +.5% on average.
• Asia Ex-Japan Investment Grade CDS Index 100.25 -1.75 basis points.
  
• China Sovereign CDS 64.25 -.25 basis point.
• China Iron Ore Spot 125.8 USD/Metric Tonne -1.3%.
  
• Bloomberg Emerging Markets Currency Index 40.3 -.05%
• Bloomberg Global Risk-On/Risk Off Index 73.2 +.8%.
• Volatility Index(VIX) futures 15.1 +1.0%. 
• Euro Stoxx 50 futures -.08%.
• S&P 500 futures -.06%.
• NASDAQ 100 futures +.04%.

Morning Preview Links

BOTTOM LINE: Asian indices are mostly higher, boosted by industrial and technology shares in the region. I expect US stocks to open modestly higher and to weaken into the afternoon, finishing mixed.  The Portfolio is 75% net long heading into the week.