Monday Watch

Today's Headlines

Bloomberg:    

• China’s Energy Transition at Odds With Solar Glut, Cheap Power.
• Ukraine, US Hold Talks in Riyadh in Bid for Broad Ceasefire.
• Lethal Israeli Strikes Halve Hamas’ Top Leadership in Gaza. 
• China Must Fix Fentanyl Flow Before US Trade Talks, Senator Says.
• US Tech Rout Fuels Wild Bets From Korean Retail Investors.
• US Stock Futures Rise as New Tariffs Seen Targeted.
• Oil Steadies at Start of Week as Market Weighs Trump’s Tariffs.
• A $1.8 Trillion ESG Market Is Being Driven by the US Government.
• Copper’s Uber-Bull Predicts New Record on Most-Profitable-Ever Trade.
• Five Key Charts to Watch in Global Commodity Markets This Week.

Zero Hedge: 

• Hartnett: The "Sell" Signal Is Over, But April 2 Looms .
• Trump Bleachbits Hillary Clinton's Security Clearance, Along With Harris, Blinken, Sullivan, & The Bidens.
• Canadian Liberal Party Suddenly Surges Amid Tariff Tiff As Snap Election Called For April.
• Maduro Bends The Knee: Venezuela Agrees To Resume US Deportation Flights Of Illegal Immigrants.
• Weekend News Roundup - Newsquawk Asia-Pac Market Open.
• 'Inorganic' - GPS Data Reveals Bernie Sanders, AOC Anti-Oligarchy Rally Was Full Of Serial Protesters.
• Morgan Stanley: "Are All The Cries About A Recession Overdone? Probably".
• Erdogan Jails Top Political Rival As Protests Sweep Across Turkey.
• EPA's Attempt To Roll Back Climate Regulations May Come Down To One Key Legal Point.
• Hegseth Orders Additional Carrier To Middle East Amid Yemen Escalation .
• Worry More About "Certainty" Than "Uncertainty".
• "Max Volume If Threat Detected": Tesla Adds New Sentry Mode Security Feature To Deter Unhinged Leftist Attacks .
• Replacing Cash With Digital Dollar Would Pose A Grave Threat To Our Rights and Freedoms.
• Ukraine's Military Issues Bizarre Recruitment Ad Featuring McDonald's Cheeseburgers.
• DOJ Probes Classified Intel Leak To New York Times Challenging Deportation Of Venezuelan Gang Members.
• Tim Walz Embarrassingly Walks Back Rooting For Tesla Stock Crash.
• Europe's Reported Plan To Replace The US In NATO Ignores The Interests Of Five Key Countries.
• India's Oil Import Dependence Hits All-Time High.
• The Führer Of Germany: Friedrich Merz In A War & Spending Frenzy.
• Clashing Visions: 'Made In China 2025' vs. 'America First Investment'.
• Witkoff To Tucker: The 'Elephant In The Room' Which Will Decide Peace In Ukraine.
• The Autopen, The Presidency And The Constitution: What To Know.
• Trump Urges Supreme Court To Stop Injunctions Blocking Enforcement Of His Orders.
• Burrito Now, Pay Later: DoorDash - Klarna Deal Feeds US Debt Addiction.

Wall Street Journal:

• White House Narrows April 2 Tariffs.
• Madness at Columbia Was Your Tax Dollars at Work. From unlimited loans for grad students to tax-free municipal bonds, schools are subsidized like crazy. 
• Netanyahu, Top Aides Think Israel Must Beat Hamas on Battlefield.
• The Longevity Business Is Booming—and Its Scientists Are Clashing.
• Trump’s Housing Chief Embarks on Shake-Up at Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
• China’s Own Elon Musks Are Racing to Catch Up to SpaceX.
• American Women Are Giving Up on Marriage.
• Are Pop-Tarts on the Chopping Block With GOP Cuts?
• Trump Has a China Trade War Weapon He Hasn’t Picked Up.

CNBC:  

• 5 years into the remote work boom, the return-to-office push is stronger than ever—here’s why.
• Defiant Chuck Schumer rejects calls to step down as Senate Democratic leader.
• Stock futures rise as S&P 500 looks for a second winning week.
• 'Very rare trend’ is taking place in fixed-income market, led by booming trade in AI bonds.
• Australia’s James Hardie to acquire U.S.-based AZEK in $8.8 billion deal.
• 29-year-old couldn’t afford a house in the U.S., so she bought one sight unseen in Italy.
• Pro-Trump senator meets Chinese Premier Li with U.S. executives.
• Top analysts are upbeat on these 3 dividend stocks for stable income. 

MarketWatch.com:  

• Will the stock market’s relief rally continue? Watch for this economic data.
• Analysts are cutting first-quarter forecasts more than normal. They still expect growth. 
• If you missed out on gold’s record run, take a look at silver.

NewsMax:

• Report: Trump Pushing for Ukraine Ceasefire by Easter.

Fox News:

• Trump’s question after thunderous NCAA moment gets all-American response.
• How Tesla owners are catching vandals in the act, and sending them to jail.
• Dem power player issues warning to teammates who are jumping ship.
• Former Yankees star Brett Gardner reveals heartbreaking death of teen son.

TheGatewayPundit.com:

• HUGE: Barack Obama Was Using USAID to Pretend to Send ‘Aid’ Overseas But Was Laundering It to Train ‘Rent-a-Riots’ Instead .
• Al Gore’s Phony Climate Alarmism Exposed.
• Nearly Half of Californians Consider Voting Republican Governor in 2026 Amid Democrat Failures, Statewide Poll Reveals.
• Spain: Over 71% of New Jobs in the Last 5 Years Went to Foreigners as Young Spaniards Emigrate at Alarming Rates.
• Our secret plan for dealing with the Democrats is called, “Operation Let Them Speak”.
• Florida Governor Ron DeSantis: ‘THE ROOT OF THE PROBLEM IS CONGRESS’ FECKLESSNESS!’
• Organization Called the ‘Satanic Grotto’ Planning to Hold ‘Black Mass’ Ritual Inside Kansas State Capitol, Just Days Before Easter.
• Analysis: The Deep State Stumbles Upon Three Lines of Effort to Impede MAGA.
• Dem Infighting Worsens, Rising Star Takes Direct Shot at Touring AOC.
• Liberal NY Times Columnist Ezra Klein Illustrates the Hypocrisy of the Left and Confirms Democrats Are Completely Out of Ideas (VIDEO).
• “USA! USA!” – President Trump Gets Rockstar Welcome as He Enters Arena For NCAA Wrestling Championship in Philadelphia (VIDEO).
• Speaker Johnson Reveals House Plans to Limit Abuses of Activist Judges and ‘Expose the Worst Offenders’.

The Epoch Times:

• US Senator Meets China’s Vice Premier in Beijing Visit.
• Chinese Businesses React to Trump’s Tariffs.

Around X:

• @elonmusk

• That is the fundamental question. Why did the federal judiciary turn a blind eye to the importation of millions of illegals, but now is apoplectic over any action to remove them? How is this anything other than extremely partisan politics masquerading as jurisprudence?
• It was ALL a lie. The real reason USAID was in Africa. Former African Union Ambassador to the United States, Arikana Chihombori-Quao: “They're using that open access, sounding humanitarian, to constantly destabilize governments”. Exactly. (video)

• @OliLondonTV

• Snow White flops at the Box Office, becoming one of Disney’s worst performing movies in recent years. The movie made just $3.5 million in previews on Thursday across the U.S and is projected to earn between $45-55 million during opening weekend. The movie which had a budget of $240 million, has been mired in controversy over Rachel Zegler’s woke outbursts in the run up to its release. The film received a staggeringly low 2.4/10 rating on IMDb and just 44% on Rotten Tomatoes, following its release.

• @WallStreetApes

• The Elon Musk Tesla protests ARE PAID. Watch as these protesters pick through a pile of pre-made signs provided to them. This is all BEING FUNDED by Democrat donors and activist NGO groups. We demand investigations and accountability into the money trail. (video)
• ER Nurse in Aurora, Colorado says if you are against ICE mass deportations, you don’t know what being a victim of illegal immigrants looks like. “I have seen personally in the ER: (video) 
• Victor Davis Hanson talks about how California Democrat politicians amass UNBELIEVABLE wealth, “but their policies made sure that people where I live can't buy a house”. “Nancy Pelosi, Barbara Boxer, Dianne Feinstein, Kamala Harris, Jerry Brown, Gavin Newsom. They're all from the same place. They're all from the same class. They're all very wealthy. They all have estates, cabin's living in a $9 million home. Jerry's got a big Grass Valley estate. Feinstein had one of the most beautiful homes of Tahoe, Barbara Boxer's at Rancho Mirage.” (video)
• Canada healthcare is horrifying. “My MRI to see if I have a brain tumor is in 2026. It's March 2025 right now”. “If you thought this was bad, it's actually worse than you thought. Because the appointment where we decided that I need this MRI was in December of last year. So it's not like it's 10 months from now. It's 13 months. It's a 13 month wait to see if I have a brain tumor”. (video)

• @ItsJulliansRum

• So in the last 2 months a Biden white house aide and a Biden attorney have died at the ages of 28 and 43. Yea that’s totes normal… (pic)

• @MarioNawfal

• TESLA SERVICE CENTERS STRUGGLING TO KEEP UP WITH SURGING DEMAND. Reports out of Schaumburg confirm what many Tesla owners are seeing firsthand—Service Centers are slammed. According to a Tesla employee on the ground, demand is so high, they’re barely keeping up. Tesla vehicles are flying off the shelves faster than ever, with new buyers flooding in and pushing service teams to the limit. Wait times are climbing, bays are full, and the buzz is real—Tesla’s growth isn’t slowing down anytime soon.
• BILL MAHER: NYT GASLIT US BY CALLING THE COVID LAB LEAK THEORY RACIST “This is a good example of why people lost faith in the left because they do stupid things like that.” (video)

• @BigFish3000

• Penn State wrestler was not just satisfied with the NCAA championship trophy. He wanted a picture with the President of the United States of America also. (video)

• @LeadingReport

• BREAKING: HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has unveiled an online tool that allows users to search for chemical contaminants in their food and other products.

• @amuse

• ISLAMIFICATION: Paterson New Jersey is being called “Little Palestine” by its own mayor. The police wear Palestinian flags instead of American flags. (video)

• @MilaLovesJoe

• BREAKING: DHS employee Brandon Wright, a platform services manager, explains to O’Keefe Media’s hidden camera how DHS Secretary Kristi Noem (
  @Sec_Noem) wont be able to really do anything at DHS. Think Brandon still has a job? (video)

• @OcrazioCornPop

• HOLY SWAMP: The House and Senate are on "Spring Break" - House OFF for 7 Days (March 17-23), Senate OFF 11 Days (March 17-27). Why do Geriatric Men & Women need a "Spring Break"? In April it gets even WORSE! The House works JUST 9 DAYS - OFF 21! The Senate works 10, OFF 20 DAYS! Congress has totally abandoned the American People! NO Trump EOs Passed as Law. NO Election Reforms Passed as Law. NO DC Courts' Jurisdiction Stripped. NO Leftist Activist Judges Impeached. NO Federal Judges Confirmed with 45 OPEN Positions READY TO BE FILLED. YES Biden & Schumer’s $2+ TRILLION Deficit-Busting Omnibus CR. 2026 Primary Season Needs to be Prodigous!

• @TonySeruga

• GPS—Here we go again, there were 20,189 devices. Still a large crowd but not even close to the 30,000 quoted in Denver newspapers nor the 34,000 quoted by Bernie Sanders and AOC. 84% of the devices present had attended 9 or more Kamala Harris rallies, antifa/blm, pro-Hamas, pro-Palestinian protests, 31% had attended over 20. (video)
  

• @RealHickory

• I know a very liberal prosecutor who has practiced law for over 20 years, at the state and federal level, who's definitely a NeverTrumper. We rarely talk politics. But, he told me that Trump doesn't have to abide by any of these corrupt judges usurping his Article II powers, saying the constitution is absolutely clear on the matter. Many other attorneys s are coming forward in recent days saying the same thing. IGNORE THE JUDGES! PERIOD!

• @ShadowofEzra

• Attorney General Pam Bondi gives a major update on the Epstein files after reports that 1,000 FBI agents were working on redactions for “national security” reasons. She reveals there are tens of thousands of pages of documents and hundreds of child victims tied to Jeffrey Epstein. Bondi says the FBI is working around the clock under orders from her, Kash Patel, and Dan Bongino to ensure the files are released. She confirms redactions will be minimal—only to protect the victims. (video)

Night Trading

• Asian indices are +.25% to +.75% on average.
• Asia Ex-Japan Investment Grade CDS Index 77.5 +1.0 basis point.
  
• China Sovereign CDS 52.0 +2.5 basis points.
• China Iron Ore Spot 100.3 USD/Metric Tonne +.3%.
  
• Bloomberg Emerging Markets Currency Index 36.9 -.01%.
• Bloomberg Global Risk-On/Risk Off Index 74.4 +.3%.
• Volatility Index(VIX) futures 18.9 -2.4%. 
• Euro Stoxx 50 futures +.28%.
• S&P 500 futures +.61%.
• NASDAQ 100 futures +.76%.

Morning Preview Links

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