Friday Watch

Around X:

• @elonmusk

• IT HAPPENED. The conservative AfD party is now the LARGEST party in Germany in latest poll. This is a political earthquake.
• BREAKING: El Salvador has been upgraded to level 1 travel advisory, listing it as one of the safest tourism destinations on earth. In the summer 2020, El Salvador was listed as a level 4 “do not travel.” President Bukele has changed his country for the better. 
• Elon Musk. "When you have a decline in religion and increase in secular nature of society, for most people they need something to fill that void, and they adopt woke, that takes place of religion." (video)

• @MarioNawfal

• U.S. ADMIRAL: CHINA’S TAIWAN “DRILLS” AREN’T DRILLS—THEY’RE REHEARSALS. U.S. commanders say Beijing isn’t just showing off near Taiwan—it’s practicing for the real thing, and doing it with a production line on steroids. China’s churning out warships, missiles, and fighter jets at a pace the U.S. can’t match, outbuilding America 6 to 1 on ships alone. Admiral Paparo told Congress the threat is growing—and fast. Taiwan’s prepping, but the clock’s ticking.
• HEGSETH: CHINA CAN'T HAVE THE PANAMA CANAL. "It's in our direct U.S. interest to ensure that waterway is free and that our ships can transit freely." (video) 
• MADURO HITS ECONOMIC PANIC BUTTON AFTER U.S. TURNS UP THE HEAT. With U.S. sanctions squeezing Venezuela’s oil lifeline, Maduro just handed himself emergency powers—because what’s a crisis without some constitutional suspension?

• @WallStreetApes

• YES!! Elon Musk and DOGE are waking Americans up. Former Democrat voters now know they’ve been lied to and illegals were given social security numbers. “I can admit when I've been duped by the media. And damn if they didn't get me good with this one. I used to be one of those people that swore up and down that these illegal immigrants were not stealing your Social Security. They weren't on Medicare, they weren't on Medicaid. And we were wrong. (video)

• @zerohedge

• March Deficit Unexpectedly Tumbles To 5 Year Low As DOGE Cracks Down On Democrat Money-Laundering Schemes. (graph)
• White House Welcomes Controversial Blog Zero Hedge to Press Pool. 
• The trade war is becoming a theater war: China unleashing record state "plunge-protection team" buying in past 2 days to give impression the trade war is not crushing local stock market.

• @yashar

• NEWS. Chinese officials acknowledged in a secret December meeting that Beijing was behind a widespread series of alarming cyberattacks on U.S. infrastructure. The Chinese delegation linked years of intrusions into computer networks at U.S. ports, water utilities, airports and other targets, to increasing U.S. policy support for Taiwan.

• @BillAckman

• Time is not China’s friend. Every U.S. company that sources products in China is in the process of finding alternative suppliers. Supply chains are time consuming and can be expensive and challenging to move. Once moved, they are sticky. Tick tock.

• @JackPosobiec

• BREAKING: 34 POLICE OFFICERS COME FORWARD TO SAY MINNEAPOLIS POLICE LIED ABOUT DEREK CHAUVIN, HE *WAS* TRAINED TO USE KNEE RESTRAINT. (video)
• China escalates war on Christianity, will ban foreign missionaries from spreading the gospel.
  

• @Breaking911  

• RFK Jr. says "we will know by September" the causes of autism. "There will be no bigger news conference," Trump says. (video)

• @DC_Draino

• Remember the hell we went through to get Justice Kavanaugh appointed? It was a full media blitz to smear and destroy him b/c Democrats knew we were getting a solid 5-4 conservative majority on the court. But then ACB was confirmed so easily after him and only a few weeks before the 2020 election. It was a breeze. I was a little surprised - why did they fight tooth & nail against Kavanaugh to stop a 5-4, but barely fought back against ACB for a 6-3? Now we know why. ACB was their sleeper.

• @VigilantFox

• Kids are getting sicker than ever—Megyn Kelly and Dr. Mark Hyman just exposed why—it’s dark. It’s not bad luck. It’s not genetics. It’s the system—and it’s been hijacked. Dr. Mark Hyman laid out the facts: (video)
• ROGAN FLASHBACK: Guest is horrified to find out that 80% of Americans have Roundup in their urine. Even worse, 87% of kids tested positive for glyphosate exposure. Glyphosate exposure is linked to serious health problems such as: (video)

Night Trading 

• Asian equity indices are -4.75% to -2.75% on average.

• Asia Ex-Japan Investment Grade CDS Index 121.0 +9.25 basis points.

• China Sovereign CDS 81.25 +4.0 basis points.
  
• China Iron Ore Spot 96.9 USD/Metric Tonne -.25%

• Bloomberg Emerging Markets Currency Index 36.6 -.04%.
• Bloomberg Global Risk-On/Risk Off Index 47.0 -2.0%.
• Volatility Index(VIX) futures 31.1 +4.0%.
• Euro Stoxx 50 futures -.9%.

• S&P 500 futures -1.4%.

• NASDAQ 100 futures -1.7%.  

Morning Preview Links

BOTTOM LINE: Asian indices are sharply lower, weighed down by technology and financial shares in the region. I expect US stocks to open lower and rally into the afternoon, finishing mixed.  The Portfolio is 25% net long heading into the day.