Wednesday, April 23, 2025

Thursday Watch

Around X:

  • @ElonMusk
  • @ZeroHedge
  • @MarioNawful
  • NEURALINK HITS $8.5B VALUATION AS IT EYES $500M FUNDING ROUND. Neuralink is reportedly prepping a $500 million raise at an $8.5 billion pre-money valuation. Talks are still early, but the momentum is clear: Neuralink’s human trials are now live—and already making headlines. 
  • TRUMP: ELON IS A WONDERFUL PERSON, I CAN’T SPEAK MORE HIGHLY. “I can’t speak more highly about any individual. He’s an incredible guy. He’s a brilliant guy. He is a wonderful person. I’ve seen him with his family, with a lot of his children—he’s got a lot of children. He treats them good. He loves his children. But he’s a brilliant guy, and he was a tremendous help both in the campaign and in what he’s done with DOGE.” 
  • TRUMP ORDERS AI BOOT CAMP FOR AMERICAN KIDS AND TEACHERS. Trump just signed an executive order forcing schools to train students and teachers in artificial intelligence - creating a White House task force stacked with Cabinet members and crypto billionaire David Sacks. Trump during the Oval Office signing: "That's a big deal, because AI is where it seems to be at".
  • TRUMP SIGNS EXECUTIVE ORDER TO REFORM UNIVERSITY ACCREDITATION. Trump’s new Executive Order directs the Department of Education to fix what he calls a “broken” accreditation system. Elite universities are admitting students who “can’t do basic math” — while top high school students are denied entry. The order demands a tougher, merit-based approach to admissions and instruction. “Real standards. Real accountability.”
  • @BennyJohnson
  • @Liz_Churchill10
  • @DC_Draino 
  • @NationFirstAust
  • @NiohBerg
  • @C_Herridge
  • @IndoPac_Info
Night Trading 
  • Asian equity indices are -.25% to +.75% on average. 
  • Asia Ex-Japan Investment Grade CDS Index 98.75 -.5 basis point. 
  • China Sovereign CDS 64.75 -1.0 basis point.
  • China Iron Ore Spot 99.9 USD/Metric Tonne -.34%
  • Swiss Franc/Offshore Chinese Renminbi Cross 8.8 +.35%.
  • Bloomberg Emerging Markets Currency Index 36.9 +.04%.
  • Bloomberg Global Risk-On/Risk Off Index 57.0 +.2%.
  • US 10-Year Yield 4.36% -2.0 basis points.
  • Volatility Index(VIX) futures 25.3 -.54%.
  • Euro Stoxx 50 futures +.18%. 
  • S&P 500 futures +.20%. 
  • NASDAQ 100 futures +.22%.
Morning Preview Links

BOTTOM LINE: Asian indices are mostly higher, boosted by industrial and financial 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 day.

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