Tuesday Watch

Around X:

• @ElonMusk

• For most of human existence, we had only 100 watts per person - enough food to fuel metabolism. Fire and animal labor expanded our power supply to a few hundred watts per person. Today, the average American has ~10,000 W at their disposal - a 100x increase. A 100x increase in power may seem just as unimaginable to us today as it would have to our ancestors, but in retrospect we can hardly imagine how people ever lived without the abundance we enjoy today. Our descendants will feel a similar sense of bewilderment as they look back on us. (graph)

• @ZeroHedge

• 1,000 Troops Who Identify As Transgender Being Discharged: Pentagon.
• Trump Seeking $1 Trillion In Saudi Investment, Air Force One En Route.
• Chief Justice John Roberts said that criticism of members of the US Supreme Court shouldn’t turn personal. Unless photos have been misplaced...
• Texas Gov. Abbott Halts Development Of Controversial 'Epic City' For Muslims.
• *US PROBES HARVARD'S HIRING AND PROMOTION PRACTICES: WSJ *US PROBES IF HARVARD PASSED OVER WHITES, ASIANS, MEN: WSJ
• Coincidence? Top Two MMR-Vaccinated States Lead In 2025 Measles Cases.
• *COINBASE GLOBAL TO REPLACE DISCOVER FINANCIAL IN S&P 500.
• Goldman Sachs reduces 12-month US recession odds to 35%. There it is.
• *HASSETT: REBOOTING THE RELATIONSHIP WITH CHINA. *HASSETT: GREER, BESSENT WILL CONTINUE TALKS WITH CHINA. *HASSETT: MARKETS COULD EXPECT 'NORMALIZATION' OF THINGS. 
• US Cattle Futures Hit New Highs After Mexican Beef Imports Halted To Stop "Pest Invasion". (graph)
• Trump Rallies GOP To Back 'Big, Beautiful Bill' As House Releases 389-Page Text.
  
• Trump "Total Reset" Wrecks Recession Narrative, Sends Nasdaq Into Bull Market.

• @MarioNawful

• GOOGLE PREVIEWS AI DEV AGENT AHEAD OF HIGH-STAKES I/O CONFERENCE. Google is privately demoing a new AI agent built to assist software engineers from task handling to code documentation, Early access has gone to select developers ahead of Google I/O—short for “Innovation in the Open”—its annual developer conference kicking off May 20 in Mountain View. The company may also debut Gemini’s voice-powered integration with Android XR glasses. 
• CLASHES ERUPT OUTSIDE ICE’S DELANEY HALL AS PROTESTERS BLOCK DETENTION CENTER GATES. Protesters faced off with security forces at Newark’s Delaney Hall on Saturday as arrests were made during a tense standoff outside the newly reopened ICE detention site. Demonstrators were pushed back from the main gates to allow vehicles through, while another group held ground nearby. (video)
• TRUMP: THE SUPREME COURT MUST LET US DEPORT CRIMINALS OR WE LOSE OUR COUNTRY. “If we’re not allowed to send the murderers and other criminals of every type, size, and shape, IMMEDIATELY out of our Country, we aren’t going to have a Country anymore. Radical Left Judges and politicians don’t care, but 90% of the people in the U.S.A. do. Hopefully, the Supreme Court will agree with this and, SAVE AMERICA!” 
• TRUMP: JACK CIATTARELLI WILL BE AN AMERICA FIRST GOVERNOR FOR NEW JERSEY. "Jack Ciattarelli is a terrific America First Candidate running to be the next Governor of a State that I love, NEW JERSEY! Jack, who after getting to know and understand MAGA, has gone ALL IN, and is now 100% (PLUS!). He is strongly supported by the most Highly Respected Leaders in New Jersey and, as your next Governor, Jack Ciattarelli will work closely with me and the Trump.  
• RUBIO: MAXIMUM PRESSURE AGAINST IRAN’S PROLIFERATION ACTIVITIES. "Today we are sanctioning Iranian nationals contributing to nuclear weapons-relevant research and development. Our actions are part of
  @POTUS’s call for maximum pressure against Iran’s proliferation activities and to ensure Tehran is never able to obtain a nuclear weapon." 
• EDAN ALEXANDER, FREED AFTER 584 DAYS, HUGS HIS FAMILY AND SHOUTS FOR TRUMP. After spending 584 days as a hostage in Gaza, Staff Sgt. Edan Alexander, a 21-year-old American-Israeli soldier, is finally free—reuniting with his family at an army base near Re’im, close to the Gaza border. Edan is seen at a military base near Re’im hugging his parents and siblings for the first time in nearly two years. He spots his younger brother and shouts, “Look how massive this kid is!” before pulling him into a hug. Edan eventually boards an Israeli Air Force helicopter to be flown to a hospital in Tel Aviv. Onboard, he grabs a whiteboard and writes: “Thank you President Trump!!! Am Yisrael Chai!!! Onward Golani 51”—a shoutout to his battalion. Edan was taken hostage on October 7, 2023, during a Hamas attack. His release came after extended negotiations led by U.S. officials and Middle East mediators. (video) 
• PERPLEXITY NEARS $500M RAISE AT $14B VALUATION—FIRES SHOT IN AI SEARCH WAR. AI search challenger Perplexity is closing in on a $500 million funding round led by Accel, pushing its valuation to $14 billion—up from $9B just five months ago. It’s still below their $18B target, but momentum’s real: ARR near $100M, a growing user base, and its upcoming AI browser, Comet, aiming straight at Google’s crown. With OpenAI, Anthropic, and even Bing crowding the space, the AI search war is on—and Perplexity’s having it. 
• STARMER: “WE NEED TO REDUCE IMMIGRATION SIGNIFICANTLY”. “These rules become even more important. Without them, we risk becoming an island of strangers, not a nation that walks forward together. You're not championing growth. You're not championing justice or whoever else people defend the status quo. You're actually contributing to the forces that are slowly pulling our country apart. I believe we need to reduce immigration significantly.” 
  

• @LauraLoomer

• Absolutely humiliating for RINO John Cornyn. He tried to attack Ken Paxton for working with a “woke” law firm that…checks notes…donated $30,000 to Cornyn!
• Any Republican who supports cuts to Medicaid and doesn’t start impeaching judges who are blocking President Trump’s mass deportation orders wants the GOP to lose the House in 2026 so they can impeach Trump. We all know how much the GOP loves losing and loves undermining Trump.
  

• @TheTranscript

• Q1 2025 Earnings Update: — 90% of S&P 500 companies have reported Q1 2025 results. — 78% have reported earnings above analyst estimates, above the 5-year average of 77% and the 10-year average of 75%. — Companies are reporting earnings 8.5% above estimates, slightly below the 5-year average of 8.8%, but above the 10-year average of 6.9%. — 62% of companies have exceeded revenue estimates, slightly below the 5-year average of 69% and the 10-year average of 64%. — Reported revenues are 0.7% above estimates, below the 5-year average of 2.1%. — Blended EPS growth stands at 13.4% YoY, up from 12.8% the previous week and 7.1% at the end of Q1. — Revenue growth is 4.8% YoY, maintaining the 18th consecutive quarter of revenue expansion. — Net profit margin for the S&P 500 is 12.4%, above the five-year average, marking the fourth consecutive quarter above 12%.

Night Trading 

• Asian equity indices are +.5% to +1.5% on average. 
• Asia Ex-Japan Investment Grade CDS Index 80.0 -7.5 basis points. 
• China Sovereign CDS 50.5 -5.0 basis points.
• China Iron Ore Spot 99.1 USD/Metric Tonne -.9%
• Swiss Franc/Offshore Chinese Renminbi Cross 8.53 +.22%.
• Bloomberg Emerging Markets Currency Index 36.9 -.02%.
• Bloomberg Global Risk-On/Risk Off Index 70.4 -.9%.
• US 10-Year Yield 4.45% -2.0 basis points.
• Volatility Index(VIX) futures 19.5 +.2%.
• Euro Stoxx 50 futures +.15%. 
• S&P 500 futures -.27%. 
• NASDAQ 100 futures -.37%.

Morning Preview Links

BOTTOM LINE: Asian indices are mostly higher, boosted by financial and technology shares in the region. I expect US stocks to open modestly lower and to rally into the afternoon, finishing mixed.  The Portfolio is 100% net long heading into the day.