Wednesday Watch

Around X:

• @Business

• Taiwan is preparing to kick off its most expansive annual military drills ever.
• A Bloomberg analysis of documents and company filings show how China is building giant data centers in the desert to fuel its AI ambitions — and looking to buy 115,000 banned Nvidia chips to power them. 
• Here’s the latest news and analysis on the oil market. 
• Benchmark copper futures fell in London after Trump said he planned to implement a 50% tariff on imports.
• Gold held a decline after Trump said the new August deadline for the start of so-called “reciprocal” tariffs won’t be delayed.
• Full story: Apple Chief Operating Officer Jeff Williams is stepping down in a blockbuster changing of the guard. As one former executive who reported to Williams told me, “the band is dissolving.” Details here, what it means and what happens next:
• Just a few years after raising a ruckus over being debanked, crypto firms are essentially seeking to become banks. 
• AES, which provides renewable power to tech giants such as Microsoft, is exploring options including a potential sale amid takeover interest from large investment firms. 
• Citi is adding 510 new jobs in Charlotte, further cementing the North Carolina city as a financial center for Wall Street banks. 
• Futures traders have been unwinding some large bullish bets on Treasury bonds, adding to the recent upward pressure on US yields after a surprisingly strong jobs report last week. 
• Get up to speed on what's moving global markets. 
• Here's what you need to know to start your day. 

• @ZeroHedge 

• 'Green' China Runs On Dirty Coal.
• Blackmail yes, but recall Apollo's Leon Black, the godfather of private equity, paid Epstein $158 million for "tax work." The man who employed the biggest financial geniuses, paid a known pedophile after his release from prison.
• More here from 2021.
• *CHINA JUNE CONSUMER PRICES RISE 0.1% Y/Y; EST. -0.1%. *CHINA JUNE PRODUCER PRICES FALL 3.6% Y/Y; EST. -3.2%.  
• *HASSETT MET WITH TRUMP AT LEAST TWICE IN JUNE ABOUT FED JOB:WSJ.
• Deep Staters On Edge As DOGE's DoD Strike Team Hits Pentagon With Sweeping Contract Cuts.
• White House Report Reveals Top Earners, Staffers Working For No Salary 
• The bot has spoken. (pic)
• DoE Warns Of 100x Increase In Black-Out Risk By 2030 On Same Day As Trump Energy Security EO. 
• Iran 'Rapidly' Beefs Up Air Defenses With Chinese Help After Israel Ceasefire. 
• Amazon’s Bezos Sells $665.9 Million of Shares. 
• Comex copper stocks about to hit an all time high, just in time for 50% tariffs, weaponized copper and record prices. (graph) 
• "Squeezy, Violent Moves" - Hedge Funds Hammered As Momo Meltdown Resumes, Bonds & Bullion Dumped. 

• @GatewayPundit

• Confirmed: CEO of Weather Modification Company Reveals Cloud Seeding Operations Were Conducted in Texas Just Two Days Before Deadly Flood (VIDEO).

• @MarioNawful 

• THE EPSTEIN TAPES EXIST. SO WHERE ARE THE NAMES? Pam Bondi says there are “tens of thousands” of videos showing Epstein with children. Read that again. Not tips. Not rumors. Videos. And not dozens. Tens of thousands. So why don’t you know a single name of the men in them? The FBI has the footage. The DOJ has the files. But when you ask who paid to rape children, suddenly it’s all: “Ongoing investigation” “Protecting victims” “Too much evidence to process” No. This isn’t about process. It’s about protection - of the powerful. This isn’t a “client list.” This is a list of criminals. And it’s sitting in a vault while the public gets fed delay and deflection. Ask yourself: if the tapes existed for anyone else, would we still be waiting? The only real open secret in D.C. is that the list will never come out - because too many people would go down with it. And the monsters? They’re still out there. Untouched. Unnamed. Unpunished.
• CHINA UNLEASHES ROBOCOP HAMSTER BALLS ON ITS CITIZENS. Beijing's latest dystopian toy: a 21mph armored sphere that hunts protestors. This mechanical death ball packs net guns, tear gas, and smoke bombs. It rolls through water, bounces off walls, and never gets tired of chasing dissidents. In other words, China watched every sci-fi movie about oppressive governments and said "hold my beer." (video)

• @Ultrafrog17

• Steve Bannon has 16 hours of interview footage of Jeffrey Epstein in his vault that has yet to be viewed by the public from a documentary he was working on called, "The Monster." I think we can all agree that this footage should be released to the public. Imagine what kind of nuggets of truth we could glean from this amount of footage. This "was part of "a planned 50 hours of open ended no holds barred interviews with Epstein for a 8 to 10 hour expose on his deep relationships with the global elites in finance, science, education, medicine, politics and culture." It's time to get all the information was can possibly aquire about Jeffrey Epstein and Steve Bannon has possibly critical video footage that might shed light on his ties to the elite, intelligence, transhumanism, and the occult. Please release this documentary! (video)

• @GenFlynn

• ATTENTION! What is the greatest threat to the United States of America? The greatest threat to America isn’t coming from overseas, it’s the rot from within. The subversion of our nation is real. It’s in our government. It’s in our schools. It’s in our corporations. It’s in our healthcare system. It’s everywhere. The American people finally see it. We were asleep for too long but no more. Now it’s time to expose the traitors, reclaim our institutions, and restore this Republic. No excuses. 
• I have a lot of respect for anyone who stands up to serve our nation but when one does, you need to remember it is the American people you work for… This EPSTEIN AFFAIR is NOT going away! 

• @JamesOKeefeIII

• No Epstein client list? What about this speed dial list of names in Epstein's bedroom OMG uncovered? Did @TheJusticeDept & @AGPamBondi look into these people? (video)

• @ExxAlerts

• BREAKING: NBC news CONFRIMS Cloud Seeding Operations were in fact CONDUCTED 2 days before Texas flooding disaster. CEO of cloud seeding company DENIES it caused this disaster. (video)

• @NicHulscher

• 17 Ways mRNA Shots May Cause Cancer, According to Over 100 Studies. Comprehensive literature review reveals how mRNA injections may induce, accelerate, or reactivate cancer through 17 distinct pathways.
• REMINDER - The largest COVID-19 “vaccine” safety study EVER conducted, involving 99 MILLION individuals, confirmed that the injections are NOT SAFE FOR HUMAN USE: 510% increased risk of myocarditis following mRNA platform injection. 278% increased risk of acute disseminated encephalomyelitis (ADEM) following mRNA injection. 223% increased risk of cerebral venous sinus thrombosis (CVST) following viral-vector injection. 149% increased risk of Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS) following viral-vector injection.
• BREAKING: Medical Cartel Sues RFK Jr. for Pulling COVID Shot Recommendation for Kids and Pregnant Women. Despite overwhelming evidence of harm, the AAP, ACP, APHA, and IDSA are fighting to keep poisoning children, pregnant women, and their unborn babies. The Cartel claims Kennedy lacked evidence. But that’s a lie: (list)

• @disclosetv

• NEW - Study finds Diquat, an herbicide in Roundup's updated "safer" formulas replacing Glyphosate, is 200 times more chronically toxic than Glyphosate. Despite bans in the UK, EU, China, and elsewhere, it remains widely used in U.S. agriculture.

• @charliekirk11 

• For the second time in two weeks, a Supreme Court justice is using her opinion to scold Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson for not understanding what she is talking about. Twist: This time, it's progressive Justice SONIA SOTOMAYOR doing it, patiently explaining that the Court can't declare an order of President Trump's to be unconstitutional if the order does not actually exist yet. Imagine how much of a drag it must be to have the DEI justice embarrassing your side.

• @bennyjohnson

• Very serious question: Has President Bill Clinton ever been investigated for his associations with Jeffrey Epstein? Epstein was inside the Clinton White House dozens of times. Clinton flew on his jet and visited his island. Epstein told his victims that Clinton “liked them young.” The women that Epstein trafficked said they met Bill Clinton on pedo island. Epstein had lewd paintings of Clinton hanging in his house. This is all well documented. None of it is even debatable. Yet I don’t think the Clintons have ever been asked about it on the record by a reporter — much less a federal investigators. It’s obviously in the public interest to do this, and the Trump administration should seriously consider it. 
• Mike Benz exposes Former U.S AG Bill Barr’s dark history with Epstein, He was the CIA’s mop-up man and his father worked directly with him, “Family business”: 

• @glennbeck

• The Epstein “Evidence List” isn’t just damning—it’s clarifying. No matter what you believe about Epstein’s past or fate, five conclusions can be logically drawn from the material seized. This thread is for anyone who still cares about truth. (thread)

• @AZ_Intel_

• BREAKING: Former CIA Director John Brennan and former FBI Director James Comey are under criminal investigation for potential wrongdoing related to the Trump–Russia probe, including allegedly making false statements to Congress, Fox News reported citing Justice Department sources. (pic)

• @nicksortor

• BREAKING: A MASSIVE flooding event is unfolding right now in Ruidoso, New Mexico. A large structure can be seen being swept down the river. The water level has risen 20 FEET in a matter of 30 minutes, shattering previous records, per
  @MaxVelocityWX. Pray for these folks. (video)

• @lsferguson

• A few months ago, DOGE said that they had found who stole 400,000 Social Security numbers. Elon said there would be an arrest the next day. Where is the arrest? @AGPamBondi. 
• Several months ago, DOGE discovered that 4.7 trillion dollars was missing from the Treasury Department. No idea where the money went. This seems serious. Where is the outrage? Where are the arrests? @AGPamBondi. 

• @annvandersteel

• MEMO TO PRESIDENT TRUMP'S DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE: Bondi, Patel and Bongino, we all see you VERY CLEARLY NOW. Your DOJ is not making ANY MAJOR DEMOCRAT ARRESTS - and YOU'RE NOT TELLING US WHY.
• A breathable COVID “vaccine” is advancing in U.S. trials… 

• @VigilantFox

• NEW: Guest on Tucker leaves him SPEECHLESS with the brutal truth about the Epstein cover-up. This hits hard. It was never about us, it was always about them. Journalist Saagar Enjeti dropped a truth bomb as he explained what the cover-up is really about. He told Tucker: “The lie at this point is not even part of trying to convince [us] any of this is true.” “The lie is a signal to everybody else involved in the scheme that to the ultimate ends, the United States government will go to protect all of you.” “The lie is not for you and me. The lie is for those implicated to say, no matter what, we will protect you.” (video)

• @myhiddenvalue

• Meet Augustus Doricko, 25-year-old tech CEO, Thiel Fellow, and founder of Rainmaker — a cloud seeding startup backed by Peter Thiel-linked investors. Doricko’s company uses drones to modify weather by releasing particles into clouds — aiming to induce rain. According to publicly available flight data, Rainmaker was allegedly cloud seeding over parts of Texas just 2 DAYS before historic flooding hit the region. Doricko denies operating in the flooded zones, but the debate is intensifying — especially with Palantir ties and surveillance tech involved.

• @TonySeruga

• @TomFitton: “I’ve said it once, I’ve said it before, the DOJ and the FBI are irredeemably compromised and corrupted. The leadership needs to understand that and act accordingly. I mean, the FBI moving to another building, that’s nice. Shut down the agency. Leave one guy there to check his email.” THE DEEP STATE ISN’T GOING ANYWHERE! THEIR STRATEGY IS TO WAIT THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION OUT. (video)

• @C_3C_3

• 2020: No arrests. Covid: No arrests. Butler: No arrests. Epstein: No arrests. Autopen: No arrests. Benghazi: No arrests. January 6: No arrests. DOGE Findings: No arrests. Russia Collusion: No arrests: Etc. This is why we don’t trust DC and won’t until people pay. Sickening.
• In June of 2024 someone at the DOJ SDNY office filed a declaration to keep the Epstein files secret. They used a potential Maxwell retrial as cover. Do you know who that was? Maurene Comey. James Comey’s daughter. She is a Deep State fixer like her father. Scam.

• @MdBreathe

• Why is @AGPamBondi fighting tooth and nail to keep this lawsuit against Pfizer from proceeding? (pic)

• @Tupacabra2

• The co-writer of Pulp Fiction reveals to Joe Rogan that the original script of EYES WIDE SHUT was about the discovery of an ELITE PEDO RING. After the studio watched a cut of the movie they demanded Kubrick remove the pedo references. Kubrick fought back and ended up dead before the premier. According to Roger Avary who has the original script the film was centered around an elite pedophile ring and the final scene in the movie was meant to depict Tom Cruise and Nicole's characters selling their child to the ring. (video)

Night Trading 

• Asian equity indices are -.5% to +.5% on average. 
• Asia Ex-Japan Investment Grade CDS Index 73.0 -1.5 basis points
• China Sovereign CDS 47.0 -1.25 basis points.
• China Iron Ore Spot 96.1 USD/Metric Tonne +.3%. 
• Polymarket:  Which Countries Will the US Agree to Tariff Agreements with Before August?

• EU 76% +1.0 percentage point
• India 78.0% -7.0 percentage points.
• Japan 60.0% +7.0 percentage points 
• South Korea  47.0% -3.0 percentage points

• Swiss Franc/Offshore Chinese Renminbi Cross 9.02 +.04%.
• Bloomberg Emerging Markets Currency Index 37.02 -.03%.
• Bloomberg Global Risk-On/Risk Off Index 75.88 -.57%.
• US 10-Year Yield 4.41% +1.0 basis point.
• Volatility Index(VIX) futures 19.7 -.6%.  
• Euro Stoxx 50 futures +.28%. 
• S&P 500 futures -.04%. 
• NASDAQ 100 futures unch.

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 mixed and to rally into the afternoon, finishing modestly higher.  The Portfolio is 75% net long heading into the day.