Friday Watch

Around X:

• @Business

• Inflation in Tokyo sharply eased led by government utility subsidies, while still staying well above the Bank of Japan’s target, keeping it on a path toward further interest rate hikes. 
• Caterpillar is warning investors that it’s now expecting tariffs to have an impact of as much as $1.8 billion on the company this year, higher than its guidance in early August.
• Get up to speed on what's moving global markets.
• Here's what you need to know to start your day.  

• @ZeroHedge 

• The judge assigned on the Lisa Cook case is Jia Cobb: she was appointed by Biden in 2021, and has repeatedly ruled against Trump.
• Oklahoma Introduces Certification Test To Weed Out Far-Left Teachers.
• AI Is Being Weaponized For Cybercrime In 'Unprecedented' Ways, Researchers Warn.
• Cracker Barrel's 93-year-old founder has some strong words for the CEO trying to rebrand and modernize… (video)
• *WALLER: US DEBT IS ON UNSUSTAINABLE PATH BUT NOT PROBLEM TODAY.
• Lisa Cook hearing at 10am ET on Friday is open to the public The hearing can be accessed by dialing the Toll-Free Number: 833-990-9400 (Meeting ID: 251046985).
• *CAMECO SAYS DELAYS AT MINE TO AFFECT 2025 PRODUCTION FORECAST.
• Sen. Mike Lee: Racist & Anti-American Messages At Smithsonian "Indefensible".
• *WHITE HOUSE TAPS JIM O'NEILL AS ACTING CDC DIRECTOR: WAPO.
• Another Narrative Busted: Bolton Investigation Began Under Biden.
• *NVIDIA SAYS STARTED TO DISCUSS BLACKWELL CHINA EXPORT APPROVAL. 
• 'Fear Or No Fear': VIX Tumbles To 2025 Lows As Gold Nears Record Highs.

• @CNBC

• Asia-Pacific markets set to climb, tracking Wall Street gains.
• Friday's big stock stories: What’s likely to move the market in the next trading session.
• Stocks making the biggest moves after hours: Ulta Beauty, Dell Technologies, Gap, Autodesk and more.  
• Affirm's stock soars 15% on earnings, revenue beat.
• Ulta Beauty raises full-year forecast after reporting growth in all major categories. 
• Dell beats on profit and revenue as company says AI server sales will double this year.

• @TheTranscript 

• $BIDU Baidu CEO: "In July, AI contributed to generating over 45% of our new code with our developers providing oversight and approval. This has significantly boosted our engineering productivity and meaningfully enhanced our internal R&D efficiency."

• @MarioNawful

• LEAKED EMAIL: FDA LINKED PUBERTY BLOCKERS TO DEPRESSION AND SUICIDE. Internal FDA correspondence reportedly shows officials knew puberty blockers carried “increased risk of depression and suicidality, as well as increased seizure risk” in pediatric patients. The 2022 email from a senior clinical team leader also confirmed that some transgender children were using the drugs off-label despite these risks. Yet the same FDA review acknowledged “definitely a need for these drugs to be approved for gender transition,” highlighting a push for broader approval even as safety warnings circulated internally. (pic)
• BREAKING: CHINESE HACKERS BREACH 200 U.S. COMPANIES. The FBI says Salt Typhoon, a China-backed hacking crew, broke into 200 U.S. companies across 80 countries - including telecom giants like AT&T, Verizon, and T-Mobile. They slipped in through old router flaws, set up shop inside critical systems, and walked away with call records, wiretap info, and government data. Three Chinese firms reportedly helped pull it off, proving that corporate “partners” can also double as cyber spies. Officials are begging companies to patch their tech, but let’s be real - if routers are this wide open, Salt Typhoon probably isn’t done yet. 

• @DC_Draino

• President Trump is officially going after George Soros and his equally radical son for funding violent riots in the US. RICO charges incoming?

• @MrAndyNgo 

• Trans leftist accounts all over social media are celebrating the shooting and killing of children at the Minneapolis church by a trans gunman. They believe it is revenge against Christianity and the Trump administration for not allowing transitioning children, and defining sex as biological. (pic)

• @disclosetv

• NEW - The Vatican will host an LGBTQ+ event next week, welcoming LGBTQ+ "Catholics" to a prayer vigil at Rome’s Gesù Church, themed “Church – a home for all. Starting from the borders,” featuring an LGBTQ+ rainbow crucifix.

• @C_3C_3

• Meet Doctor Demetre Daskalakis. He just resigned from the CDC and trashed RFK Jr on the way out. You know the CDC that did so well with Covid?! (pic)

• @NicHulscher

• BREAKING: THREE Peer-Reviewed Studies Provide IRREFUTABLE Grounds for Immediate Market Withdrawal of COVID-19 mRNA Injections. Two MAJOR papers were just published in the past 48 hours, building directly on our recent landmark study. Together, the international evidence has converged: mRNA injections are unsafe, ineffective, contaminated, and in violation of international law.

• @greg_price11

• Minnesota Lt. Governor Peggy Flanagan: "When our children tell us who they are, it is our job as grown-ups to listen and to believe them." While wearing a shirt with a knife on it that says"protect trans kids." (video)

• @LeadingReport

• BREAKING: Cracker Barrel will end funding for ‘Pride’ events and remove “woke propaganda” from its site after massive boycotting.

• @newstart_2024

• Reminder - Klaus Schwab says the world will no longer be run by superpowers like America.. it will be run by the World Economic Forum stakeholders, such as BlackRock and Bill Gates. (video)
• Jimmy Dore: The largest private equity firms on earth are executing a hostile takeover of America’s public utilities. BlackRock and Blackstone are moving to acquire essential power infrastructure in Minnesota, Texas, and New Mexico. Their playbook? A scorched-earth campaign of political corruption, revolving-door regulators, and astroturfed support from supposed “clean energy” and “labor” groups. Here’s what’s happening: 

• @RodDMartin

• NEW STUDY: Cannabis isn’t harmless. People who start smoking weed to “self-medicate” face higher risks of depression, paranoia, and psychosis. The data is damning — and it’s especially bad for teens. THREAD.

• @ElectrionWiz

• BREAKING: White House says President Trump will NOT allow 600,000 more Chinese students. It’s a continuation of current policy, no increase in visas from China.

• @iamyesyouareno

• Sexual offences in London by nationality. British people are in 39th place. (graph)

• @bennyjohnson

• VERY IMPORTANT: Everybody stop what you’re doing and watch this. Jesse Watters just delivered his most important and powerful monologue ever. He blew the lid off the trans violence epidemic, the media’s cover-up, and how Democratic leaders created it: (video)

• @JohnLeFevre 

• The percentage of US adults identifying as trans. There is nothing natural about this. (graph)

Night Trading 

• Asian equity indices are -.25% to +.5% on average. 
• Asia Ex-Japan Investment Grade CDS Index 66.0 -.5 basis point.
• China Sovereign CDS 43.5 -.5 basis point.
• China Iron Ore Spot 103.6 USD/Metric Tonne -.6%. 
• Swiss Franc/Offshore Chinese Renminbi Cross 8.87 -.17%.
• Bloomberg Emerging Markets Currency Index 36.47 -.15%.
• Bloomberg Global Risk-On/Risk Off Index 81.9 +.2%.
• US 10-Year Yield 4.21% +1.0 basis point.
• Volatility Index(VIX) futures 16.7 +.4%.
• Euro Stoxx 50 futures -.19%. 
• S&P 500 futures -.08%. 
• NASDAQ 100 futures -.14%.

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 100% net long heading into the day.