Monday Watch

Around X:

• @Business  

• China’s Premier Li Qiang came to the Group of 20 summit not only poised to defend his country’s rare earths curbs, but also offerings to quell concerns of developing nations. 
• US officials are pushing Ukraine to accept the terms of a 28-point proposal to end the war as the basis for negotiations and issue a statement in that regard. 
• Japan’s defense minister said plans to deploy missiles to the post were on track as tensions smolder between Tokyo and Beijing over Taiwan. 
• Israel carried out a rare airstrike on Beirut, describing the target as Hezbollah’s military chief, as an almost year-old ceasefire deal with the Lebanese government wavers. 
• Lenovo is stockpiling memory and other critical components to navigate a supply crunch brought on by the boom in artificial intelligence. 
• The outcome of the COP30 summit in Brazil kept multilateralism alive while barely pushing forward the promise of combatting "global warming". 
• Snap will start checking many users’ ages in Australia as it prepares for a world-first social media ban for under-16s next month.
• Japan is open to intervening in the currency market “to mitigate the side effects of a weak yen,” a government panel member said, reflecting Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s concerns about inflation. 
• Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the Trump administration is working on bringing down US health-care costs and an announcement to address the issue is planned for this week. 
• The rally that powered the US bond market toward its best year since 2020 now has investors in suspense to see whether Treasuries can stick the landing.
• The hack of a technology vendor for real estate financiers left major American banks and mortgage lenders working Sunday to assess whether they were affected by the data breach. 
• Citigroup’s wealth chief says the equity bull market still has “some room to run” as the Wall Street giant is luring record inflows from rich clients this year
  . 
• Get up to speed on what's moving global markets. 
• Here's what you need to know to start your day. 

• @Zerohedge

• US State Department Designates "DEI" As A Violation Of Human Rights. 
• Morgan Stanley: The Primary Risk For 2026 Is That AI Capex Boom Fails To Boost Productivity.
• Goldman: "We expect another Fed cut in December, followed by two more moves in March and June 2026 that take the funds rate to 3-3.25%."
• Wow! European counter-proposal to Trump 28-point peace plan in Ukraine removes provision that "All Nazi ideology and activity must be rejected and prohibited." "The counter-proposal, drafted by Europe's E3 powers of Britain, France and Germany, takes the U.S. plan as its basis but then goes through it point by point with suggested changes and deletions."
• So how many more women have to be brutally stabbed or set on fire before we finally start holding the corrupt judges who keep freeing these criminals accountable?
• Liberals in California are reportedly lining up at Home Depot to buy a single 17-cent scraper, return it, then repeat the process in an effort to slow sales and protest the store’s cooperation with ICE operations. 
• 'The Market Wants A Dec Rate-Cut': Top Goldman Trader Says Sentiment "Limit Down" Despite Friday Bounce. 
• Tick, Tick , Tick: Study Shows California Losing A Taxpayer Every Minute. 
• Federal Judge Orders End To National Guard In DC. 
• Odds of 4+ dissents up to a contract high 30% and rising.
• To prevent skyrocketing electric bills, every state has to follow the Texas example: each data center must have its own "behind the meter" onsite power generation. “We believe data centers should pay for the full cost of their power,” Dominion Energy spokesperson Aaron Ruby said in an email. “That’s how we design our rates, and it’s the standard our regulator uses in reviewing them.”
• Trump Era Sparks Biggest U.S. Gas Pipeline Boom Since 2008.
• Trump: Democrats Urging Military To "Disobey My Orders" Have Committed A "Serious Crime". 
• Is Global Technocracy Inevitable Or Dangerously Delusional? 
• Meta shut down internal research into the mental health effects of Facebook and Instagram after finding causal evidence that its products harmed users’ mental health, according to court filings. 
• BREAKING NEWS — With the new 𝕏/Twitter feature that displays the country of origin for each account, it has been exposed that the dictator Nicolás Maduro's account is being managed from the United States, a fact that's already sparking massive controversy and questions about who really controls his official communications. 
• US To Launch "New Phase" Of Venezuela Operations, Options Include Overthrowing Maduro: Report. 
• The Problem Of Fake Science. 
• Raging Rotation: Hedge Funds Quietly Buying The Dip And Mag7s, Dumping Non-Profitable Tech.
• Washington Moves To Soften Penalties For Child-Sex Sting Suspects.
• "eight out of the 13 US regional power markets are already at or below critical spare capacity levels." - Goldman
• This is strange. And strangely specific.

• @CNBC

• Dow futures rise 200 points as market attempts rebound into the holiday week: Live updates. 
• Asia-Pacific markets set for recovery on revived Fed cut hopes after bruising tech losses last week. 
• CNBC Daily Open: Some hope after last week's U.S. market rout. 
• Bessent believes there won't be a recession in 2026 but says some sectors are challenged.
• 'Wicked: For Good' soars to $150 million domestic opening.
• More companies are shifting workers to passwordless authentication.
• 'Stakes are high.' With shutdown over, airlines predict record numbers of travelers this Thanksgiving.
• A U.S.-China trade truce means more localized technology. How to play it.
• Global week ahead: Which tail is wagging the market dog?     

• @WSJ.com

• With more actors, pop stars and other celebrities spotted unapologetically smoking, the cultural taboo against it shows signs of ebbing.
• For years, a rare-earth mining project in Africa promised to help free the West from its dependence on China. Some weeks back, it fell into Chinese hands. 
• We cover technology. Sometimes, we even buy technology. Here are 16 gadget gifts we’re recommending this year—including many we got for ourselves.
• AI is reshaping the employment landscape for young adults. @juliejargon shares the story of two Texas sisters who are on divergent routes. 
• South American voters angry about crime, immigration and the economy are backing conservative politicians who want closer ties with the U.S. 
• At least 10 AI songs have charted recently, according to Billboard. The arrival of commercially viable songs made almost entirely with AI marks an inflection point for the music industry, and it has set off heated debates.
• Gemini 3’s surge past ChatGPT and other competitors on benchmark tests has handed Google an elusive victory.
• Consumers seeking value are spending big at retailers such as Walmart, Gap and TJ Maxx.  

• @MarioNawful

• CHINA SIMULATES STARLINK TAKEOVER WITH 1,000 DRONES. Chinese researchers just ran a massive war simulation to see if they could shut down Starlink over Taiwan. Their answer? Technically yes, but only if they use over 1,000 high-flying drones blasting signals in sync like a sci-fi light show. Why so tricky? Starlink is fast, smart, and built to survive chaos. It bounces between satellites, hops frequencies, and adapts on the fly, something that helped Ukraine keep fighting in 2022. The study shows it’s possible to jam it… just not easy.
• ROBLOX BANNED THE GUY CATCHING PREDATORS - KEPT THE 30% CUT FROM THEIR SERVERS. 75 million kids log in daily. The 764 cult operates openly. Shirts saying "I love CP" pass moderation. Kids traded for Discord Nitro trials. An 11-year-old sold for crypto. All happening while Roblox banks 30% on every transaction. One YouTuber - Schlep, himself a former Roblox grooming victim - catches predators, gets 6 arrests. Roblox's response? Cease-and-desist letter, platform ban, press release calling vigilantes the problem. The math is simple: moderation costs money. Predators generate traffic. Traffic generates transactions. Transactions generate 30% commissions. The incentive structure is a death trap. This isn't negligence - it's a business model. They could deploy AI to catch "pedophile rapist" usernames (even misspelled). They won't. They could ban servers with 764 imagery. They don't. They could thank the guy getting arrests. Instead they sued him. Every Robux card bought at Target funds the infrastructure. Every parent who knows and keeps paying is complicit. The platform's message is clear: profit trumps kids. Every single time.
• ZELENSKY: AMERICAN PEACE PLAN COULD FINALLY END THE BLOODSHED. “The Ukrainian delegation is working in Geneva today, focused on finding doable solutions to end the war, restore peace, and guarantee lasting security. There is an understanding that the American proposals may include elements based on Ukrainian perspectives and critical for our national interests. Work is ongoing to make all elements effective in achieving the main goal anticipated by our people: to finally put an end to the bloodshed and war.” 

• @NickSortor

• JUST IN: President Trump is demanding Congress IMMEDIATELY pass the SAVE Act, which would require in-person voter registration and NATIONWIDE proof of citizenship. What the hell are we waiting for?! GET IT DONE, @LeaderJohnThune! (pic)

• @WallStreetApes

• Elon Musk exposes California Democrat NGOs make a fortune off the homeless “They're getting close to a million dollars per drug zombie — They need to keep them in the area so they get the revenue — They don't arrest the drug dealers because otherwise the drug zombies would leave”. “Homeless is the wrong word. Like, homeless implies that somebody got a little behind on their mortgage payments and if they just got a job offer, they'd be back on their feet. But someone who is totally dead inside shuffling along down the street with a needle dangling out of their leg, you know, taking a dump in the middle of the street, they're not, like, one job offer away from getting back on their feet. You know, these sort of charities, they get this money. The money is proportionate to the number of homeless people. Their incentive structure is to maximize the number of drug zombies, not minimize it. (video)

• @WallStreetMav

• Zelenskyy knows that with a peace deal, his days are numbered. Which country will he flee to in exile to save his life? He has no future in Ukraine. He won't win another election if he signs a deal giving away 20% of Ukrainian land. He will likely be assassinated if he remains in Ukraine. If there is an audit, he loses the money he has stashed in other countries. He needs full amnesty and no audit as part of any peace deal. That is what he is holding out for right now.

• @BreannaMorello

• JUST POSTED. President Donald Trump renews his calls to Free Tina Peters. No word on if he plans to hold back federal funding until she’s released. (pic)

• @newstart_2024

• “Ever wonder about the deeper origins of the global climate narrative? In 1975, the Club of Rome’s report Mankind at the Turning Point famously opened with: ‘The world has cancer, and the cancer is man.’ It called for a ‘global context’ solution—a new world economic order and resource allocation system. Then, in their 1991 book The First Global Revolution (page 115), they wrote: ‘In searching for a new enemy to unite us, we came up with the idea that pollution, the threat of global warming, water shortages, famine and the like would fit the bill… The real enemy then is humanity itself.’ (video)

• @amuse

• CHINA: When Trump's national security team began reviewing classified assessments from the intel community they found that the number of military-aged Chinese males entering the US illegally weren't in the tens of thousands but hundreds of thousands.

• @TonySeruga

• In Candace Owens' own words...The Assassination of Charlie Kirk: A Deep State Betrayal Exposed.

• @disclosetv

• NOW - DHS Secretary Noem announces over a billion dollars will be invested in new security screening technology at airport checkpoints, "not just to keep travellers safe, but also to make sure that we're getting them to their locations and to their destinations safely". (video)

• @MDBreathe

• Cancer everywhere. Why has the @CDCgov not updated its cancer statistics since 2022?
  @SecKennedy please help. (map)

• @GenFlynn

• I am so sick of hearing about Congress and their insider stock market trading. You all suck. Take your defense, big pharma and other stocks and stick them where the sun doesn’t shine. You’re a bunch of crooks for doing this, while the American people suffer from your theft and grift. This insider trading sweet heart deal you voted for yourselves moons ago is an abuse of We The People and we’re sick of it. @LeaderJohnThune @SpeakerJohnson @realDonaldTrump you should speak up more about this corruption. They’re ripping us all off!
• Why are the steps so hard to understand and even harder to implement @realDonaldTrump execute! 

• @DC_Draino

• “Why do you want to free Tina Peters so badly?” Not only is it a moral and legal wrong that must be rectified, but I’ve met Tina Peters. She is an all American mother with a warm soul and determined heart. Her Navy SEAL son already died in service to his country. Her family gave more to this country than we ever deserved, yet she saw election fraud and still fought to expose it. She knew the consequences and still did it anyway. She not only deserves to be freed - she deserves the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

• @BasedSamParker

• BOMBSHELL: Department of Homeland Security Twitter account was set up from israel in 2008 when jewish Michael Chertoff was the DHS secretary. Once revealed, Twitter quickly removed this feature from all cabinet accounts. What's going on? (video)

• @EricLDaugh

• TERRIFYING: It's gotten so bad in Minnesota that police are saying they are SOMALIANS FIRST. He isn't even speaking English. "We came to this country as refugees. Now that we're hired, we work for our own people [Somalians]." DEPORT! (video)
• BREAKING: President Trump announces he will PULL all U.S. taxpayer dollars from Nigeria due to the "GENOCIDE" of Christians. GOOD! Not a DIME until the slaughter ends. "Nigeria's a disgrace...they're killing people by the thousands. It's a genocide, and I'm REALLY angry about it!" "And we pay a lot of subsidy to Nigeria. We're going to end up stopping. The government's done NOTHING." "They are very ineffective. They're killing Christians AT WILL."
• JUST IN: Rep. Anna Paulina Luna says some GOP senators are invested in the Russia-Ukraine war CONTINUING, torches insider stock trading within Congress. "You actually have our own side...our own GOP senators that are coming out against it, let me give you a wild guess as to where they are personally invested with in regards to their stock portfolios. You guessed it, military industrial complex." "Any member of Congress that's saying that it's not happening, A, is lying to you. Both Democrats and Republicans that are engaging in individual stock trades are getting on average 600% returns outperforming the S&P." (video)
• BREAKING: Secretary Marco Rubio is now fighting off a MASSIVE propaganda operation trying to TANK the Russia-Ukraine peace plan. Senator ROUNDS and KING told the Fake News that Rubio took a "Russian document" and turned it into the American plan. RUBIO: "The peace proposal was authored by the U.S. It is offered as a strong framework for ongoing negotiations. It is based on input from the Russian side. But it is also based on previous and ongoing input from Ukraine." There is an ALL-OUT attempt right now to tank every single effort to end the war by shouting it's "Pro-Russia," so the Ukrainians decline. 

• @MAGAvoice

• BREAKING! Elon Musk just reposted on 𝕏 to his 229 Million followers supporting Congress passing. - Voter ID. - Paper Ballots. - Same Day Voting. - Proof of citizenship. THIS NEEDS TO BE OUR NUMBER ONE PRIORITY. TIME TO GET LOUD MAGA.

• @Rasmussen_Poll

• It's clear that SOMEONE has an Astroturf budget for targeting Tina Peters. They should rethink their involvement. This is not about state laws passed to protect election information. It has BECOME a foreign election fraud syndicate exposure matter. And that is dangerous business.

• @susanCrabtree

• Serious question as @SenMarkKelly is trying to lead a sedition against the Trump administration: Why hasn't any senator on the Intelligence Committee or
  @TulsiGabbard or another Trump-run Intel official asked about what I first reported years ago -- that Kelly recruited Chinese Company TenCent to fund his stratospheric balloon company? The question remains: Did TenCent pass any technology info they gleaned from their ties to Kelly's balloon company, World View, onto the Chinese government/CCP needed to build these stratospheric balloons -- that China used to fly over the United States during the Biden admin?

Night Trading

• Asian indices are +.5% to +1.25% on average.
• Asia Ex-Japan Investment Grade CDS Index 69.5 -.5 basis point.
• China Sovereign CDS 47.25 -.75 basis point.
• China Iron Ore Spot 104.8 USD/Metric Tonne +.82%.
• Swiss Franc/Offshore Chinese Renminbi Cross 8.79 -.11% 
  
• Bloomberg Emerging Markets Currency Index 36.05 -.01%.
• Bloomberg Global Risk-On/Risk Off Index 84.8 +.2%.
• US 10-Year Yield 4.06% -2.0 basis points.
  
• Volatility Index(VIX) futures 21.2 -1.9%. 
• Euro Stoxx 50 futures +.82%.
• S&P 500 futures +.59%.
• NASDAQ 100 futures +.83%.

Morning Preview Links

BOTTOM LINE: Asian indices are mostly higher, boosted by technology and industrial shares in the region. I expect US stocks to open modestly higher and to maintain gains into the afternoon. The Portfolio is 75% net long heading into the week.