Wednesday Watch

Around X:

• @Business  

• Taiwan’s lawmakers are due to resume talks on a massive defense bill aimed at both defending against China and placating US President Trump, with the opposition emboldened by a public show of support from Xi Jinping. 
• Donald Trump’s tariffs may be restored by July to the levels in place before the Supreme Court struck down many of his levies, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said. 
• US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent hailed Anthropic's Mythos as a revolutionary step that will keep America ahead of China in AI, endorsing an industry leader that’s clashed with Washington over its role in military endeavors.
• The SEC gave the go-ahead for sweeping changes to a restriction on day-trading activity by small investors in a move cheered by retail brokers.
• Here’s the latest news and analysis on the oil market. 
• Get up to speed on what's moving global markets.
• Here’s what you need to know to start your day.   

• @ZeroHedge

• TMZ IS PAYING 100K FOR ANY SCANDAL STORIES ON CONGRESSMEN OR WOMEN.
• Tesla China CEO Says Shanghai Gigafactory Is "Golden Key" To Optimus Robot Production.
• NEW - A U.S. destroyer interdicted two oil tankers attempting to leave Iran on Tuesday and instructed them to turn around. The ships had left Chabahar port on the Gulf of Oman and were contacted via radio communication.  
• HOLY CRAP! Newly-released surveillance video shows a high school principal in Oklahoma TACKLING a school shooter before he could open fire on kids. What a HERO! Principal Kirk Moore RUSHED the shooter when he aimed at his first would-be victim, wresting the gun away from him. Give this man an award. Absolute legend. The attempted shooter at Pauls Valley High School is now being held on a $1 million bond. (video)
• BREAKING: Multiple Congressional Sources Tell Me They've Been Alerted To Expect A Criminal Indictment, From A Federal Grand Jury, Of Former CIA Director John Brennan For Lying To Congress. Brennan Is The Same CIA Director Who Told AG Eric Holder To Falsify A Criminal Charge Against Former CIA Agent @JohnKiriakou For Exposing The CIA Torture Program That Brennan Created & Then Publicly Stated (Including To Congress) That A Torture Program Did Not Exist. He Was Never Charged For Lying To Congress Over That, But Kiriakou Was Imprisoned For Exposing The Illegal Program.
• Pimco Buys All $400 Million of Bonds Sold by Blue Owl BDC: Bbg. That's one way to avoid a repricing of existing positions.  
• Biden FDA Knew About COVID Vaccine Stroke Risk And Kept Americans In The Dark. 
• Fauci Deputy Who Refused COVID-19 Vaccine Feared Retaliation: Emails.
• Mossad Chief Declares Mission In Iran Not Over Until Regime Falls.
• *ANTHROPIC GETS VC FUNDING OFFERS AT $800B VALUATION: INSIDER.
• Fertilizer Crisis Worse Than Goldman Forecasted, Sees Two Clear Winners.
• For A Housing Fix, Look To The Laboratories We Know As States.
• We didn’t just digitize the economy; we digitized dysfunction. Loneliness now carries the same health impact as smoking.
• Meta Builds Photorealistic AI Version Of Mark Zuckerberg To Interact With Employees.
• Over 20 US-Approved Ships Pass Through Hormuz, As Trump Eyes Jump-Starting Next Pakistan Peace Talks.
• Fed Chair Nominee Kevin Warsh Reveals Assets Worth Over $190 Million. 
• Mission Accomplished? S&P Retraces All Iran Losses; Big-Tech, Bonds, Bitcoin, & Bullion All Bid. 

• @CNBC

• Wednesday's big stock stories: What’s likely to move the market in the next trading session.
• Asia markets set to open higher as hopes for a U.S.-Iran deal rise and oil prices drop.
• Stock futures are little changed as S&P 500 approaches its all-time high: Live updates.
• Meta commits to one gigawatt of custom chips with Broadcom as Hock Tan agrees to leave board.
• Citadel CEO Ken Griffin said Tuesday that the global economy is headed toward a recession if the Strait of Hormuz stays shut for much longer. “Let’s assume [the Strait is] shut down for the next six to 12 months — the world’s going to end up in a recession,” Griffin said on stage at the Semafor World Economy conference in Washington, DC. “There’s no way to avoid that.”  

• @MarioNawful

• The demographic Israel has counted on for decades is turning away... CNN breaking down the numbers: Net favorability of Israel among American men under 50 went from -3 in 2022 to -22 in 2025 to -47 today. A 44-point collapse in four years. These are the same young men who swung hard toward Republicans in 2024. The MAGA base that was supposed to be Israel's firewall in American politics is abandoning it faster than any other demographic. (video)
• Treasury Sec. Scott Bessent slammed China as an “unreliable partner,” accusing it of hoarding oil during the Iran war and restricting exports. He compared it to their COVID hoarding of medical supplies and the rare earths threat. This is the 3rd time in 5 years. China’s sitting on a huge strategic reserve of 1.2–1.3B barrels, while still buying up Iranian crude.

• @ShadowofEzra

• Former Congressman George Santos drops a bombshell that members of the United States Congress were s*xually abusing children as young as 13, 14, and 15 years old. The government then shut down all investigations linking it back to them. This is the Epstein class. (video)
• AIPAC releases a new ad bragging to America that it owns top leadership in the Democratic Party and that it will be the true winner in the midterm elections, regardless of the results. AIPAC brags that it is the top fundraiser for members of the Congressional Black Caucus, Hispanic Caucus, Asian Pacific American Caucus, Progressive Caucus, and Equality Caucus. “AIPAC is the top fundraiser for Democrats.” (video)

• @MJTruthUltra

• Outrage in Virginia as Governor Abigail Spanberger signs HB 965 into law, joining the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact. The measure would award the state's 13 electoral votes to the winner of the national popular vote—regardless of how Virginians actually vote in a presidential election. Translation… Even if Virginians voted Republican by a landslide.. the electoral vote of Virginia goes to Democrats. This is LITERALLY why the electoral college exists. The compact goes into effect when states cumulatively possessing a majority of the electoral votes have joined the compact. As of 4/14/26, the compact has 222 electoral votes, requiring 48 more to become effective. The only way democrats can win is to CHEAT.

• @EricLDaugh

• BREAKING: Jaw-dropping moment as Rep. Eric Swalwell accuser SPILLS IT ALL on national TV. "He r*ped me and he choked me." Omg. "While he was choking me I lost consciousness. I thought I died." "I believe he DRUGGED MY DRINK...I only had one glass of wine." "I did not consent to any s*xual activity." "He was married at the time and his wife was pregnant." "He said he needed to get paperwork from his hotel room. When I arrived to his hotel room I was already incapacitated, I couldn't move my arms or my body." (video)
• WOW! Elon Musk and Sen. Mike Lee just told the Senate GOP they will get DESTROYED in the midterms if the SAVE America Act isn't passed. LEE: "Armageddon awaits the Senate GOP if we don’t get the SAVE America Act passed into law." A poll finds 12% of GOP voters would STAY HOME in crucial Senate states of Georgia, Maine and North Carolina if SAVE America is not passed, per McLaughlin. The Senate GOP taking ACTION can save us! Make it happen! 

• @newstart_2024

• The CIA can remotely take over your car and drive it into a bridge at 140 mph. That’s just one of the revelations from the 2017 Vault 7 leaks, according to former CIA officer John Kiriakou. A disgruntled CIA engineer allegedly dumped thousands of pages of the agency’s most advanced hacking tools to WikiLeaks. The documents showed the CIA had developed ways to: - Hack your car’s computer and seize control - Turn your “off” smart TV into a live microphone - And much more that makes the old MKUltra programs look primitive. Kiriakou says it’s terrifying what the agency is now technologically capable of. What’s the scariest piece of surveillance or hacking capability you’ve heard about from government agencies? (video)

• @WallStreetMav

• Democrats are beginning to expand their midterm lead beyond polling margins of error for winning back control of Congress. If Republicans don’t pass the SAVE America Act, deliver mass deportations, and deliver more DOGE in the reconciliation bill, it’s going to be a bloodbath.

• @TRobinsonNewEra

• The Pope visited Algeria mosque today. Taking his shoes off to wander around. Algeria was a Christian nation until Islam conquered through force, just like Europe now. Christians have no rights now there. Pope Leo hasn't even bothered visiting suffering Nigerian Christians. (video)

• @KellyLMcCarty

• Paula White needs to be removed from The White House. (video)

• @gc22gc

• Here’s the list of the 20 republicans sponsoring mass amnesty: (list)

• @NicHulscher

• The Gates Foundation just developed microneedle implants that install PERMANENT quantum dot markings and mRNA into your body. Once implanted, they are read by AI systems to verify compliance. They function as biological vaccine passports, required to enter stores and travel. (video)

• @Shawn_Farash

• Steyer is now the frontrunner to become the next Governor of California... Looks like the idea is that the bulk of Swalwell's voters go to Steyer, it lifts him past Bianco in the primary, and Steyer beats Hilton in the General. This is why the Dems took out Swalwell. Every move they make is calculated.

• @RealSLokhova

• Todd Blanche: "Everybody is afraid, if we do not win, we are going to be all investigated and indicted. The existing [Trump] administration is afraid that they are going to get indicted". Well, don't be afraid. Lock up the criminals. Then they won't be able to come after you. (video)

• @JesseKellyDC

• The Trump Administration needs to come out today and say the DIGNIDAD Act will not become law. The longer this is out there, the more momentum it gets. The more momentum it gets, the more the base gets disenfranchised. Kill this. Now.

• @JoshHall2024

• BREAKING: Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett was recently spotted at a PRO CHOICE FUNDRAISER with liberal Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson in Washington DC and is allegedly spending "more and more of her time" discussing cases with the 3 liberal justices on the court while avoiding the male justices in the conservative majority. This is according to an anonymous clerk of Barrett's, who has become concerned by the Trump-appointed Justice's seeming rapid recent liberal shift and WOKE SENTIMENTS. It appears that we were once again DECEIVED and have another wolf in sheep's clothing on the highest court in the land... Our federal judiciary is HIGHLY COMPROMISED and this is why NO ONE TRUSTS IT ANYMORE.

• @jenniferzeng97

• Many Chinese people are saying this: China is about to completely close its borders and isolate itself from the world. It started a long time ago when the Chinese Communist Party required all civil servants to surrender their passports. Then it expanded to employees of public institutions and state-owned enterprises, such as schools, banks, tobacco monopolies, and power bureaus. Now it has begun requiring university students to hand in their passports as well, and any exit from the country must be approved in advance. Moreover, various forms of border controls and “persuasion to return” measures are increasing. Because of this, some people are saying: “All Chinese people, in order to avoid lifelong regret, should leave the country as soon as possible, before a major disaster strikes.”

• @BRICSinfo

• JUST IN: Italian Prime Minister Meloni announces suspension of military cooperation & defense agreement with Israel.

Night Trading 

• Asian equity indices are +.25% to +1.25% on average. 
• Asia Ex-Japan Investment Grade CDS Index 73.75 -1.0 basis point.
• China Sovereign CDS 42.25 -.75 basis point.
• China Iron Ore Spot 103.75 USD/Metric Tonne +.24%. 
• Crude Oil 90.50/bbl. -.8% 
• Gold 4,870.2 USD/t oz. +.41%. 
• Swiss Franc/Offshore Chinese Renminbi Cross 8.72 unch.
• Bloomberg Emerging Markets Currency Index 35.84 +.02%.
• Bloomberg Global Risk-On/Risk Off Index 111.6 +.4%
• US 10-Year Yield 4.25% unch.
• Japan 30-Year Yield 3.61% -3.0 basis points. 
• Volatility Index(VIX) futures 20.3 -.9%.
• Euro Stoxx 50 futures +.02%. 
• S&P 500 futures +.10%.
• NASDAQ 100 futures +.16%.

Morning Preview Links

BOTTOM LINE: Asian indices are modestly higher, boosted by technology and transportation 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.