Today's Headlines

Bloomberg:

• Merkel Drafts Law for Nationwide German Lockdown Rule, Curfews.
• European Stocks Post Longest Weekly Winning Streak in 17 Months.  
• Chinese Assets Appeal Eroded by Dollar Strength, U.S. Rates.
• Asia’s Positive Stock Outlook Is Clouded By Chinese Selloff.
• U.S. Cases Hit Two-Week High; India in Crisis: Virus Update.
• Vaccine Requirements Spread in U.S., Sowing Concern on Overreach.
• New York City Rat Complaints Surge as Urban Life Revives.  
• The Debate Over the Next Move in Bonds Has Never Been Fiercer.   
• SEC Finds Some Funds That Say They’re Green Really Aren’t.
• Charting the Global Economy: IMF Upgrades World Growth Forecast.
• Eerie Calm in Stocks Puts Wall Street on High Alert for Next Spark.
• Harvard-Backed TPRV to Unwind Hedge Fund, Return Outside Cash.
• Stock Bulls Bet It All on Earnings Guesses With Troubled Record.  
• Trump Touts Appeal to New Voters as Path for GOP Return to Power.  
• Is ESG a Load of Garbage? Actually, Yes.   
• Watch U.S. Inflation for Hidden Price Momentum: Eco Week Ahead.

Wall Street Journal:

• Biden Commissions the Supreme Court.
• Amazon Vote Deals Blow to Expanding Union Membership.
• As Apple and Facebook Clash Over Ads, Mom-and-Pop Shops Fear They’ll Be the Victims.
• For CEOs, the New Business of Business Is...Politics.
• Loneliness, Anxiety and Loss: the Covid Pandemic’s Terrible Toll on Kids.
• Ten Signs Things Might Be Getting Back to Normal.
• Google’s Secret ‘Project Bernanke’ Revealed in Texas Antitrust Case.
• Medline Industries Explores Sale.
• Is It Safe to Eat at Restaurants Again? Here’s What to Expect.

CNBC:

• Earnings season is about to get underway and that could be a positive catalyst for stocks.
• Biden has options beyond a corporate tax hike to pay for infrastructure, as negotiations begin.
• Iran testing advanced nuclear centrifuge that would allow faster uranium enrichment.
• Covid cases overwhelm Michigan health system, Gov. Whitmer urges residents to stay home.
• The economy is on the cusp of a major boom. Economists believe it could last.
• China slaps Alibaba with $2.8 billion fine in anti-monopoly probe.
• Venture funding soared to record $64 billion in Q1.
• Chip shortage causes more disruptions in auto production, but trader has a hedge play.

IG:

• Weekend Markets Trading Live.

Barron's:

• Had bullish commentary on (GS).
• Had bearish commentary on (CCL), (RCL), (CS) and (NCL).

MarketWatch.com:     

• Mortgage rates fall for the first time since February — but don’t necessarily expect a long reprieve.  
• Dividend stocks are out of favor, but here are 19 that Wall Street loves.
• Will you vaccinate your kids against COVID-19 once they’re eligible? Only half of U.S. parents say yes.

Fox News:

• Republicans slam Biden plan to send your money to Central America.
• Liberals ramp up calls for Supreme Court Justice Breyer to retire after he panned court packing in speech.
• Supreme Court rejects Newsom's COVID restrictions on in-home religious gatherings.  
  
• New York Times blasted for calling Biden's SCOTUS commission 'effort to balance the conservative majority'.

Newsmax:  

• As US Pushes Vaccines, J&J Shot Shipments to Drop 84%.
• Rep. Steube: Filibuster a Firewall Against Court Packing.
• GOP Sens: Defense Budget Plan 'Sends Terrible Signal'.
• Biden's 'Population-Based' Vaccine Plan Failing, Critics Say.
  

Zero Hedge:

• Multiple New York Times Staff Previously Worked For CCP-Controlled Media: Report.
• US Farmers Celebrate As Corn Exports Near Records.
• McDonald's To Close Hundreds Of Walmart Locations.
• Government's Global Response To COVID Has Absolutely Decimated The Middle Class.
• Debt-Fueled Spending Won't Create Growth.
• What Could Go Wrong? 5 Ideas.
• US Homes "Snatched Up Right Away" As Market Drained Of Supply.
• Greenwashing The Ugly Truth: Box-Ticking ESG Investment Stupidity Exposed.
• Daily Mail Exposes Hunter Biden Bombshells After 'Tell-All' Book Holds Back.
• Infrastructure Bills Do Not Lead To Recovery, Only Increased Federal Control.
• Morning Traffic Congestion Is Returning To New York.
• Canada To Censor "Hurtful" Comments About Politicians, Implement Internet Kill-Switch.
• BLM Founder Branded "Fraud" After Buying Million-Dollar Home In Mostly-White LA Enclave.
• Target Sells Woke Prayer Book: "Dear God, Please Help Me Hate White People".
• Japan Comes Clean, Admits Dumping Fukushima Radioactive Water In Pacific Ocean Is Now "Unavoidable".
• Melvin Capital Down Another 7% In March, Brings Q1 Loss To 49%.
• Biden's Border Czar Abruptly Quits Despite 'No Crisis'.
• White House Eases US Officials' Ability To Freely Meet With Taiwan Counterparts.
• Stimmy Bonanza: Here Comes Another Blockbuster Retail Sales Print.
• Beijing Halts Enrollment At Jack Ma's Business School As Big-Tech Crackdown Continues.
• Anti-War Activist Visited By Police After Posting Embarrassing AOC Video.
• Stocks Panic-Bid To End 'Inflationary' Week, Dollar Dumps.
  

TheGatewayPundit.com:

• Psaki Fails to Say if Joe Biden will Ever Reverse Policies Creating Border Crisis (VIDEO).
• Liberal Boston Hospital to Set Up Preferential Treatment Based on Race, Whites Last – Want to Make This a National Policy.
• BRUTAL: Female Postal Worker Viciously Beaten in Flint, Michigan Over Delayed Stimulus Checks (VIDEO).
• Here We Go: New Hampshire Governor Will Sign Bill For Voting Machine Audit.
• Georgia Secretary of State Raffensperger’s Amicus Brief Attempting to Prevent an Independent Audit in the State’s 2020 Election Results Includes At Least Seven False Accusations.
• HUGE NEWS: Attorney Matthew DePerno Releases Michigan Elections Forensics Report – 66,194 Unregistered Ballots Tallied in JUST 9 COUNTIES.
• Progressive Groups Pretending to be Non-Partisan Launch Intimidation Campaign in Arizona to Stop Proposed Voter ID Law that Will Cut Down on Cheating.
• Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti Loudly Booed at Dodgers Opening Day (VIDEO).
• John Kerry’s Family Takes Private Jet to Idaho as Kerry Goes on International Climate Change Tour.
• Democrats in Arizona Are Petrified – They’re Bringing in Marc Elias’s Perkins Coie to Make Threats and Make the Maricopa County Audit Go Away.
• Five Months Since the Election, Georgia Still Lacks Legally Required Chain of Custody Documentation on 355,000 Votes (Most All Likely for Joe Biden).
• What Is Michigan’s Secretary of State Benson Hiding? Why Is She Not Complying with Subpoenas and Delaying Producing Material Requested?

The Epoch Times:

• Several New York Times Staff Previously Worked For CCP-Controlled Media: Report.
• ‘Hypocrisy’: Lawmakers Denounce MLB’s China Deal Extension Amid Georgia Boycott.
• Taiwan Reports 11 Chinese Aircraft in Defense Zone.
• ‘Trojan Horse’: Kyle Bass Warns China Will Use Digital Yuan to Export Tech Authoritarianism.
• Chinese Leader Xi Jinping Signals Return to the Mao Era.

Digital Blackboard:

• Daily New Cases by Region.

Worldometer:

• New Cases/Deaths by state.

Rt Covid-19:

• How fast virus is growing by state.

KFF:

• State Data(Tests/Hospitalizations).

Weekly Scoreboard*

S&P 500 4,110.16 +2.28%*

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Weekly Wrap by Briefing.com. 

Indices

• DJIA 33,643.35 +1.47%

• NASDAQ 13,835.39 +2.76%

• Russell 2000 2,235.18 -.90%

• S&P 500 High Beta 71.0 +.21%

• Goldman 50 Most Shorted 309.5 -2.4%

• Wilshire 5000 42,946.50 +1.97%

• Russell 1000 Growth 2,573.64 +3.6%

• Russell 1000 Value 1,519.86 +.79%

• S&P 500 Consumer Staples 705.74 +1.05%

• MSCI Cyclicals-Defensives Spread 1,433.30 +2.4%
  

• NYSE Technology 4,015.33 +2.6%

• Transports 14,877.21 +.78%

• Utilities 890.85 +1.4%

• Bloomberg European Bank/Financial Services 70.0 -.2%

• MSCI Emerging Markets 53.40 -.95%

• HFRX Equity Hedge 1,386.64 +1.1%

• HFRX Equity Market Neutral 941.71 +.16%

Sentiment/Internals

• NYSE Cumulative A/D Line 464,089 +.58%

• Bloomberg New Highs-Lows Index 718 +81

• Crude Oil Commercial Bullish % Net Position -43.2 -1.1%

• CFTC Oil Net Speculative Position 531,310 +1.6%

• CFTC Oil Total Open Interest 2,327,016 +.23%

• Total Put/Call .73 +1.43%

• OEX Put/Call 1.95 -7.3%

• ISE Sentiment 88.0 -2.0 points

• NYSE Arms 1.43 -24.6% 
• Bloomberg Global Risk-On/Risk-Off Index 3,209.0 +451.0 points
  

• Volatility(VIX) 16.8 -3.1%

• S&P 500 Implied Correlation 48.72 -3.07%

• G7 Currency Volatility (VXY) 6.54 -.46%
  

• Emerging Markets Currency Volatility (EM-VXY) 10.5 -2.6%

• Smart Money Flow Index 14,159.43 +.33%

• ICI Money Mkt Mutual Fund Assets $4.484 Trillion -.28%

• ICI Domestic Equity Long-Term Mutual Fund/ETFs Weekly Flows +3.773 Million

• AAII % Bulls 56.9 +24.2%

• AAII % Bears 20.4 -12.1%

Futures Spot Prices

• CRB Index 186.83 +.03%

• Crude Oil 59.24 -2.6%

• Reformulated Gasoline 195.27 -3.1%

• Natural Gas 2.56 -3.4%

• Heating Oil 180.54 unch.

• Gold 1,744.90 +.92%
• Silver 25.30 +.95%
  

• Bloomberg Base Metals Index 237.48 +2.5% 

• Copper 404.40 -1.2%

• US No. 1 Heavy Melt Scrap Steel 453.0 USD/Metric Tonne -1.5%

• China Iron Ore Spot 165.50 USD/Metric Tonne +3.4%

• Lumber 1,131.0 unch.

• UBS-Bloomberg Agriculture 1,134.12 +1.55%
• US Gulf NOLA Potash Spot 318.0 USD/Short Ton unch.
  

Economy

• Atlanta Fed GDPNow Forecast +6.2% +.2 percentage point
  

• ECRI Weekly Leading Economic Index Growth Rate +25.1% -.4 percentage point
  
• Bloomberg US Recession Probability Next 12 Months 12.0% -20.0%
  

• NY Fed Real-Time Weekly Economic Index +9.52 +17.1%

• US Economic Policy Uncertainty Index 150.1 +20.6%

• S&P 500 Blended Forward 12 Months Mean EPS Estimate 183.01 +.32%

• Citi US Economic Surprise Index 37.20 +.7 point

• Citi Eurozone Economic Surprise Index 150.40 -22.9 points

• Citi Emerging Markets Economic Surprise Index 25.20 -.4 point

• Fed Fund Futures imply 98.3% chance of no change, 1.7% chance of rate hike on 4/28

• US Dollar Index 92.16 -.75%

• MSCI Emerging Markets Currency Index 1,704.7 +.35%
  

• Bitcoin/USD 58,229 -.89%

• Euro/Yen Carry Return Index 134.88 +.19%

• Yield Curve 149.0 -5.0 basis points
  

• 10-Year US Treasury Yield 1.65% -7.0 basis points
  

• Federal Reserve's Balance Sheet $7.670 Trillion +.27%

• U.S. Sovereign Debt Credit Default Swap 11.38 +8.8%

• Illinois Municipal Debt Credit Default Swap 188.35 -.59%
  

• Italian/German 10Y Yld Spread 103.0 +7.0 basis points
  

• China Sovereign Debt Credit Default Swap 37.87 +13.5%
  

• Brazil Sovereign Debt Credit Default Swap 222.68 -.82%
  

• Israel Sovereign Debt Credit Default Swap 44.0 -4.2%

• South Korea Sovereign Debt Credit Default Swap 22.3 +5.5%

• Russia Sovereign Debt Credit Default Swap 118.23 +6.0%

• iBoxx Offshore RMB China Corporate High Yield Index 189.27 +.28%

• 10-Year TIPS Spread 2.32% -5.0 basis points

• TED Spread 18.0 -.75 basis point

• 2-Year Swap Spread 13.0 -.25 basis point
  

• 3-Month EUR/USD Cross-Currency Basis Swap -2.5 unch.

• N. America Investment Grade Credit Default Swap Index 51.23 +.99%
  

• America Energy Sector High-Yield Credit Default Swap Index 360.0 -2.5%

• European Financial Sector Credit Default Swap Index 57.81 -.08%
  

• Emerging Markets Credit Default Swap Index 178.47 -.53%
  

• MBS 5/10 Treasury Spread 67.75 -3.25 basis points
  
• Markit CMBX BBB-6 73.25 unch.

• M1 Money Supply $1.841 Trillion unch.

• Commercial Paper Outstanding 1,172.20 +6.6%

• 4-Week Moving Average of Jobless Claims 723,750 +.35%

• Continuing Claims Unemployment Rate 2.6% -10.0 basis points
  

• Average 30-Year Mortgage Rate 3.13% -4.0 basis points

• Weekly Mortgage Applications 693,500 -5.1%

• Bloomberg Consumer Comfort 51.9 +1.9 points

• Weekly Retail Sales +9.3% +70.0 basis points

• Nationwide Gas $2.87/gallon unch.

• Baltic Dry Index 2,088 +2.1%

• China (Export) Containerized Freight Index 1,858.01 -.74%

• Oil Tanker Rate(Arabian Gulf to U.S. Gulf Coast) 17.5 -12.5%
• Truckstop.com Market Demand Index 174.54 -15.2%

• Rail Freight Carloads 285,748 -1.2%

Best Performing Style

• Large-Cap Growth +3.4%

Worst Performing Style

• Small-Cap Growth -.9%
  

Leading Sectors

• Shipping +3.7%

• Software +3.5%
  

• Internet +3.4%

• Computer Hardware +2.8%

• Restaurants +2.5%
  

Lagging Sectors

• Steel -1.4%
  

• Biotech -2.2%

• Energy -4.3%

• Alt Energy -4.6%

• Oil Service -6.2%

Weekly High-Volume Stock Gainers (20)

• LOVE, COMM, PAR, RICE, MRNA, ASO, SLQT, ORGO, CARA, ANF, OAS, HOG, PCT, IBP, HARP, PRIM, DY and FND
  

Weekly High-Volume Stock Losers (10)

• BKR, ZGNX, UCTT, RETA, LUNG, CCCC, WISH, PRCH, ITOS and ZNTL
  

ETFs

• High-Volume Gainers

• High-Volume Losers

Stocks

• High-Volume Gainers

• High-Volume Losers

*5-Day Change