Wednesday Watch

Evening Headlines

Bloomberg:           

• Goldman Sachs Lifts China’s Economic Growth Forecast.
• Traders Race Back Into Oil on Optimism Over China Reopening.   
• Lunar New Year Without China’s Covid Zero Policy to Put Airlines to the Test.
• China’s Fondness for Pork Wavers as Covid Surge Crushes Demand.
• Scholz Brushes Off Talk of Further Joint EU Borrowing — for Now.
  
• Germany Learned Its Lesson From Russia Gas Dependence, Chancellor Scholz Says.
  
• Five Key Takeaways From Chancellor Scholz’s Bloomberg Interview.  
• Stocks Mixed, Yen Weakens Ahead of BOJ Meeting: Markets Wrap.  
• Oil Pushes Higher on Bets Chinese Demand Will Surge This Year.
• Investors Seek to Pull $20 Billion From Core Real Estate Funds.
• Rogoff Says Housing Markets Certainly Face Further Drop of 10%.
• Adobe, Facing Blowback, Says Customer Data Not Used to Train AI.  
• Digital Currency Group Halts Dividend Payment to Conserve Cash.  
• Goldman and Morgan Stanley Fortunes Split as Strategies Diverge.  
• White House Says No Debt Bargaining as McCarthy Urges Talks.  
• The Winklevii Are the Latest Crypto Founders to Blame Everybody But Themselves.  
• Larry Fink Says ESG Narrative Has Become Ugly, Personal.

Wall Street Journal:

• FTX Discloses ‘Substantial Shortfall’ of Customer Assets.
• Disney Defends Board, Iger Against Peltz’s Criticisms.
• A Crypto Magnate Saw the Risks and Still Was Hammered.
• Water Is a Terrible Thing for California to Waste. The Golden State hasn’t built the storage to make use of winter rains.
• Justice Department Considered but Rejected Role in Biden Documents Search.
• Moscow Details Plan to Boost Military.
• At Davos, Mood Is Somber as Many CEOs Question Economic Outlook.
• Rising Rates Hit Landlords Who Can’t Afford Hedging Costs.

Fox News:

• Biden, Harris photo-op with Warriors team takes awkward turn.

CNBC.com:

• Goldman Sachs posts its worst earnings miss in a decade as revenue falls while expenses rise.
• Fed directs big banks to disclose how they are preparing for climate change risks.
• FTX says $415 million of crypto was hacked.

MarketWatch:         

• Wall Street’s ‘fear gauge’ flashes warning that stocks might be headed off a cliff.
  
• Stock-market rally looks ‘unsustainable’ as S&P 500 enters ‘new, lower valuation regime,’ warns Citi.
  
• Opinion: The 5 tech earnings to watch as holiday-season results start to flood in.
  
• SmileDirectClub stock rallies on cost cuts, workforce ‘realignment’.
  
• United Airlines swings to profit despite ‘worst’ winter storm, issues blue-sky guidance.  
• Why this analyst became the lone Microsoft bear on Wall Street.

Zero Hedge:

• Jes Staley 'Personally Observed' Sexual Abuse By Epstein, Victim Claims.
• Rethinking Japan. 
• The Freight Market Has Bottomed. 
• EV Rebates In Canada Are 153% Over Budget So Far.
• CNN Admits Ukraine War Is A 'Weapons Lab' For Western Arms.
• Swiss MP At Davos: Change Living Environments To Force The Public To Follow Climate Goals.
• Jim Grant Warns "Japan Is Perhaps The Most Important Risk In The World".
• Elon Musk Mocks WEF As Global Elite Gather In Davos.
• Sucked in.
• Mike Wilson Doubles Down On Fire And Brimstone, Sees S&P Earnings Falling Even More.
• US stocks were mostly lower after weak earnings and BoJ risk offset the initial ECB-related dovishness - Newsquawk Asia-Pac Market Open.
• Trump Reacts To Lack Of Visitor Logs For Biden's House Where Classified Documents Were Found.
• Vice Premier Touts China 'Reopening To The World' In Davos Investment Pitch.
• Technocratic Dystopia Is Impossible.
• BoJ, Beijing, & Brussels Leave Banks, Bonds, Big-Tech, Bitcoin, & Bullion 'Mixed' After Long-Weekend.
• BOJ Is Less Than A Year Away From Running Out Of Bonds To Buy.
• The Beginning Of The End Of The Credit Cycle.
• Hedge Funds Steamrolled By Massive, 98%-ile Short Squeeze: What Is Causing It And How Long Will It Last?

Newsmax:

• Sen. Ron Johnson: Biden Docs 'Massive Diversionary Operation?'
• Rep.Jackson: Corruption Drives False COVID Stats.
• McCarthy: Document Probe Will Ensure Law Is 'Applied Equally'.

TheGatewayPundit.com:

• COVER UP: DOJ Decided Against Having FBI Agents Monitor Search by Biden’s Personal Lawyers For Classified Documents.
• Project Veritas: “Evil Salesman” Admits to Violating Georgia State Law, Sells Critical Race Theory Curriculum to Schools (VIDEO).
• IT WAS ALL A LIE: CNN Political Hack Finally Admits the US Has Been Vastly Overcounting COVID Deaths and Hospitalizations.
• Leo Hohmann’s Special Report: Medical Profession Implements WHO Digital Diagnosis Code for the Unvaxxed.
• Biden’s DOJ Fights to Reinstate Mask Mandate For Air Travel.
• Trump On His Continuous Battles: “I’m Fighting The Deep State And Winning”.
• Dirty RINO Speaker Robin Vos Pulls Resolution to Prohibit Private Resources to Run Elections in Wisconsin.
• Report: High-Priced Prostitutes Descend On Davos For “High-Powered” Leaders At World Economic Forum.
• WORLD ECONOMIC FORUM UPDATE: John Kerry Claims to Be Part of a “Select Group of Human Beings”.
• “They’re Trying to Get Rid of Him” – Joe Rogan Says Biden’s Own Staff Wants to Take Him Down with Classified Documents Scandal (VIDEO).
• “Covid 3 Times After the Vaccine – I Should Be Happy, Haven’t Had a Stroke Yet” – Pro Golfer Hank Haney Discusses the Covid Vaccine and His Continued Illness.
• WORLD ECONOMIC FORUM UPDATE: John Kerry Says to Stop Climate Change We Need “Money, Money, Money, Money, Money, Money, Money”.

The Epoch Times: 

• Xi Jinping’s Concessions to Recent Protests May Signal Coming Regime Collapse.
• Officials Report China’s First Annual Population Fall in Decades, Economic Crisis Accompanied by COVID-19.

OpenVAERS:

• VAERS US COVID Vaccine Adverse Event Reports. 918,508 Reports(+3,097 from prior week) Through December 30th, 2022.

SKirsch.com:

• Using the MGH numbers with our own VAERS queries, we have 247 cases per million doses from the MGH study divided by 5.97 cases per million doses from VAERS. 247/5.97 = 41. This suggests that the VAERS under-reporting factor (URF) is 41X.

Covid-19(Data, Maps, Graphs):

• Our World in Data:  New Global Covid-19 Cases(7-day rolling average graphs). New US Covid Hospital Admissions/ICU Admissions/Deaths
  
• FT.com:  Fully Vaccinated by Country(graph). Global Lockdown Stringency Index(map).
• Bloomberg.com:  International Travel Restrictions.  Case Graphs by State.
  
• NYTimes.com:  County Trends and Clusters. Local ICU Occupancy.
  
• Brown School of Public Health:  Covid Severity by State/County(map).  US Hospital Capacity(region).
  
• CovidActNow:  Covid Severity/Infection Rate by Metro Area.
  
• KFF:  US Vaccinations by Race/Ethnicity.
  
• Carnegie Mellon: Covid-Like Symptoms in Community. Covid Symptom Searches on Google. Covid-Related Dr.Visits.  Restaurant Visits. Wearing Masks. (graphs)
  
• Safegraph.com:  Commerce Patterns(graphs).

Night Trading 

• Asian equity indices are -.5% to +.25% on average.

• Asia Ex-Japan Investment Grade CDS Index 106.5 +.25 basis point. 

• China Sovereign CDS 53.0 -.5 basis point. 
• China Iron Ore Spot 121.4 USD/Metric Tonne +.6%.

• Bloomberg Emerging Markets Currency Index 48.4 -.06%.
• Bloomberg Global Risk-On/Risk Off Index  56.2 +.54%. 
• Bloomberg US Financial Conditions Index .20 +3.0 basis points.
  
• Volatility Index(VIX) futures 21.1 +.6%.
• Euro Stoxx 50 futures unch.

• S&P 500 futures -.24%.

• NASDAQ 100 futures -.25%.  

Morning Preview Links

Earnings of Note 
Company/Estimate 

 

Before the Open: 

• (SCHW)/1.09
• (PNC)/3.96
• (PLD)/1.21
  

After the Close:

• (AA)/-.58
• (DFS)/3.71
• (FHN)/.48
• (FUL)/1.24
• (KMI)/.30
• (WTFC)/2.58
  

Economic Releases

8:30 am EST

• NY Fed Services Business Activity for Jan.
• Retail Sales Advance MoM for Dec. is estimated to fall -.9% versus a -.6% decline in Nov.
• Retail Sales Ex Autos MoM for Dec. is estimated to fall -.5% versus a -.2% decline in Nov.
• Retail Sales Ex Autos and Gas for Dec. is estimated to fall -.1% versus a +.3% gain in Nov.
• PPI Final Demand MoM for Dec. is estimated to fall -.1% versus a +.3% gain in Nov.
• PPI Ex Food and Energy MoM for Dec. is estimated to rise +.1% versus a +.4% gain in Nov.
• PPI Final Demand YoY for Dec. is estimated to rise +6.7% versus a +7.4% gain in Nov.
  

9:15 am EST

• Industrial Production MoM for Dec. is estimated to fall -.1% versus a -.2% decline in Nov.
• Capacity Utilization for Dec. is estimated to fall to 79.5% versus 79.7% in Nov.
• Manufacturing Production for Dec. is estimated to fall -.3% versus a -.6% decline in Nov.
  

10:00 am EST

• Business Inventories for Nov. is estimated to rise +.4% versus a +.3% gain in Oct.
• The NAHB Housing Market Index for Jan. is estimated at 31.0 versus 31.0 in Dec.

2:00 pm EST

• Fed's Beige Book release.

4:00 pm EST

• Net Long-Term TIC Flows for Nov.

Upcoming Splits

• None of note
  

Other Potential Market Movers

• The UK CPI report, 20Y T-Bond auction, weekly US retail sales reports, weekly MBA Mortgage Applications report, B. Riley Oncology Conference and the (FFIV) solution day could also impact global trading today.

US Equity Market Hours

• 9:30 am - 4:00 pm EST
  

BOTTOM LINE: Asian indices are mostly higher, boosted by energy and industrial shares in the region. I expect US stocks to open modestly lower and to rally into the afternoon, finishing mixed. The Portfolio is 50% net long heading into the day.

Stocks Slightly Lower into Final Hour on US Policy-Induced Stagflation Fears, Earnings Outlook Jitters, Dollar Strength, Metals & Mining/Airline Sector Weakness

Broad Equity Market Tone:

• Advance/Decline Line: Around Even
  

• Sector Performance: Mixed
  

• Volume:  Around Average

• Market Leading Stocks: Underperforming
  

Equity Investor Angst:

• Volatility(VIX) 19.2 -1.3%
• DJIA Intraday % Swing 1.11%
  
• Bloomberg Global Risk On/Risk Off Index 56.0 -1.6%

• Euro/Yen Carry Return Index 143.5 -.5%

• Emerging Markets Currency Volatility(VXY) 10.7 +.4%

• CBOE S&P 500 Implied Correlation Index 36.5 -.5% 

• ISE Sentiment Index 124.0 +22.0
  

• Total Put/Call .98 -12.5%

• NYSE Arms 1.18 +5.3%

Credit Investor Angst:

• North American Investment Grade CDS Index 71.3 +1.2%
  

• US Energy High-Yield OAS 352.38 +1.4%
• Bloomberg TRACE # Distressed Bonds Traded 337.0 +2.0
  

• European Financial Sector CDS Index 87.16 -2.0% 
• Credit Suisse Subordinated 5Y Credit Default Swap 380.61 +.24%
  

• Italian/German 10Y Yld Spread 180.0 basis points -4.0 basis points
  

• Asia Ex-Japan Investment Grade CDS Index 106.25 -.11%
  

• Emerging Market CDS Index 230.3 +1.8%
  

• China Corp. High-Yield Bond USD ETF(KHYB) 27.84 +.09%

• 2-Year Swap Spread 25.5 basis points -1.5 basis points
  

• TED Spread 19.5 basis points -4.5 basis points
  

• 3-Month EUR/USD Cross-Currency Basis Swap -15.75 unch.
  
• MBS  5/10 Treasury Spread  135.0 +5.0 basis points
  
• Bloomberg US Agg CMBS Avg OAS 112.0 -2.0 basis points
  
• Avg. Auto ABS OAS .77 -1.0 basis point
  

Economic Gauges:

• Bloomberg Emerging Markets Currency Index 48.4 -.06%
• 3-Month T-Bill Yield 4.58% -1.0 basis point
  

• China Iron Ore Spot 121.7 USD/Metric Tonne +.92%
• Dutch TTF Nat Gas(European benchmark) 60.06 euros/megawatt-hour +8.3%

• Citi US Economic Surprise Index -13.3 -7.2 points

• Citi Eurozone Economic Surprise Index 88.9 +8.6 points
  

• Citi Emerging Markets Economic Surprise Index 11.8 +28.3 points
  
• S&P 500 Blended Forward 12 Months Mean EPS Estimate 228.83 -.25:  Growth Rate +10.9% unch., P/E 17.5 +.1
  
• Bloomberg US Financial Conditions Index .18 +6.0 basis points
  
• Yield Curve -66.75 basis points (2s/10s) +5.75 basis points
• US Atlanta Fed GDPNow Forecast +4.07% unch.
  

• Cleveland Fed Inflation Nowcast Core PCE YoY +4.45% unch.: CPI YoY +6.31% unch.
  
• 10-Year TIPS Spread 2.17 -3.0 basis points
  
• Highest target rate probability for March 22nd FOMC meeting: 72.6%(-5.9 percentage points) chance of 4.75%-5.0%. Highest target rate probability for May 3rd meeting: 53.5%(-1.1 percentage points) chance of 4.75%-5.0%.
  

US Covid-19:

• 126 new infections/100K people(last 7 days total). 7.2%(-.0 percentage point) of 1/14/22 peak(1,740) -0/100K people from prior report.
  
• New Covid-19 patient hospital admissions per 100K population -78.0%(-4.9 percentage points) from peak 7-day avg. of 1/9/22 - 1/15/22
  

Overseas Futures:

• Nikkei 225 Futures: Indicating +199 open in Japan 
• China A50 Futures: Indicating +86 open in China

• DAX Futures: Indicating +58 open in Germany

Portfolio:

• Higher:  On gains in my tech/commodity sector longs and emerging market shorts
  

• Disclosed Trades:  None
  

• Market Exposure: 50% Net Long
  

Mid-Day Market Internals

NYSE Composite Index:

• Volume Running +.8% Above 100-Day Average 
• 7 Sectors Declining, 4 Sectors Rising
• 52.9% of Issues Advancing, 44.3% Declining
• 115 New 52-Week Highs, 6 New Lows
• 52.9%(-.5%) of Issues Above 200-day Moving Average
• Average 14-Day RSI 65.0 unch.
  
• Bloomberg Global Risk-On/Risk-Off Index 56.0 -1.7%
  
• Russell 1000: Growth/Value 14,209.9 +.69%
  
• Vix 19.4 -.4%
• Total Put/Call 1.0 -10.7%
• TRIN/Arms 1.32 +16.8%
  

Tuesday Watch

Today's Headlines

Bloomberg:                                 

• Chief Executives, Economists Brace for Recession as Davos Begins.
• Things to Know as Davos Returns in Winter Amid ‘Polycrisis’ Risk.
• Singapore Exports Contract More Than Expected in December.
• Australia’s Consumer Sentiment Posts Biggest Gain in Nine Months.  
• Banxico Should Keep Peak Rate for Minimum Six Months, Board Member Says.
  
• Soaring Singapore Rents Set to Climb Another 10-15% This Year.  
  
• Canada Home Prices See Record Drop as High Rates Hit Buyers.  
• Japan Prods US and EU to Regulate Crypto Like Banks.
• Big Take: Energy, Chips, Taiwan: Flashpoints for 2023 in a Fractured World.  
• Asian Stocks Trade Mixed as New Year Gains Stall: Markets Wrap.  
• Oil Holds Decline Ahead of Chinese GDP Data and OPEC Outlook.  
• Microsoft to Add ChatGPT to Azure Cloud Services ‘Soon’.

Wall Street Journal:

• Shopper Rebellion Against Higher Prices Helps Slow Inflation.
• Ryan Cohen Takes Stake in Alibaba, Pushes for More Stock Buybacks.
• How the Gas Stove in Your Kitchen Became a Symbol of Freedom. The left framed its latest crusade as a ‘right-wing culture war.’ We’ve seen this pattern many times.
• The New Structural Racism. In Northern Virginia, affirmative action has hardened into a war on high achievers. 
• Do Overweight Kids Need Pills? The American Academy of Pediatrics says so, blaming the problem not on personal behavior and government programs but ‘structural racism.’ 
• Medical Residents Unionize Over Pay, Working Conditions.
• Founders of Bankrupt Crypto Firm Plan Trading Platform for Distressed Crypto Debt.

Fox News:

• Activists call for arrest of 'hero' diner who shot and killed robbery suspect.
• Biden takes swipe at Second Amendment supporters.

CNBC:

• The richest 1% amassed almost two-thirds of new wealth created in the last two years, Oxfam says.
• Manchin, Sinema and Coons meet with CEOs at private Davos luncheon for World Economic Forum.
• The Davos elite like to make bold predictions. But they don’t always get them right.

Zero Hedge:      

• Musk Says ZeroHedge Did "Nothing Warranting Suspension" After 'Twitter Files' Expose Big Pharma Bullying.
• How The Coming Debt Ceiling Debacle Blew Up The Fed's QT, And What Happens Next.
• Will You Beat Uncle Sam's Relentless Pursuit Of Your Wealth?
• Ron Paul: Isn't It Time For Adam Schiff To Be Expelled From Congress?
• Will Aseem Malhotra's Appearance Be The BBC's Most Viewed Program Of 2023?
• Economists Warn Americans Recession Is Coming: "Don't Be Fooled".
• Quiet newsflow and thinned volumes with US cash markets closed MLK Jr. Day - Newsquawk Asia-Pac Market Open.
• World Economic Forum Invents New Word To Describe The Extreme Chaos Gripping Our Planet.
• US NatGas Prices Rise As Models Suggest 'Polar Vortex To Unload On US'.
• Chevron Sold Venezuelan Oil To Phillips 66.
• The Best Video On Climate Change That You Will Ever See.
• All The President's Men: Biden's Use Of Lawyers Raises Additional Concerns Over Handling Classified Material.
• Republicans Call Out 'Double Standard' Over Biden Classified Docs Hypocrisy.
• Mayor Says NYC Being "Undermined", Has "No More Room" For Illegal Immigrants.
• Some stuff is getting stretched.
• "Distasteful Masterclass In Hypocrisy": Elites Swarm Davos In Private Jets To Discuss Climate Crisis.
• Claims Of A Lower CPI Cannot Inflate Away Reality.
• German Defense Minister Resigns As Criticism Over Ukraine Mounts.
• "A New System" – Inside The Davos Summit 2023.
• Futures Dip As Dollar Rebounds From 8 Month Low.
• Firmer APAC trade though gains were tempered by COVID updates - Newsquawk Euro Market Open. 
• Destroying American Democracy - An Inside Job.
• Visualizing The Changing World Population, By Country.
• Japan's Experts Baffled By High 'COVID Deaths' Despite High Vaccination Rate.
• House GOP Bill Would Order Federal Workers Back To Office.

MarketWatch.com:              

• Davos starts today with a focus on climate change. 
  
• Earnings season is coming — what to look for.

NewsMax:

• Rep. Harrison: End Vax Mandate for Healthcare Workers.
• Texas State Rep.: Agenda to Sexualize Children 'Enrages Me'.

TheGatewayPundit.com:  

• “I Have INFO on Everyone!” – Trump Taunts Joe Biden After White House Lawyer Claims There Are No Visitor Logs at Biden Delaware Home.
• Wyoming GOP Lawmakers Propose Ban on Sale of Electric Vehicles by 2035 to Protect Its Oil and Gas Industry.
• AI Robot Lawyer Will Defend Traffic Violater In Court.
• San Francisco Reparations Committee Mulls Paying $5 Million to Each Black Resident and Granting Total Debt Forgiveness.
• 2-Year-Old Child Dies Suddenly One Day After Receiving Both the COVID Vaccine and Annual Flu Vaccine.
• 13 FACTS on the Dozens of Federal Operatives Who Infiltrated the Trump Crowds on January 6th at the US Capitol.
• BIDEN ECONOMY: Real Estate Experts Are Sounding the Alarm that US Markets Are in Big Trouble.
• Joe Biden Awkwardly Sings Happy Birthday to MLK III’s Wife, Forgets Her Name (VIDEO).
• Questionable Governor Katie Hobbs Rolls Out New Budget Proposal Eliminating Border Security, Repealing School Choice Law, And $40 MILLION For In-State College Tuition For Illegal Aliens.
• JUST IN: Another Twitter Files Drop: How the Pharmaceutical Industry Lobbied Social Media to Shape Content Around Vaccine Policy.
• Freedom Flyers Organization: Wealthy Businessman Have Reached Out and Want UNVACCINATED PILOTS To Fly Their Jets (VIDEO).
• Former American Idol Contestant Dies Suddenly at 31 After Suffering ‘Apparent Heart Attack’.
• George Soros Pulls Out of World Economic Forum Due to “Unavoidable Scheduling Problem”.
• IT WAS ALL PLANNED: Tactical Commander for US Capitol Police Admits Under Oath that “Agitators” Who Were “Highly Trained” Ripped Down Fencing Prior to Protest at US Capitol on Jan. 6.

The Epoch Times:

• US, Taiwan Hold Formal Bilateral Trade Negotiations.

Twitter:

• @QTRResearch - "The weaponization of science to censor, persecute, delegitimize, and threaten those who had differing opinions has never happened on this scale in this country." - from "We Must Have The Truth".

OpenVAERS:

• VAERS US COVID Vaccine Adverse Event Reports. 918,508 Reports(+3,097 from prior week) Through December 30th, 2023.
  

SKirsch.com:

• Using the MGH numbers with our own VAERS queries, we have 247 cases per million doses from the MGH study divided by 5.97 cases per million doses from VAERS. 247/5.97 = 41. This suggests that the VAERS under-reporting factor (URF) is 41X.

Covid-19(Data, Maps, Graphs):

• Our World in Data:  New Global Covid-19 Cases(7-day rolling average graphs). New US Covid Hospital Admissions/ICU Admissions/Deaths
  
• FT.com:  Fully Vaccinated by Country(graph). Global Lockdown Stringency Index(map).
• Bloomberg.com:  International Travel Restrictions.  Case Graphs by State.
  
• NYTimes.com:  County Trends and Clusters. Local ICU Occupancy.
  
• Brown School of Public Health:  Covid Severity by State/County(map).  US Hospital Capacity(region).
  
• CovidActNow:  Covid Severity/Infection Rate by Metro Area.
  
• KFF:  US Vaccinations by Race/Ethnicity.
  
• Carnegie Mellon: Covid-Like Symptoms in Community. Covid Symptom Searches on Google. Covid-Related Dr.Visits.  Restaurant Visits. Wearing Masks. (graphs)
  
• Safegraph.com:  Commerce Patterns(graphs). 
• COVID Money Tracker. Tracking the Covid response.
  

Night Trading

• Asian indices are -.25% to +.25% on average.
• Asia Ex-Japan Investment Grade CDS Index 106.25 -1.25 basis points.
• China Sovereign CDS 53.5 -.25 basis point.
• China Iron Ore Spot 119.9 USD/Metric Tonne +.4%
  
• Bloomberg Emerging Markets Currency Index 48.4 -.07%.
• Bloomberg Global Risk-On/Risk Off Index 57.4 +.8%.
• Bloomberg US Financial Conditions Index .11 -1.0 basis point. 
  
• Volatility Index(VIX) futures 20.9 +.8%. 
• Euro Stoxx 50 futures -.07%.
• S&P 500 futures -.15%.
• NASDAQ 100 futures -.27%.

Morning Preview Links

Earnings of Note

Company/Estimate

Before the Open:

• (GS)/5.77
• (MS)/1.31
• (EDU)/.09
• (SBNY)/4.90
  

After the Close:

• (IBKR)/1.16
• (PNFP)/2.04
• (PRGS)/1.10
• (UAL)/2.12
  

Economic Releases

8:30 Am EST

• Empire Manufacturing for Jan. is estimated to rise to -8.3 versus -11.2 in Dec.

Upcoming Splits

• None of note
  

Other Potential Market Movers

• The German CPI report and the (MNST) investor day could also impact trading today.

US Equity Market Hours

• 9:30 am - 4:00 pm EST

BOTTOM LINE: Asian indices are mostly lower, weighed down by technology and consumer shares in the region. I expect US stocks to open modestly lower and to rally into the afternoon, finishing mixed.  The Portfolio is 50% net long heading into the week.