Friday Watch

Evening Headlines

Bloomberg:  

• Australia to Loosen Lending Laws to Boost Flow of Credit.
• London Loses Allure for Jobseekers as Covid Hits City Businesses.  
• Korea Consumer Confidence Retreats on New Virus Wave, Curbs.
• India’s Animal Spirits Stabilize as Virus Rages Across Economy.
• Covid Death Toll Nears 1 Million, But Real Number May Be Double.   
• Worsening Virus Trends Are Raising Alarms for Stock Investors. 
• Asia Looks Set for Modest Stock Gains; Dollar Dips: Markets Wrap. Asian stocks looked set for tentative gains after a volatile U.S. session as investors weighed the chances of a new stimulus package against an uptick in global coronavirus cases. The dollar slipped. Futures in Japan, Hong Kong and Australia pointed to a modest rise. S&P 500 contracts climbed. Earlier, the benchmark pared most of an earlier rally as optimism faded that Congress would reach a spending deal with the White House. Sentiment had pushed shares higher on news that Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and the Democratic House leader were open to fresh talks. But a report that Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s fresh overture deviated only slightly from previous offers sparked concern that the two sides would remain far apart. Treasuries were little changed. Elsewhere, Chinese assets will be in focus Friday after FTSE Russell said the country’s debt would be added to its flagship World Government Bond Index. The offshore yuan ticked higher. Oil dipped. S&P 500 futures rose 0.3% as of 7:20 a.m. Tokyo time. The S&P 500 advanced 0.3% on Thursday. Futures on Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose 0.4%. Hang Seng futures earlier gained 0.5%. Futures on Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index added 0.1%.
• Oil Rally Stutters as Demand Concerns Offset Stimulus Optimism.
• Pay Cuts Become Permanent for Many Americans During Pandemic.
• Pac-12 Resumes Football, Capping Big Conferences’ Return.

Wall Street Journal:

• India Seeks Naval Edge as China Penetrates Indian Ocean.
• Palantir Expected to Be Valued at Nearly $22 Billion in Trading Debut.
• Woke Science Is an Experiment Certain to Fail.
• High Jobless Claims Suggest Slowing in Labor’s Recovery.
• California’s Ban on New Gas Cars Further Upends Auto Industry.

Fox News:

• This city in 'nanny state' CA is 1st to ban 'unhealthy' food at checkout.
• Louisville small business owner pushes back reopening after rioters smash store window.
  

CNBC.com:

• Trump to sign executive orders to protect preexisting conditions, seek end to surprise medical bills.
• Sanofi not cutting corners for its coronavirus vaccine despite acceleration: CEO.
• Cramer says Nvidia is a buy, cites ‘unstoppable’ potential of Arm acquisition.
• Biden’s child tax-credit plan is a big clue that his agenda could be more progressive than thought.
• Amazon’s newest Ring gadget is a flying security camera drone.
  

MarketWatch.com:      

• Mark Cuban wants the government to give every American a check for $1,000 every two weeks.
  
• Target to focus on fulfilling digital orders from stores, contactless options this holiday season.

Zero Hedge:    

• "Confirmed" Has Become A Meaningless Word In Mainstream News Reporting.
• Wisconsin Authorities Investigate Absentee Ballots Found In Ditch, As FBI Probes Discarded Pro-Trump Ballots In PA.
• Seoul Outraged After North Korean Soldiers Shoot & Burn Body Of "Defector" At Sea.
• Third Arab Nation Will Reach Peace Deal With Israel In Next 2 Days: US Envoy.
• Lawsuit Accuses Ray Dalio Of "Devaluing Women", "Abuses Of Wealth And Power".
• With Ginsburg's Death, Cue The Last Stand Of American Marxists.
• Kyle Rittenhouse's Legal Team Bolsters 'Self-Defense' Case In New Viral Footage.
• Top Twenty Lessons Learned In 2020.
• Novavax Launches 'Phase 3' COVID-19 Vaccine Trials As UK, France Post Record Numbers: Live Updates.
• Ohio Mom Tased & Arrested At Middle School Football Game For Not Wearing Mask.
• Brainard Wants To Be Next Fed Chair, But Biden Has Pegged Her To Head The Treasury: Report.
• Stocks Pump'n'Dump As Stimulus Hopes (& The Dollar) Slump.

Business Insider:     

• The 7 biggest announcements from Amazon's blockbuster event, from a mini drone that can fly around your home to a cloud gaming service.

The Epoch Times:

• China’s Post-Pandemic Recovery Has Severe Regional Imbalances—Survey.
• Netizens Suspect China Reports All New Coronavirus Cases as ‘Imported’.
  

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).

Night Trading 

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

• Asia Ex-Japan Investment Grade CDS Index 77.25 +1.75 basis points.

• China Sovereign CDS 49.25 +3.0 basis points.

• Bloomberg Emerging Markets Currency Index 59.41 unch.
• Bloomberg Global Risk-On/Risk Off Index -31.0 -22.0 points.
• Volatility Index(VIX) futures 31.95 -.85%
• FTSE 100 futures +.58%.

• S&P 500 futures +.39%.

• NASDAQ 100 futures +.43%.

Morning Preview Links

Earnings of Note 
Company/Estimate

Before the Open:

• None of note
  

After the Close:

• None of note
  

Economic Releases

8:30 am EST

• Durable Goods Orders for Aug. is estimated to rise +1.3% versus a +11.4% gain in July.
• Durables Ex Transports for Aug. is estimated to rise +1.1% versus a +26% gain in July.
• Cap Goods Orders Non-Defense Ex-Air for Aug. is estimated to rise +1.0% versus a +1.9% gain in July.
  

Upcoming Splits

• None of note
  

Other Potential Market Movers

• The Fed's Evans speaking, Fed's Williams speaking, Canadian budget and the Wells Fargo Advertising Summit could also impact trading today.

Market Hours
Normal:

• 9:30 am - 4:00 pm EST
  

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