Monday Watch

Today's Headlines

Bloomberg:      

• China Raises Conflict Risk With Breach of Taiwan Buffer Zone.
• TikTok Owner Seeking $60 Billion Valuation in U.S. Deal.  
• U.K. at ‘Critical Point’ in Virus Surge With London at Risk.
• Picking Winners and Losers in Asia From the U.S. Election.
• Banks Moved $2 Trillion, Defying Money Laundering Orders: ICIJ.  
• U.S. Futures, Asia Stocks Drift; Yuan Ticks Higher: Markets Wrap. 
• It’s Mostly About Rates for Growth-Deprived Emerging Markets.
• U.S. Cases Steady as Death Toll Nears 200,000: Virus Update.
  
• Biden Likely to Tap Kamala Harris to Prosecute Trump Court Pick.
  
• Virtual UN Is Latest Blow to New York City’s Battered Economy.   
• Adelsons Pump $25 Million Into GOP Senate Super-PAC in August. 
• Goldman Says Value, Not Cyclicals, Would Rally Most on Vaccine.

Wall Street Journal:

• Pandemic Threatens to Widen Racial Homeownership Gap.
• Princeton’s Confession of Bias.
• What It Would Take for Herd Immunity to Stop Pandemic.
• Banks Pile Into Treasurys, Helping to Fund Government Borrowing Spree.

Fox News:

• Speaker Pelosi won’t rule out using Trump impeachment to stop SCOTUS pick.

CNBC:

• What to expect from Tesla on ‘battery day’.
  

Zero Hedge: 

• "We Have Our Options": Pelosi Doesn't Rule Out Impeachment Over Supreme Court Pick.
• MSM Welcomes "Whistleblowers" Reporting Partying College Students Breaking COVID Rules.
• Bias.
• California Burnin' - A Warning Against One-Party Rule.
• The 'Gender-Feminist/New-Left/Marxist' Axis Attacks All Civil Society.
• "He Needs Cash": Ron Perelman's Leveraged Empire Collapses In A Deluge Of Fire Sales.
• "Protesters" In Philadelphia Chase Down And Assault Random Citizens For Being "Nazis".
• Record Numbers Of Companies Drown In Debt To Pay Dividends To Their Private Equity Owners.
• Massive FinCEN Leak Exposes How Biggest Western Banks Finance Drug Cartels, Terrorists & Mobsters.
• Portland Neighbors Frustrated After Police Take 90 Minutes Responding To Hostage Situation Involving 12-Year-Old.
• Global Debt Is Exploding At A Shocking Rate.
• US Believes Iran Likely To Have Enough Fissile Material For Nuclear Bomb By Year's End.
• Madrid Braces For Lockdown As UK Nears COVID-19 "Tipping Point": Live Updates.
• Iran's Rouhani Vows "Crushing Response" After Pompeo Declares Restoration Of All Sanctions.
• "Not There Yet" - The Correction Continues.
• Trump 'Blesses' Deal Valuing TikTok At $60 Billion As ByteDance Keeps 'Secret Sauce'.
• Here Are The Most Popular ESG Fund Holdings.
• Biden Refuses To Release List Of Supreme Court Contenders.
• US Close To Declaring Qatar Major Non-NATO Ally, Deepening Military Ties.
• Iranian Court Orders The Amputation of The Fingers Of Three Teenagers Under Sharia Law.
• Popular Children's App Allegedly Requests Minor To Take Naked Pictures.
• Taibbi: The Post-Objectivity Era.
• "Nobody Is Here!" - Movie Theaters Reopen, Audiences Stay Away.
• Too Much Centralization Is Turning Everything Into A Political Crisis.
• "Peak" SPAC: Playboy Enterprises Considering Going Public Through Blank Check Company. 
  

Business Insider:

• One stock market signal suggests the US presidential race is tightening, Goldman Sachs says.
• Officials identify a woman suspect after letter laced with deadly ricin poison sent to President Trump.
• Apps are tracking WhatsApp users' online activity, including whom they're likely talking to and when they're sleeping.

The Epoch Times:

• Taiwan President: Drills Show China Is Threat to Region.
  

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 indices are -.25% to +.25% on average.
• Asia Ex-Japan Investment Grade CDS Index 71.0 new series.
• China Sovereign CDS 42.5 new series.
• Bloomberg Emerging Markets Currency Index 60.64 +.08%.
• Bloomberg Global Risk-On/Risk Off Index 274.0 -1.0 point.
• Volatility Index(VIX) futures 29.85 -.75%. 
• Euro Stoxx 50 futures -.24%.
• S&P 500 futures +.26%.
• NASDAQ 100 futures +.49%.

Morning Preview Links

Earnings of Note

Company/Estimate

Before the Open:

• None of note
  

After the Close:

• (WUBA)/.60

Economic Releases

8:30 am EST

• The Chicago Fed National Activity Index for Aug. is estimated to rise to 1.19 versus 1.18 in July.

12:00 pm EST

• 2Q Household Change in Net Worth.

Upcoming Splits

• None of note
  

Other Potential Market Movers

• The Oppenheimer Healthcare Life Sciences/MedTech Summit could also impact trading today.

Market Hours
Normal:

• 9:30 am - 4:00 pm EST

BOTTOM LINE: Asian indices are mostly higher, boosted by technology and consumer 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 week.