Wednesday Watch

Evening Headlines

Bloomberg:           

• Back to Square One: When Big Economies Will Hit Pre-Virus GDP.
• Cases Pass 100 Million; Hong Kong Lifts Lockdown: Virus Update.  
• Asian Stocks Mixed; U.S. Tech Rises After Hours: Markets Wrap.  
• China Bubble Trouble, IMF Lifts Forecast, Fink Net-Zero: Eco Day.
• Schumer Says Democrats May Advance Stimulus Bill Without Republicans.
• How a Penny Stock Explodes From Obscurity to 451% Gains Via Chat Forums.  
• Internet Traffic Surge Triggers Massive Outage on East Coast.   
• Yellen Cites Treasury-Fed Coordination in New Crisis Campaign.  
• Lumber Buyers ‘Pay Up or Run Out’ Amid U.S. Homebuilding Surge.  
• Starbucks Falls Amid Sales Slump and Brewer’s Departure.
• Short-Squeezed Hedge Funds Are Now Getting Hit on Their Bullish Bets Too.

Wall Street Journal:

• Other Reddit YOLO Favorites That Aren’t GameStop.
• Biden’s Age of Climate Decadence.

Fox News: 

• What Biden's immigration overhaul could mean for national security.
• Newsom nears recall vote threshold; here's what's next.
  

CNBC.com:

• Stocks making the biggest moves after hours: Microsoft, GameStop, Starbucks & more.
• Microsoft reports 17% revenue growth as cloud business accelerates.
• How a band of Reddit traders drove GameStop stock up 275% in a week.
• Biden administration orders additional 200 million doses of Covid-19 vaccine.
• Walgreens taps Starbucks operating chief Roz Brewer as its next CEO.
• AMD beats, driven by game console and PC sales.
• America’s top-tier malls were resilient, but values are now crumbling, down 45% from 2016 levels.

MarketWatch.com:   

• It isn’t just GameStop: Here are some of the other heavily shorted stocks shooting higher .
  
• GameStop trading could be ‘systemically wrong,’ state regulator says.  
• The ‘ice is cracking’ on the bull market, one stock-market analyst warns.

Zero Hedge:

• 'They're Wasting Our Time': Rand Paul Shreds 'Unconstitutional' Trump Impeachment, Lists Examples Of 'Democrat Incitement'.
• Musk Tweet Sends Gamestop Soaring (Even More) After Hours.
• Are EVs Good For The Environment? ...Mostly Not.
• Germany Poised To Cut International Air Travel "To Almost Zero" On Virus Variant Fears.
• "Your Order Is A Direct Attack": Utah Tribe Seeks Exemption From Biden Drilling Pause.
• "Inside The Industry, We're All Pretty Panicked": Global Semi Shortage Continues To Slam Auto Industry.
• Las Vegas Schools Forced To Reopen Amid Rash Of Student Suicides .
• Compulsory Political Ideology For Illinois K-12 Teachers And Classrooms Moves Closer To Finalization.
• WTI Erases Losses After Bigger-Than-Expected Crude Draw.
• Microsoft Soars On Blowout Earnings Thanks To Surging Cloud Revenue; Returns $10BN To Shareholders.
• "Most Shorted" Stocks Massive Melt-Up Continues; Bonds, Bitcoin, & Bullion Flat.

Newsmax:  

• Retroactive Tax Hikes Aren’t the ‘First Choice,’ Biden Aide Says.
• US 'Actively Looking' at Mandating COVID-19 Testing for Domestic Air Travel.
• Ex-Rep. Gabbard: John Brennan, Adam Schiff 'Domestic Enemies' of US.

TheGatewayPundit.com:

• The Highest Paid Federal Government Employee Is the Same Guy Who Cost Millions of Americans Their Jobs.
• BREAKING: Senate Votes 55-45 to Set Aside Rand Paul’s Point of Order That Impeachment Unconstitutional – 5 Republicans Vote with Democrats.
• ‘Kiss My Ear’ – Joe Biden Jumbles Words During Covid Presser, Calls Out Lawmaker For Refusing to Wear a Face Mask (VIDEO).
• Video From Press Corps at Biden Inauguration Reveals Only About a Hundred People in Attendance Outside of Military and Press.
• Add Virginia to the List of States Where a Forensic Audit of the 2020 Election Results is Absolutely Necessary.
• MUST WATCH: Rand Paul Goes Off on “Sham Impeachment,” Media and Democrat Hypocrisy in Scorched Earth Speech.
• Biden’s Pick for Secretary of State, Tony Blinken, Is Connected to Biden Family in Their Shady Deals with China and Ukraine.

The Epoch Times:

• China’s Jilin Province Building Mobile Hospitals as Virus Outbreak Worsens.
• As CCP Virus Continues to Spread in Beijing, Residents Grow Angry Over Lockdown and Soaring Food Prices.

HereIsTheEvidence.com:

• This is for aggregating publicly available items of voter fraud evidence in the US election that would be admissible in court.
  

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 -.25% to +.75% on average.

• Asia Ex-Japan Investment Grade CDS Index 61.5 +.25 basis point.

• China Sovereign CDS 31.0 +.25 basis point.

• Bloomberg Emerging Markets Currency Index 62.30 +.02%.
• Bloomberg Global Risk-On/Risk Off Index 2,025.0 +24.0 points.
• Volatility Index(VIX) futures 25.7 +1.14%.
• FTSE 100 futures -.2%.

• S&P 500 futures +.05%.

• NASDAQ 100 futures +.46%.

Morning Preview Links

Earnings of Note 
Company/Estimate 

 

Before the Open: 

• (ABT)/1.35
• (ANTM)/2.52
• (T)/.73
• (ADP)/1.29
• (BA)/-1.63
• (EAT)/.34
• (GLW)/.48
• (GD)/3.54
• (HES)/-.64
• (KNX)/.91
• (NDAQ)/1.45
• (NSC)/2.48
• (PGR)/1.42
• (VFC)/.89
  

After the Close:

• (AAPL)/1.41
• (CP)/5.02
• (CCI)/1.55
• (FB)/3.20
• (LRCX)/4.46
• (LVS)/-.33
• (RJF)/1.68
• (NOW)/1.06
• (SYK)/2.55
• (TSLA)/1.03
• (URI)/4.26
• (WHR)/6.20
  

Economic Releases

8:30 am EST

• Durable Goods Orders for Dec. is estimated to rise +1.0% versus a +1.0% gain in Nov.
• Durables Ex Transports for Dec. is estimated to rise +.5% versus a +.4% gain in Nov.
• Cap Goods Shipments Non-Defense Ex-Air for Dec. is estimated to rise +.6% versus a +.5% gain in Nov.
  

2:00 pm EST

• The FOMC is expected to leave the benchmark Fed Funds Rate at 0-.25%.
  

Upcoming Splits

• None of note
  

Other Potential Market Movers

• The German GFK Consumer Confidence Index, $62B 7Y T-Note auction, weekly MBA Mortgage Applications report, TD Securities Mining Conference and the (KMI) analyst meeting could also impact trading today.

Market Hours
Normal:

• 9:30 am - 4:00 pm EST
  

BOTTOM LINE: Asian indices are mostly higher, boosted by consumer and technology shares in the region. I expect US stocks to open mixed and to rally into the afternoon, finishing modestly higher. The Portfolio is 75% net long heading into the day.