Wednesday Watch

Evening Headlines

Bloomberg:      

• China’s Regional Hinterland Suffers as Beijing Reins In Debt.
• Xi’s Toughest ‘Common Prosperity’ Test Is Raising China’s Taxes.
• Failure of Trickle-Down Abenomics Is Top Issue for Japan Voters.  
• BOJ to Stand Pat, Flag Recovery Delay Before Vote: Day Guide.  
• Asian Stocks Steady as Traders Weigh Earnings: Markets Wrap.
• Oil Holds Gains After Industry Data Shows Cushing Supply Decline.
• Aramco Warns World’s Spare Oil Supplies Are Falling Rapidly.
• Democrats Unveil a Corporate Minimum Tax, Eyeing $400 Billion.  
• Progressives Rebuff Pelosi on Plans for Infrastructure Vote.  
• Democrats Near Deal on $500 Billion to Fight Climate Change.  
• Pricey Lumber Is Back Boosted by Supply Cuts, Labor Shortage.

Wall Street Journal:

• 3-D Printed Houses Are Sprouting Near Austin.

Fox News:    

• Radical Biden plan takes 'gender equity' hammer to criminal justice system as violent crime engulfs US.
  

CNBC.com:

• Top Democrats aim to strike a deal on Biden’s social spending plan within hours.
• Food companies could see $3 billion in monthly sales vanish, as low-income households get squeezed.

MarketWatch.com:            

• AMD CEO feeling ‘very, very good’ about data-center market as sales hit a record.
• Visa tops earnings expectations, boosts dividend.
  

Zero Hedge:  

• NIH Director Shredded Over Risky Research In Wuhan After CNN Interview Goes Sideways.
• Pediatric COVID Hospitalizations Plunge As Schools Reopen, Baffling Experts.
• Green Energy: A Bubble In Unrealistic Expectations.
• Texas Governor Signs Bill Requiring Student Athletes Play On Teams Matching Birth Sex.
• China Braces For Another Major COVID Flareup By Forcing Jabs On Children As Young As 3.
• Biden's "Come On, Man" Defense Will Not Fly On Religious Freedom.
• "Unexpected" Collapse Of Chinese Property Developer Pushes China's 2021 Default Total To Record High.
• OPEC+ Comfortable With Rising Oil Price Trend.
• NYPD's Largest Police Union Sues Mayor Over COVID-19 Vaccine Mandate.
• 'World's Worst Offenders' Putin & Xi Skip Climate Summit Dubbed "Humanity's Last Chance".
• Failure To Bury "Transitory" Inflation Narrative Risks Sparking Biggest Fed Error In Decades: El-Erian Warns.
• Senate Dems Unveil New Corporate Minimum Tax; Sinema On Board.
• Robinhood Plunges After Huge Revenue Miss, Terrible Guidance.
• WTI Dips After Unexpected Crude Inventory Build.
• Opposition To Powell's Renomination Crosses The Aisle As Sen. Rick Scott Joins Warren In Opposition.
• Alphabet Drops Despite Beating On Revenue And Earnings As Cloud Disappoints.
• MSFT Shares Surge After Cloud-Driven Top- And Bottom-Line Beats.
• Long-Bond, Big-Techs, & Black-Gold Bid As China Stocks Chunder.

Newsmax:

• Senate Dems Propose Corporate Minimum Tax to Reach 200 Companies.
• Rep. Buddy Carter: Passing of Spending Bill 'Throwing Gas on' Inflation Fire.

TheGatewayPundit.com:

• FDA Panel Approves Pfizer Covid Vax For Kids Ages 5-11, Concedes it Doesn’t Know Long-Term Risks to Children (VIDEO).
• It Wasn’t Just Beagles and Monkeys – Fauci’s NIH Also Funded Medical Experiments on AIDS Orphans in NY City.
• Biden Regime Rolls Out Vaccine Requirements for International Travelers to Enter US — But Illegal Aliens Can Come and Go at Will.
• Biden Effect: Thanksgiving 2021 to be the Most Expensive Meal in History of the Holiday.
• “Loudoun County Protects Rapists!” – LCPS Students Walk Out to Show Support For Recent Sexual Assault Victims (VIDEO).

The Epoch Times:

• Chinese Regime Using US Tech to Create Weapons, House Republicans Warn.

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 unch. to +.5% on average.

• Asia Ex-Japan Investment Grade CDS Index 81.75 -1.5 basis points.

• China Sovereign CDS 45.5 -1.0 basis point.
  

• Bloomberg Emerging Markets Currency Index 58.46 +.03%. 
• Bloomberg Global Risk-On/Risk Off Index 3,597.0 -39.0 points.
• Volatility Index(VIX) futures 18.90 -.13%.
• FTSE 100 futures -.01%.

• S&P 500 futures +.08%

• NASDAQ 100 futures +.07%. 

Morning Preview Links

Earnings of Note 
Company/Estimate 

 

Before the Open: 

• (ADP)/1.49
• (BA)/-.14
• (BSX)/.40
• (BMY)/1.92
• (BG)/1.42
• (CME)/1.56
• (KO)/.58
• (GD)/2.99
• (GM)/.98
• (HOG)/.76
• (HES)/.28
• (HLT)/.84
• (IP)/1.44
• (KHC)/.58
• (MCD)/2.47
• (NSC)/2.92
• (ODFL)/2.38
• (OC)/2.45
• (PAG)/3.65
• (R)/2.09
• (TDY)/3.69

After the Close:

• (AFL)/1.32
• (ALGN)/2.59
• (AVB)/2.01
• (BOOT)/.91
• (CNMD)/.75
• (EBAY)/.88
• (F)/.27
• (FWRD)/1.08
• (IRBT)/.70
• (KLAC)/4.50
• (MYRG)/1.18
• )OII)/.05
• (ORLY)/7.16
• (PPC)/.75
• (RJF)/1.71
• (NOW)/1.39
• (TDOC)/-.62
• (URI)/6.81
• (WH)/.91
• (XLNX)/.90
• (YUMC)/.28
  

Economic Releases

8:30 am EST

• The Advance Goods Trade Deficit for Sept. is estimated at -$88.3B versus -$87.6B in Aug.
• Wholesale Inventories MoM for Sept. is estimated to rise +1.0% versus a +1.2% gain in Aug.
• Retail Inventories MoM for Sept. are estimated to rise +.2% versus a +.1% gain in Aug.
• Durable Goods Orders for Sept. is estimated to fall -1.1% versus a +1.8% gain in Aug.
• Durables Ex Transports for Sept. is estimated to rise +.4% versus a +.3% gain in Aug.
• Cap Goods Orders Non-Defense Ex Air for Sept. is estimated to rise +.5% versus a +.6% gain in Aug.
  

10:30 am EST

• Bloomberg consensus estimates call for a weekly crude oil inventory gain of +1,526,440 barrels versus a -431,000 barrel decline the prior week. Gasoline supplies are estimated to fall by -2,031,630 barrels versus a -5,368,000 barrel decline the prior week. Distillate inventories are estimated to fall by -2,112,880 barrels versus a -3,913,000 barrel decline the prior week. Finally, Refinery Utilization is estimated to rise by +.43% versus a -2.0% decline prior.
  

Upcoming Splits

• None of note
  

Other Potential Market Movers

• The GFK Consumer Confidence report, weekly MBA Mortgage Applications report, NRF Holiday Sales Forecast, $61B 5Y T-Note auction and the (DDOG) virtual investor meeting could also impact global trading today.

US Equity Market Hours

• 9:30 am - 4:00 pm EST
  

BOTTOM LINE: Asian indices are modestly lower, weighed down by consumer and technology shares in the region. I expect US stocks to open modestly lower and to rally into the afternoon, finishing mixed. The Portfolio is 100% net long heading into the day.