Friday Watch

Evening Headlines

Bloomberg:        

• Biden Can’t Avoid Blame for Inflation, a Tough Problem to Fix.
  
• Korea’s Producer Inflation Hits 13-Year High as Price Risks Grow.  
• Japan Inflation Shows Continued Pulse as Gas Prices Surge.
• Alibaba Outlook Disappoints After China Slowdown Hurt Sales.
• Asian Stocks Edge Up Amid Caution Over China Tech: Markets Wrap.
• Oil Edges Higher as Bargain Hunters Swoop Into the Market.
• It’s Too Late for Biden to Help U.S. Drivers This Thanksgiving.
• Biden Bill Heads to Vote as CBO Sees $367 Billion Deficit.
  
• SALT Analysis Finds Little Middle-Class Help in Congress’s Plans.
• Biden’s Remedy for High Gasoline Prices: Blame Oil Companies.  
• Apple Is Aiming for Fully Autonomous Vehicle.  
• Chamath Palihapitiya Sells Part of SoFi Stake, Expects to Add to Clover.  
• Texas, Midwest at Risk of Blackouts If Winter Brings Deep Freeze.  
• Storms at Canada’s Biggest Port Leave Grain Stuck in Prairies.
• Florida Republicans Overtake Democrats in Registered Voters.

Wall Street Journal:

• The Real Biden Bill: At Least $4.6 Trillion. Program by program, here’s how Democrats disguise the real cost of their entitlement blowout.
• States Investigate Instagram Over How It Affects Children.
• Dominant Lasik Chain Put Profits Over Patient Care, Some Doctors Say.
• Ford, GM Step Into Chip Business. 
• The FBI’s Raid on James O’Keefe. Justice had better have good reason for seizing a journalist’s records. 
• Before Talks, China Lifted Exit Ban and U.S. Deported Chinese Nationals.

Fox News:   

• LIVE UPDATES: House gearing up to slam through socialist spending bill tonight after true cost revealed.
• FOX NEWS POLL: Voters' confidence in COVID vaccine is not what it used to be.
• White House doesn't deny that Biden failed to ask China's Xi COVID question.
  

CNBC.com:

• Ford plans to increase EV production to 600,000 vehicles by 2023.
• Biden administration suspends enforcement of business vaccine mandate.
• Millions of people quit their jobs in the ‘Great Resignation.’ Here is why it may not last long.
• TikTok usage surpassed Instagram this year among kids aged 12 to 17, Forrester survey says.
• If Biden picks Brainard over Powell for Fed chief, expect an immediate market impact.
• Sweetgreen shares surge 76% in salad chain’s stock market debut.
• Starbucks faces expansion of labor union drive beyond New York.
• These nonretail stocks are set for a Black Friday boost, trader says.
• CVS to close 900 stores over three years, as it shifts to digital strategy.

MarketWatch               

• Apple reportedly revving up electric-vehicle plans — ‘a matter of when, not if’.
  
• Retail gasoline prices stand just pennies below their highest Thanksgiving price on record: report.

Zero Hedge:

• CBO Confirms Biden Spending Bill Not Fully Paid For, Would Cost $367 Billion Over A Decade.
• MSNBC Banned From Rittenhouse Trial After Employee Follows Jury Bus; Network 'Regrets' Incident.
• "Significant Storm" And Plunging Temperatures Loom For Thanksgiving Week.
• Murdoch Accuses Facebook, Google Of Censoring Conservative Voices.
• "These Are Numbers We Have Never Seen Before": Drug Overdose Deaths Hit Record High During Pandemic.
• Oregon Middle School Halts In-Person Classes Due To Students "Struggling With Socialization Skills".
• Is The US Shale Patch Refusing To Pump For Political Reasons?
• NY Commuter Train Ridership Still Down 48% From 2019, Despite Trains Appearing "Shoulder To Shoulder" Packed.
• Watch: Rand Paul Warns "Authoritarian" Fauci's "Casual Disdain" For Rights Is "Recipe For Totalitarianism".
• Adam Schiff And The End Of Shame In American Politics.
• "This Is Code Red": Here's How Zillow's Home-Flipping AI Triggered Judgement Day For Real Estate Firm.
• Homicide Rates In 2020 Surged To 24-Year High... Another Sign Of A Failing Regime.
• Goldman: A Biden SPR Release Is Now Fully Priced In And Will Send Oil Price Even Higher In 2022.
• 'Growth' Stocks Near Record Highs To 'Value', Bitcoin Battered To 2Mo Lows.

Newsmax:

• Rep. Scalise: Joe Biden Lying to America About Tax Hikes.
• Sen. Ron Johnson: Biden 'Set Up' Harris for Failure.
• Rep. Wittman: Biden Missed Opportunity to Discuss COVID With Xi.
• 3 GOP Lawmakers Demand Answers on FBI Raid of Project Veritas.

TheGatewayPundit.com:

• FDA Won’t Release Information on Pfizer COVID Vaccine Trials for Another 55 Years – What Are They Hiding?
• Psaki Defends Biden Canceling Keystone XL Pipeline as Gas Prices Skyrocket (VIDEO).
• Hmm… UPDATE: Iranian Nationals Posing as Proud Boys Charged by FBI with Interfering in 2020 Election — Both Believed to Be Back in Iran.
• “It’s For the People” – Pelosi Defends Tax Cuts for Mega-Rich in Blue States – 2nd Largest Ticket Item in Democrat Spending Bill.
• With Oil Prices Up More than 60% in a Year Biden Decides to Sell US Oil Reserves Overseas to Asia.
• Gov. DeSantis Signs Anti-Mandate Bill in Brandon, Florida — Crowd Starts Chanting “Let’s Go Brandon!” (Video).
• House Democrats Plan Thursday Vote on Biden’s Marxist Build Back (Broke) Better Bill.
• Sheriffs Association Representing 17 States Declare No Confidence in Biden’s Open Borders DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas.
• BREAKING: Houston Health Dept Workers Caught on VIDEO Going Door-to-Door Asking Residents: “Have you been vaccinated?…Which one did you get?”
• Quinnipiac Poll: Biden Approval Plunges to 36 Percent Despite Enormous Media Support.

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

• Asia Ex-Japan Investment Grade CDS Index 86.5 -1.5 basis points. 

• China Sovereign CDS 50.75 -1.5 basis points.
  

• Bloomberg Emerging Markets Currency Index 56.13 -.12%. 
• Bloomberg Global Risk-On/Risk Off Index 3,063.0 -53.0 points.
• Volatility Index(VIX) futures 20.5 unch.
• Euro Stoxx 50 futures +.16%.

• S&P 500 futures +.09%

• NASDAQ 100 futures +.14%. 

Morning Preview Links

Earnings of Note 
Company/Estimate 

 

Before the Open: 

• (FL)/1.37
  

After the Close:

• (EDU)/.03
  

Economic Releases 

• None of note

Upcoming Splits

• None of note
  

Other Potential Market Movers

• The Fed's Clarida speaking, Fed's Waller speaking and the Eurozone PPI report 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 technology and industrial shares in the region. I expect US stocks to open modestly higher and to weaken into the afternoon, finishing mixed. The Portfolio is 75% net long heading into the day.