Tuesday Watch

Evening Headlines

Bloomberg:                 

• Drones Take Center Stage in U.S.-China War on Data Harvesting.  
• China Ordered Amazon to Delete Reviews of Xi Jinping’s Book, Reuters Reports.
• Global Selloff Abates as U.S. Futures, Stocks Rise: Markets Wrap.  
• Oil Edges Higher After Two-Day Drop as Investors Assess Demand.
• Omicron Cancellations Starting to Pile Up: Here’s a Short List.  
  
• School Closings Surge 82% as Omicron Spreads Across the U.S.   
• Nike Gains as Growth in U.S. Helps Overcome China Collapse.
• Democrats Wrestle With Where to Cut Wish List to Satisfy Joe Manchin.
• Progressives Prod Biden to Act on Own After Manchin’s Roadblock.  
• SEC Demands Chinese Firms Bolster Risk Disclosures for Investors.
  
• Traders Sent $30 Billion Into the Dip and This Time Got Bruised.  
• Cathie Wood's 40% Return Prediction Draws Rebuke After Ark’s Rough Year.  
• Small Caps Pummeled as Omicron Spread Clouds Growth Outlook.

Wall Street Journal:

• The U.S. Pursued Professors Working With China. Cases Are Faltering.
• Behind a New Pill to Treat Covid: A Husband-and-Wife Team and a Hunch.
• America’s Mixed Response Comes Down to Geography.
• U.S. Sets 55-Mile-a-Gallon Fuel-Efficiency Standard for 2026 Models.
• The Slow Meltdown of the Chinese Economy. Beijing’s troubles are an opportunity for the U.S.—if Washington can recognize it.
• Turkey’s Borrowing Costs Soar as Crisis Enters New Phase.
• Nike’s Supply Crunch Stunts Growth Again.
• China’s Growing Access to Global Shipping Data Worries U.S.

Fox News:

• Democrats turn on Joe for lack of accountability on multiple crises and they don't stop there.
• Sen. Tom Cotton says Democrats want to 'destroy' Senate customs following Manchin dissent.
  
• Manchin blasts WH staff for leaking 'absolutely inexcusable' things about him after rejecting BBB.
  

CNBC.com:

• Santa rally won’t restart due to Covid risks & profit-taking, top investor says.

MarketWatch                   

• Oracle follows Microsoft into healthcare push with Cerner — is Salesforce next? 

Zero Hedge:

• Fauci's War on Science: The Smoking Gun.
• South African Officials Advise End To Contact-Tracing, Quarantining Because Most Don't Experience Any Symptoms.
• "She Was A Grown Woman Who Preyed On Kids": Prosecutors Make Closing Arguments In Ghislaine Maxwell Trial.
• Stagflation Is Coming To A Theater Near You.
• It's Official: Durham Is Investigating The Clinton Campaign.
• Biden Staff Did 'Inexcusable' Things: Manchin.
• Here Is The "Fallback Plan" Manchin Would Support... And Why Goldman Thinks It Wouldn't Move The Needle.
• Pentagon Cracks Down On 'Extremism' Within US Military.
• The Real Brandon Speaks: "People Have A Right To Frustration & Anger".
• Court Fight Over Dead People On Voter Lists Heats Up In Michigan.
• Morgan Stanley: Our "Ice" Scenario Will Be Worse Than Most Expect.
• Watch: Pelosi Startled, Abruptly Leaves Podium At Press Event After "Let's Go Brandon" Chant.
• Stocks Suffer Biggest 3-Day Drop Since May; Turkish Lira Explodes Most In 40 Years.

Newsmax:

• Ric Grenell: California Built Culture Leading to Crime Wave.
• Poll: Biden Approval at New Low.

TheGatewayPundit.com:  

• White House Promises “Winter of Severe Illness and Death” for Unvaccinated “And Their Families”.
• America Must Decide – Will It Be a Constitutional Republic or a One-Party Totalitarian State?
• Joe Biden Shows Off His New Puppy to Distract From Cratering Poll Numbers, Inflation, Supply Chain Crisis and Soaring Gas Prices (VIDEO).
• “It’s Not a Matter of If, But When” – Psaki Echoes Fauci When Asked if Biden Regime will Change the Definition of “Fully Vaccinated” to Include Booster (VIDEO).
• BREAKING: DC Judge Orders Release of 3 Hours of Capitol Surveillance Video from inside West Terrace Tunnel on Jan. 6 Where Police Were Beating the Hell Out of Trump Supporters.
• Hearing to Remove the Use of Dominion Voting Machines in Georgia Marred by Multiple False Claims and Judge’s Interruptions.
• Six Men Charged with Hate Crimes in Bay Area Robberies Targeting More Than 100 Asian Women.
• Eric Swalwell, Famous for Sleeping with Chinese Spy, Now Wants Vaccine Mandates for All Americans In Order to Fly.
• PANIC INCREASES: Democrats in PA Now Suing PA Senate Over Whether It Has the Subpoena Power to Request Voter Data in Senate’s 2020 Election Forensic Audit.
• VIDEO: New COVID Microchip Implanted Under Your Skin Will Show Your Vaccination Status.

Independent:

• Ghislaine Maxwell trial - live: Jury begins deliberation after closing arguments centred around Epstein.

Twitter:

•  @DiscloseTV - NEW - Three vaccine doses are not enough to stop #Omicron, says BioNTech CEO Ugur Sahin now.
  

OpenVAERS:

• VAERS COVID Vaccine Adverse Event Reports. 691,883 (US) Reports Through December 10, 2021.

SKirsch.com:

• Using the MGH numbers with our own VAERS queries, we have 247 cases per million doses from the MGH study divided by 5.97 cases per million doses from VAERS. 247/5.97 = 41. This suggests that the VAERS under-reporting factor (URF) is 41X.

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 +.75% on average.

• Asia Ex-Japan Investment Grade CDS Index 84.0 +2.0 basis points. 

• China Sovereign CDS 44.0 +1.5 basis points.
  

• Bloomberg Emerging Markets Currency Index 53.44 -.32%. 
• Bloomberg Global Risk-On/Risk Off Index 2,259.0 +30.0 points.
• Volatility Index(VIX) futures 23.9 -1.6%.
• Euro Stoxx 50 futures +.90%.

• S&P 500 futures +.27%.

• NASDAQ 100 futures +.46%. 

Morning Preview Links

Earnings of Note 
Company/Estimate 

 

Before the Open: 

• (APOG)/.53
• (FDS)/3.00
• (GIS)/1.05
• (RAD)/-.18
  

After the Close:

• (BB)/-.07
• (CAMP)/.08
• (AIR)/.54
  

Economic Releases

8:30 am EST

• The Current Account Deficit for 3Q is estimated to widen to -$205.0B versus -$190.3B in 2Q.

Upcoming Splits

• None of note
  

Other Potential Market Movers

• The PBOC rate decision, 20Y Bond auction and the weekly US retail sales reports could also impact global trading today.

US Equity Market Hours

• 9:30 am - 1:00 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 50% net long heading into the day.