Tuesday Watch

Today's Headlines

Bloomberg:    

• China Cuts Interest Rate as Growth Risks Worsen With Omicron. 
• Omicron Reaches China’s Political, Financial and Tech Hubs.
• Property Bonds Slump on Logan Debt Concerns: Evergrande Update.
• North Korea Says It Tested Two Tactical Guided Missiles.
• Johnson Battles for Survival as ‘Partygate’ Engulfs Tories.
  
• These Are the World’s Top Hedge Funds for 2021.
• Credit Suisse Chairman Resigns, Apologizes for Breaking Swiss Covid Rules.  
• Iran-Backed Houthis Claim Drone Strikes on UAE, Three Dead.  
• Can Novak Djokovic Play in French Open? France Wants Vaccine Pass for Everything.
• Saudi Minister Says It’s Not the Time To Talk Oil Prices. 
• ‘Thank God’ Oil Is Still Pumping Amid Inflation Scare, Dalio Says.
• Japan Policy Meeting, the Big Unknown, Challenging View: Eco Day.
• Stocks Set for Cautious Asia Start; Yen Dips Before BOJ: Markets Wrap.
• Olympic Athletes Advised to Leave Phones at Home to Dodge Spying.

Wall Street Journal:

• Activision Pushes Out Dozens of Staff Over Misconduct.
• Giant Stock Swings Kick Off 2022.
• Iowa’s Child-Care Problems Show Scale of Washington’s Challenge.
• Rolls-Royce, Bentley, BMW Sales Surge as Cheaper Brands Lag Behind.
• James Comey and Our Poisoned Politics. Five years ago, the FBI boss was busy selling the bogus Steele dossier.
• Ten Trends That Will Shape the Way We Shop, Eat and Live This Year.
• CDC Director Aims to Improve Covid-19 Messaging, Data Collection.

Fox News:    

• FBI admits Jewish community was 'targeted' after massive backlash over original statement.
• Multiple deaths, widespread power outages as winter storm rages.
• Jewish leaders rip FBI for 'insulting' statement on synagogue hostage attack.   
• Dems say parents aren't 'clients' of public schools – blast idea taxpayers should have a voice.

CNBC:

• Major U.S. airline CEOs warn 5G could ground some planes, wreak havoc.
• Earnings season is the next big test for the market and value stocks in the week ahead.
• China’s Xi says countries must abandon ‘Cold War mentality,’ warns against confrontation.
• Ford signs five-year payments deal with Stripe for e-commerce drive.
• Peloton is about to tack on hundreds of dollars in fees to its Bike and treadmill, citing inflation. 
• Billionaire investor Chamath Palihapitiya says ‘nobody cares’ about Uyghur genocide in China.
• Preliminary study in Israel shows fourth Covid vaccine shots are less effective against omicron.

Zero Hedge: 

• Rogue Street Art Appears Overnight In D.C., Mocks Biden & Fauci's COVID Regime.
• Apple Tells Employees They Have "Four Weeks To Comply" After Becoming Eligible For Booster Shots.
• Closed markets macro.
• Pfizer CEO Predicts Life On Earth "Will Return To Normal" In The Spring.
• Convicted Pedophile Funneled Millions In Foreign Cash Into Hillary Clinton's 2016 Campaign.
• Union Pacific Bashes LA's Social Justice Reform, Threatens To Leave City Amid Soaring Train Thefts.
• Freedom Is The Answer.
• Poll Finds Close To Half Of Democratic Voters Want COVID Internment Camps For The Unvaxx'd.
• Google Mandates US Workers Submit To Weekly COVID-19 Tests, Surgical Masks.
• Ghislaine Maxwell Will No Longer Fight To Keep Epstein 'John Does' Secret; Suspected Of 'Intimate Relationship' With Prince Andrew.
• Beijing Bars Spectators From Winter Games As First Omicron Case Confirmed. 
• Key Events This Holiday-Shortened Week: Earnings Galore, Central Banks And UK Inflation.
• State-Backed Doping Strategy Imposed On Chinese Athletes, Former Doctor's New Book To Release Before Beijing Olympics.
• '270 Doctors' Called Out Joe Rogan - But Vast Majority Of Authors, Signatories Are Not Medical Doctors.
• Rabobank: There Are So Many False Flags Being Waved It Looks Like A Semaphore Competition.
• Credit Suisse In Turmoil As Chairman Resigns Over COVID Violations After Just 8 Months.
• US Futures, European Markets Rise After China's First Rate Cut In 2 Years.
• Et Tu? Chuck Todd Savages Biden Over Failing Presidency As Liberal Media Cuts Bait.
• McDonald's To Slash Hours By 10% Due To Labor Shortage.
• Watch: Rookie Dutch MP Routs PM Rutte, Speaks Truth To 'Great Reset' Power.
• Asian Batteries Power Global EV Fleet.
• The Lesson From The Downing Street Parties Is: The Rules Were Wrong.
• The Most Dangerous Job In America... Is Not Frontline Healthcare Worker Or Teacher.
• China Unexpectedly Cuts Key Rate, Adds Liquidity As Economic Growth Slowed, Retail Sales Slump.
• After 28 Days On Ventilator, Family Loses Legal Battle To Try Ivermectin, Other Alternative Treatments, For Dying Father.
• Morgan Stanley: As The Fed's Balance Sheet Runoff Begins, The Withdrawal Of Liquidity Will Have Profound Impacts.
• Is Masking Kids At School Working?

MarketWatch.com:          

• The world’s richest 10 men doubled their fortunes to $1.5 trillion during the pandemic, says Oxfam.

NewsMax:

• Pompeo Warns of China's 'Surveillance State' at 'Genocide Olympics'.
• Scott Creates MLK Day Videos, Hopes to Rebut Biden Speech.
• Gallup Shock: GOP Now Leads Democrats in Voter Affiliation.

TheGatewayPundit.com:

• Fauci Trashes US on World Stage at Klaus Schwab’s WEF Summit: ‘We Have Disinformation That is Destructive to a Comprehensive Public Health Endeavor’ (VIDEO).
• Malaysian Health Ministry Recorded 25 Cases of Myocarditis within 21 Days After Receiving COVID-19 Vaccine.
• Dr. Robert Malone Posts Irrefutable Proof on Ivermectin and the Uttar Pradesh India Success Story.
• If They Can’t Cheat, They Can’t Win: Communist Brennan Center Horrified After 19 States Pass 34 Election Security Laws in 2021.
• Joe Biden on Muslim Hostage-Taker: I Don’t Think There is Sufficient Information to Know Why He Targeted That Synagogue (VIDEO).
• WATCH: Boston Cops Threaten, Harrass the THE WRONG WOMAN Over Vax Card: ‘We Don’t Enforce Mandates, We Protect Rights’.
• Family of Synagogue Terrorist Malik Faisal Akram Asks How He Was Able to Enter the US with Criminal Record? How Did He Get In?
• Minnesota Now Offering $200 Gift Cards to Families to Get Their 5-11 Year-Olds Vaccinated.
• Another Migrant Caravan Leaves Honduras En Route to US Border.

The Epoch Times:

• Travel Restrictions Imposed by China Prevent US Citizens From Leaving.
• Fauci Invested in Chinese Companies With Ties to Beijing Through Fund, According to Financial Disclosures.
• China Cancels Olympic Ticket Sales After Omicron Cases Found in Beijing.

Twitter:

• @Krommsan - In case anyone missed their beloved #PfizerCEO say the quiet parts out loud… Pfizer CEO: “Two doses of the vaccine offers very limited protection, if any. 3 doses with a booster offer reasonable protection against hospitalization and deaths. Less protection against infection.” (video)
• @DrEliDavid - Yesterday Israeli Medical Association called for stopping mass testings and quarantines, and stopping Covid passports. Today the largest hospital in Israel attacked Ministry of Health for its "insane policies". The tide is turning. The official narrative is falling apart.
• @BennyJohnson -  @KariLake: "When I am your governor, there will be no mandates and no lockdowns. Actually, let me, let me revise that just a little bit. I want to lock somebody down. And it's that liar, Dr. Fauci."
• @SKMorefield - Tucker Carlson & Dr. Scott Atlas discuss how the CDC is finally coming clean after their years-long deception about Covid death numbers. "This was an intentional inculcation of fear in the American public." (video)
• @The_Real_Fly - THIS IS AMERICA. (video) 

OpenVAERS:

• VAERS US COVID Vaccine Adverse Event Reports. 723,041 Reports(+7,185 from prior week) Through January 7, 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 indices are -.25% to +.25% on average.
• Asia Ex-Japan Investment Grade CDS Index 89.75 +6.5 basis points.
• China Sovereign CDS 50.0 +4.5 basis points.
• Bloomberg Emerging Markets Currency Index 54.33 +.03%.
• Bloomberg Global Risk-On/Risk Off Index 3,534.0 -79.0 points.
• Volatility Index(VIX) futures 21.8 +.25%. 
• Euro Stoxx 50 futures n/a.
• S&P 500 futures +.06%.
• NASDAQ 100 futures -.05%.

Morning Preview Links

Earnings of Note

Company/Estimate

Before the Open:

• (BK)/1.01
• (SCHW)/.87
• (GS)/11.92
• (ONB)/.28
• (PACW)/1.01
• (PNC)/3.62
• (TFC)/1.25
  

After the Close:

• (IBKR)/.81
• (JBHT)/2.02
• (PRGS)/.74

Economic Releases

8:30 am EST

• Empire Manufacturing for Jan. is estimated to fall to 25.5 versus 31.9 in Dec.

10:00 am EST

• The NAHB Housing Market Index for Jan. is estimated at 84.0 versus 84.0 in Dec.

4:00 pm EST

• Net Long-Term TIC Flows for Nov.

Upcoming Splits

• None of note
  

Other Potential Market Movers

• The China Home Price report and the China GDP report could also impact trading today.

US Equity Market Hours

• 9:30 am - 4:00 pm EST

BOTTOM LINE: Asian indices are mostly higher, boosted by commodity 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 week.