Wednesday Watch

Evening Headlines

Bloomberg:           

• Recession Woes Hand Emerging Stocks Worst First Half Since 1998.
• UK Food Prices are Soaring and Plunging Millions Into Distress.   
• South Korean Consumers Turn Pessimistic as Prices, Rates Rise.  
• France Cuts Growth Forecast as Ukraine War Spurs Inflation Surge.
  
• Widow-Maker Trade Sweeps Tokyo’s Financial Markets Once Again.  
  
• Stocks Pressured Anew by the Specter of Recession: Markets Wrap.  
• OPEC+ Oil Output Is Half a Billion Barrels Behind on Supply Deal.
• Ghislaine Maxwell Gets 20 Years as Victims Get Last Word.
• Five Takeaways From Ghislaine Maxwell’s Sentencing.  
• Tesla Lays Off About 200 Autopilot Workers in Latest Cuts.  
• High Gas Prices Are Killing the Summer Road Trip.  
• Doomed Stock Rally Burns Fewer Bulls After $10 Billion ETF Exit —.
• US IPOs Can’t Shake 2022 Slump After Thriving Through Pandemic.

Wall Street Journal:

• Stocks Slide After Weak Consumer-Confidence Reading.
• Ernst & Young to Pay Record Fine in Ethics Exam-Cheating Probe.
• How Margin Calls Can Transform Market Downturns Into Market Crashes.
• NFT Artists Get First Major Test Since Crypto’s Collapse.

Fox News:

• Biden reportedly annoyed by one line of questioning he's facing from the press.
• Jeffrey Epstein's former lover slapped with lengthy sentence for sex trafficking. 
• Home to the rich and famous votes to defund sheriff's office — even as crime skyrockets 137%.
• Communities forced to take action as raging teen parties spiral out of control.

CNBC.com:

• Dow falls nearly 500 points as bear market bounce loses steam.
• First phase of market downturn is done. Two more to go: Billionaire Jim Coulter.
• Target will cover employees’ travel to other states for abortions, company memo says. 
  

MarketWatch:          

• How long will stocks stay in a bear market? It hinges on whether a recession hits, says Wells Fargo Institute.
  
• California is sending ‘inflation relief’ checks up to $1,050 — here’s who qualifies.
  
• ‘There seems to be little relief in sight’: More than half of Americans are living paycheck to paycheck, making them more vulnerable to recession.
  
• Americans are feeling increasingly uncomfortable about their savings as inflation takes its toll.  
• Pinterest stock rallies after Google exec named CEO as Silbermann steps down.  
• Disney board extends CEO Bob Chapek’s contract for three years.  
• A looming recession could force more employees to come back to the office — or never return.

Zero Hedge:

• Ghislaine Maxwell Sentenced To 20 Years In Prison.
• Joe Biden Covered Hunter's Russia-Linked Hooker Tab; Leaked Audio Proves Joe Spoke Of Dealings.
• FBI Raids Home Of Retired Texas Couple Who Attended Jan. 6 Capitol Rally.
• Life after the squeeze...
• The Biden Administration Hits Peak Energy Absurdity.
• West Coast Rail Networks Clogged As Supply Chain Normalization Delayed.
• Citadel Pays $363 Million For New Miami Headquarters Land Purchase.
• China Suggests It Could Maintain 'Zero COVID' Policy For 5 Years.
• White House Desperate To Make New Oil Deals As Gas Prices Crush Biden.
• NYC Mayor Eric Adams "Shocked" To Find Out "Just How Bad" The City Is.
• Economic Winter Has Arrived.
• Goldman Finally Admits "Large Cuts To Earnings" Are Imminent.
• Pentagon Moves To Wrest Rare Earths Control From China.
• WTI Extends Gains After Unexpected Crude Draw.
• Stocks sold after grim consumer confidence reading - Newsquawk US Market Wrap.
• Turkey Agrees To Back Finland, Sweden NATO Bid - US Claims It Offered 'No Concessions'.
• 'Bad News' Is Bad News Again: Stocks Slammed On Macro Meltdown, Bonds Shrug.

Newsmax:  

• Rasmussen: 50% Support SCOTUS Abortion Ruling.
• Amazon Employees Urge Work Stoppage in Pro-life States.  
• Pentagon Says It'll Continue to Provide Abortions Despite Roe Reversal.
• Poll: Court Expansion Still Opposed After Roe Ruling.

TheGatewayPundit.com: 

• DEBUNKED! Jan. 6 Committee “Surprise” Witness GETS CAUGHT – US Secret Service Sources DENY Trump Tried to Grab Steering Wheel — ARE WILLING TO TESTIFY!
• CDC Uses Elmo to Convince Children to Get Vaccinated For Covid (VIDEO).
• Former Senate Sergeant-at-Arms Michael Stenger Testified that Paid Professional Agitators Were Operating at Jan. 6 Riot — NOW HE’S DEAD (VIDEO).
• “The Fact of the Matter Is the Border Is Closed”: Karine Jean-Pierre on Mass Death of Illegal Alien Migrants in Texas Truck Smuggling Attempt.
• UNREAL: Same College Behind Bogus Study Used to Support Shutdowns Is Behind BS Study Used to Force COVID Vaccines on US Children.
• Angry Chicago Women Arrested After Twerking on Police Cars and Smacking Cops in the Face Following Gay Pride Parade.
• J6 Committee’s ‘Surprise’ Witness Was so Disgusted by Trump and Jan. 6 That She Was Planning to Go Work For Trump in Florida *After* January 6 Protest.
• Joe Biden Refuses to Answer Questions on Deaths of 46 Migrants in Texas as a Direct Result of His Open Border Policies (VIDEO).
• Hundreds of Delta Pilots to Picket Nationwide For Better Pay.
• Hillary Clinton Trashes Clarence Thomas as Driven by “Resentment, Grievance, Anger” (VIDEO).
• Soft-On-Crime California Releases Drug Traffickers Who Carried 150,000 Fentanyl Pills Into The U.S.
• Biden’s America: From Trump Energy Independence to Record High Gas Prices to Buying Oil from Iran and Venezuela.

 The Epoch Times:

• Wisconsin GOP Addressing ‘Zuckerbucks’ at Statewide Election Integrity Events: Party Director.

OpenVAERS:

• VAERS US COVID Vaccine Adverse Event Reports. 835,062 Reports(+3,252 from prior week) Through June 17th, 2022.

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 -1.25% to -.5% on average.

• Asia Ex-Japan Investment Grade CDS Index 131.5 +3.25 basis points. 

• China Sovereign CDS 82.25 +4.75 basis points.
  

• Bloomberg Emerging Markets Currency Index 50.99 +.08%.  
• Bloomberg Global Risk-On/Risk Off Index 4,934.0 +36.0 points.
• Volatility Index(VIX) futures 28.5 +.6%.
• Euro Stoxx 50 futures n/a.

• S&P 500 futures +.09%.

• NASDAQ 100 futures +.09%. 

Morning Preview Links

Earnings of Note 
Company/Estimate 

 

Before the Open: 

• (BBBY)/-1.39
• (GIS)/1.01
• (MKC)/.65
• (PDCO)/.56
• (PAYX)/.79
• (SCHN)/2.30

After the Close:

• (FIZZ)/.43

Economic Releases

10:30 am EST

• Weekly DOE energy report.
  

Upcoming Splits

• (SHOP) 10-for-1
  

Other Potential Market Movers

• The Fed's Powell speaking, Fed's Mester speaking, Australia retail sales report, weekly MBA Mortgage Applications report, (HAE) investor day, (PFGC) investor day, (BBY) investor day and the (FDX) analyst 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 technology and consumer shares in the region. I expect US stocks to open mixed and to weaken into the afternoon, finishing modestly lower. The Portfolio is 25% net long heading into the day.