Wednesday Watch

Around X:

• @Business

• All US children under 18 could be automatically enrolled in Trump Accounts under a proposed Treasury Department rule that would dramatically expand the reach of one of the president’s signature initiatives. 
• A White House plan to cut hundreds of millions of dollars in federal funding approved by Congress using a controversial budgeting maneuver faces a legal challenge on the eve of the end of the fiscal year, when the money is set to expire.
• Bain is among the bidders looking to acquire a data center company owned by Koch, a deal that would mark an about-face for the private equity firm that has sat on the sidelines of the US artificial intelligence infrastructure boom.
• President Donald Trump is set to unveil South Korea’s plan to invest some $200 billion in the US, including $54 billion for a long-stalled venture to export natural gas from Alaska.
• Key OPEC+ members are likely to stick with a plan to hold crude production quotas steady for next month when they meet this weekend, according to two delegates.
• The US is further restricting travel to Cuba and barring banks from working with the island’s nascent private sector, as Donald Trump presses to end nearly seven decades of one-party rule.
• Hundreds of mom-and-pop investors lost more than $15 million in crypto and cash in fake AI stock trading schemes fueled by boosters in WhatsApp group chats, the Securities and Exchange Commission said Tuesday.
• Federal Reserve Governor Michael Barr on Tuesday repeated a warning that further interest-rate increases will likely be needed to slow inflation.     

• @ZeroHedge

• Boston Mayor Michelle Wu Paying Illegals $575 To Become 'Organizers'... And US-Born Residents Are Excluded. 
• Hegseth To Cut Top Generals, Admirals 'By 20%' Amid Ongoing Pentagon Shakeup.            
• 87 Foreign Cruise Ship Employees Removed For Possession Of Child Abuse Material. 
• California Governor Vetoes DUI Bill Redefining 'Drive' To Include Using Autopilot Under The Influence.
• US-IRAN TALKS YIELD LITTLE PROGRESS THIS WEEK: AXIOS. But… but… you reported…
• Waste Of The Day: Trips To Tiki Bar, Nightclubs.
• Mystery Explosions: Syria's Recovering Gas Network Keeps Getting Sabotaged.
• Huge reversal in rate hike odds today: following John Williams' dovish comments that there is no "urgency" to act, odds of a rate hike tumbled from 68% to 44%, with no hike nearly doubling to 56%. It appears UBS will be correct that there will be no rate hike before midterms.
• Texas Governor Declares Disaster Over Soaring Diesel Prices.
• *TRUMP WARMS TO JAY CLAYTON AS AI CZAR: AXIOS.
• Over the past month, the S&P is unchanged, the median stock is 5% lower, while Semiconductors are 10% higher.
• Number of stocks above 200DMA plunging below 50%, lowest in 6 months. The last time that happened was after the Iran war sparked a market rout.
• The Industrialization Of Fraud: How Global Scam Farms Are Evolving To Target Your Wealth.
• 'Doves' Drive Oil & Rate-Hike Odds Down; Dollar & Gold Bid Ahead Of Macro/Micro Maelstrom.                                   

• @CNBC  

• Wednesday's big stock stories: What’s likely to move the market in the next trading session.
• Hedge funds now hold a record share of the $30 trillion Treasury market. What could go wrong?
• Stock futures inch higher as traders weather latest rise in Treasury yields: Live updates.

Night Trading 

• Asian equity indices are +.25% to +1.25% on average. 
• Asia Ex-Japan Investment Grade CDS Index 70.0 -.5 basis point. 
• China Sovereign CDS 35.0 unch.
• China Iron Ore Spot 94.10 USD/Metric Tonne +.6%. 
• Crude Oil 89.55/bbl. +.2%. 
• Gold 4,203.0 USD/t oz. +.6%. 
• Swiss Franc/Offshore Chinese Renminbi Cross 8.05 -.05%.
• Bloomberg Emerging Markets Currency Index 33.72 -.05%.
• Bloomberg Global Risk-On/Risk Off Index 137.2 +.7%.
• US 10-Year Yield 5.23% -1.0 basis point.
• Japan 30-Year Yield 4.19% +1.0 basis point.
• Volatility Index(VIX) futures 17.6 -.4%.
• Euro Stoxx 50 futures +.52%. 
• S&P 500 futures +.17%.
• NASDAQ 100 futures +.09%.

Morning Preview Links

BOTTOM LINE: Asian indices are modestly higher, boosted by technology and defense shares in the region. I expect US stocks to open mixed and to rally into the afternoon, finishing modestly higher.  The Portfolio is 75% net long heading into the day.