$WU

SWEEP DETECTED: >> 5000 $WU Feb23 14.0 Calls $0.45 (CboeTheo=0.43) ASKSIDE [MULTI] IV=44.6% +5.4 EMLD 915 x $0.40 - $0.45 x 1649 MPRL ISO - OPENING Vol=5032, OI=954,

By Yimou Lee and Sarah Wu TAIPEI (Reuters) - Taiwanese chipmaker TSMC reported a forecast-beating 78% rise in quarterly profit on Thursday, as strong sales of advanced chips helped it defy a broader industry downturn that battered cheaper commodity chips. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co Ltd (TSMC), the world's largest contract chipmaker, is a rare bright spot in the global tech industry which is grappling with worsening consumer demand brought about by decades-high inflation rates, rising interest rates and economic downturn. Rival Samsung Electronics (OTC:SSNLF) Co Ltd's quarterly profit tumbled two-thirds to an eight-year low, with the South Korean firm blaming a weakening global economy which hammered memory chip prices and curbed demand for electronic devices. TSMC's dominance in making some of the most advanced chips for high-end customers such as Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL) has shielded it from downturn. Still, it cut its 2023 capital expenditure plan on Thursday, underscoring worsening demand outlook. The chipmaker now expects to spend $32 billion to $36 billion, versus $36.3 billion in 2022, and sees first-quarter revenue in a range of $16.7 billion to $17.5 billion, compared with $17.57 billion a year earlier. "We have confidence in the second half the business would rebound," boosted by product launches including for technology such as artificial intelligence, CEO C.C. Wei said on Thursday. "We expect the whole industry to drop slightly but TSMC to grow slightly" in 2023, he said. TSMC, Asia's most-valuable listed firm and backed by billionaire Warren Buffett's investment conglomerate Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE:BRKa) Inc, has repeatedly said business would continue to benefit from a "mega-trend" of demand for high-performance computing chips for 5G networks and data centres, as well as increased use of chips in gadgets and vehicles. It reiterated on Thursday slower demand was a cyclical issue and 2023 overall would be a slight growth year for the company. For October-December, TSMC booked record net profit of T$295.9 billion ($9.72 billion) from T$166.2 billion a year earlier. That compared with the T$289.44 billion average of 21 analyst estimates compiled by Refinitiv. Revenue climbed 26.7% to $19.93 billion, versus TSMC's prior estimated range of $19.9 billion to $20.7 billion. The fourth quarter "was dampened by end-market demand softness and customers' inventory adjustment," Vice President and Chief Financial Officer Wendell Huang told a briefing. Such conditions will carry into the first quarter, Huang said. TSMC's share price fell 27.1% in 2022, but is up 8.5% so far this year giving the firm a market value of $412.78 billion. The stock rose 0.4% on Thursday versus a 0.1% fall for the benchmark index. ($1 = 30.4420 Taiwan dollars)

**COVID CINA - Il massimo funzionario cinese del CDC (Centro cinese per il controllo e la prevenzione delle Epidemie), Wu, parlando ad un briefing:** le province cinesi si trovano in fasi diverse dell'epidemia Covid. I focolai di Covid hanno raggiunto il picco a Pechino, Tianjin e Chengdu. Il funzionario cinese mette in guardia dalla diffusione di Covid durante le festività natalizie. **Il massimo funzionario alla Sanità cinese Liang:** la Cina riferirà all'OMS se scoprirà una nuova variante di COVID.

**CINA GIAPPONE - Ministero della difesa della Cina, portavoce Wu Qian: Cina e Giappone stanno facendo progressi per una linea diretta militare.**

**STATI UNITI - Il consigliere della Casa Bianca Wu:** L'amministrazione Biden rimane impegnata a ottenere l'approvazione della legislazione antitrust sulla tecnologia.

By Kane Wu HONG KONG (Reuters) - Asian shares held recent gains but lost momentum on Tuesday as investors remained cautious ahead of the release of the U.S. inflation data and mid-term elections, which will determine control of Congress. London and New York are set to open lower with FTSE futures and E-mini futures for the S&P 500 index down 0.55% and 0.18%, respectively, after Wall Street's buoyant Monday close. MSCI's gauge of Asia Pacific stocks outside Japan narrowed gains to rise 0.12% at 0517 GMT. "The thing to watch ... will be the U.S. midterms today and the CPI data tomorrow," said Redmond Wong, Saxo Markets' market strategist for Greater China, in a note on Tuesday. "Markets are expecting the gridlock situation of a divided Congress and moderation in the U.S. CPI. Both are helping the risk-on sentiments." Investors had recently placed bets on hopes that China would adjust its zero-COVID policy and reopen the economy soon but that rally proved unsustainable. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index and China's benchmark CSI300 Index both dropped 1% in the afternoon sessions, wiping out morning gains. Chinese health officials reiterated their commitment to the zero-COVID policy on Saturday at a press conference. The policy has weighed on China's economic activity, with downbeat trade data on Monday providing the latest sign that the world's second-largest economy is slowing. "Investors took note (of the fact) that the health officials added that local governments should not unreasonably double down on the implementation and must ensure people’s livelihood and economic activities remain normal," Wong added. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 ended the day 0.36% higher, lifted by financial companies. Japan's Nikkei 225 gained as much as 1.44%, hitting an eight-week high, as investors scooped up chips and other technology stocks. Overnight, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1.31%, the S&P 500 gained 0.96% and the Nasdaq Composite advanced 0.85%. Analysts said U.S. mid-term elections on Tuesday could impact markets. Control of the U.S. House of Representatives is at stake in the midterms, with Republicans favoured by nonpartisan forecasters to win control. "A divided government in Washington is ostensibly bullish for equities," said Stephen Innes, managing partner of SPI Asset Management in a note. "Gridlock cross-checks each party's 'worst impulses,' and less activist fiscal policy is conducive to lower market volatility. That could be particularly helpful in 2022 and 2023 to the extent it calms rates volatility, the principal sponsor of this year's historic cross-asset malaise," he said. Oil prices fell as recession concerns and worsening COVID-19 outbreaks in China sparked fears of lower fuel demand, outweighing supply worries. Brent crude fell 0.32% to $97.61 a barrel by 0526 GMT, while U.S. crude fell 0.38% to $91.44 a barrel. Spot gold slipped 0.31% to $1,669.4 an ounce as the U.S. dollar gained 0.163%.

By Kane Wu HONG KONG (Reuters) - Asian shares largely wiped out morning gains on Tuesday afternoon, as investors remained cautious ahead of a European Central Bank meeting this week while also watching out for fallout from Russia's gas cut. U.S. stocks are set to open higher on Tuesday after Monday's Labor Day recess, with E-mini futures for the S&P 500 index up 0.31%. FTSE futures however were down 0.2%, indicating a choppy start in London. European stock indexes fell on Monday, the euro dropped below 99 cents for the first time in twenty years and European gas prices surged after Russia said its main gas supply pipeline to Europe would stay shut. MSCI's gauge of Asia-Pacific stocks outside Japan was up 0.02% at 0532 GMT. Japan's Nikkei 225 was 0.03% higher. China's benchmark CSI300 Index rose 0.58%, after the country's policymakers pledged on Monday to make renewed efforts to boost the COVID-hit economy. Hong Kong's benchmark Hang Seng Index, however, slid 0.07%. The yuan also rebounded from a more than two-year low against the U.S. dollar, after the central bank said it would cut the foreign exchange reserves ratio to support the currency. "Bulk commodities will be dependent on the impact of Chinese stimulus and the success of this will be reflected in the major miners," said John Milroy, an investment adviser at Ord Minnett. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 fell 0.36%, after the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) expectedly increased the cash rate by 50 basis points. The European Central Bank will meet on Thursday to discuss interest rate actions. A U.S. Federal Reserve meeting will follow on Sept. 21. "Soaring inflation will likely see the ECB deliver another outsized rate hike this Thursday," said analysts from the Commonwealth Bank of Australia (OTC:CMWAY). European energy ministers are set to discuss measures to curb power prices when they hold an emergency meeting on Friday. "There is a feeling that the next 75 bp hike in September will see a deceleration afterwards," said Sean Darby, Hong Kong-based global head of equity strategy for Jefferies. Oil prices slipped on Tuesday, paring the previous session's 3% gain, as a deal among members of the OPEC+ group to cut output by 100,000 barrels per day in October was seen as a largely symbolic move to stem the market's recent slide. Brent crude futures fell 0.7% to $95.07 a barrel, widening morning losses. U.S. crude futures however were still up 2.12% at $88.71 a barrel. Spot gold rose 0.49% to $1,718.2 an ounce. The dollar index inched down 0.06% after touching a 20-year peak in the previous session.

Una contea cinese vicino a Pechino dichiara il blocco a causa di Covid. Il ministro degli Esteri di Taiwan Wu: La Cina vuole interrompere i legami internazionali di Taiwan. La Cina si è allontanata dallo status quo attraverso lo Stretto di Taiwan. Fitch Ratings: La crescita degli IDE in Cina si modererà, ma gli IDE manifatturieri rimarranno forti. Il Ministro dell'Energia giapponese Nishimura: Credo che non sia necessario modificare gli obiettivi del mix energetico.

La RBA valuterà il caso della moneta digitale per la banca centrale australiana. RBA: L'iniziativa australiana sulla moneta digitale richiederà circa un anno. È improbabile che la Cina abbassi i tassi di interesse o il RRR - Security Daily. La città cinese di Hainan cerca di azzerare la diffusione comunitaria del Covid entro il 12 agosto. È stata segnalata un'esplosione in un centro dati di Google in Iowa. **Il ministro degli Esteri di Taiwan Wu: Per prepararsi a un'invasione di Taiwan, la Cina usa le esercitazioni. Taiwan teme che la Cina possa invaderla.**

By Yimou Lee and Sarah Wu TAIPEI (Reuters) -China deployed scores of planes and fired live missiles near Taiwan on Thursday in its biggest drills in the Taiwan Strait, a day after U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi made a solidarity trip to the self-ruled island. China's military confirmed multiple firings of conventional missiles in waters off Taiwan as part of planned exercises in six zones set to run until noon on Sunday. It activated more than 100 planes, including fighter jets and bombers, and over 10 warships, state broadcaster CCTV said. Taiwan's defence ministry said it scrambled jets to warn away 22 Chinese fighter aircraft that crossed the Taiwan Strait median line into its air defence zone, and said troops fired flares late on Thursday to drive away four drones that flew above the area of its Kinmen islands, off the southeastern coast of China. It said missiles fired by China flew high into the atmosphere and constituted no threat to it, responding to public concern about whether they passed over the main island of Taiwan. Japan protested that five missiles appeared to land in its economic zone. "The U.S.-Taiwan collusion and provocation will only push Taiwan towards the abyss of disaster, bringing catastrophe to Taiwan compatriots," said a Chinese defence ministry spokesperson. Responding to the Chinese drills, President Tsai Ing-wen said Taiwan would not provoke conflicts but would firmly defend its sovereignty and national security. "Taiwan will never be knocked down by challenges," Tsai said in a recorded video message to the people of Taiwan. "We are calm and not impetuous, we are rational and not provocative, but we will also be firm and not shirk." The White House condemned China's move as "irresponsible" and said it expected Beijing would continue to react in the coming days. "Beijing's provocative actions are significant escalation and its long standing attempt to change the status quo," U.S. national security spokesperson John Kirby (NYSE:KEX) told a briefing. To avoid escalating tensions further, the United States has postponed a long-planned test of an Air Force Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile, Kirby said. HACKER ATTACKS Taiwan said 11 Chinese Dongfeng ballistic missiles had been fired in nearby waters - the first time since 1996. Taiwan officials said the drills violated United Nations rules, invaded its space and threatened free air and sea navigation. It has been self-ruled since 1949, when Mao Zedong's communists took power in Beijing after defeating Chiang Kai-shek’s Kuomintang (KMT) nationalists in a civil war, prompting the KMT-led government to retreat to the island. The military activity followed Pelosi's unannounced visit of support to Taiwan in defiance of warnings from China. Before the drills officially began, Chinese navy ships and military aircraft briefly crossed the Taiwan Strait median line several times on Thursday, a Taiwanese source briefed on the matter told Reuters. By midday, warships from both sides remained in close proximity as Taiwan also scrambled jets and deployed missile systems to track Chinese aircraft crossing the line. "They flew in and then flew out, again and again. They continue to harass us," the Taiwanese source said. China, which has long said it reserves the right to take Taiwan by force, says its differences with the island are an internal affair. In Taiwan, life was largely normal despite worries that Beijing could fire a missile over the main island as North Korea did over Japan's northern island of Hokkaido in 2017. "When China says it wants to annex Taiwan by force, they have actually said that for quite a while," said Chen Ming-cheng, a 38-year-old realtor. "From my personal understanding, they are trying to deflect public anger, the anger of their own people, and turn it onto Taiwan." Taiwan said websites of its defence ministry, foreign ministry and the presidential office were attacked by hackers and warned of coming "psychological warfare". 'COMRADE PELOSI' Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi called Pelosi's visit to Taiwan a "manic, irresponsible and highly irrational" act, state broadcaster CCTV reported. Wang, speaking at a meeting of Southeast Asian foreign ministers in Cambodia, said China had tried to avert crisis by diplomatic means but would never let its core interests be hurt. Unusually, the drills in six areas around Taiwan were announced with a locator map circulated by China's official Xinhua news agency - a factor that for some analysts illustrated playing to both domestic and foreign audiences. In Beijing, security near the U.S. Embassy was unusually tight though there were no signs of significant protests. "I think this (Pelosi's visit) is a good thing," said a man surnamed Zhao in Beijing. "It gives us an opportunity to surround Taiwan, then to use this opportunity to take Taiwan by force. I think we should thank Comrade Pelosi." Pelosi, the highest-level U.S. visitor to Taiwan in 25 years, praised its democracy and pledged American solidarity during her brief stopover. Chinese anger could not stop world leaders from travelling there, she said. "Our delegation came to Taiwan to make unequivocally clear that we will not abandon Taiwan," Pelosi told Taiwan's President Tsai Ing-wen, whom Beijing suspects of pushing for formal independence - a red line for China. China summoned the U.S. ambassador in Beijing in protest and halted several agricultural imports from Taiwan. The United States and the foreign ministers of the Group of Seven nations warned China against using Pelosi's visit as a pretext for military action against Taiwan. The United States has no official diplomatic relations with Taiwan but is bound by U.S. law to provide it with the means to defend itself. Taiwan rejects China's sovereignty claims, saying only the islanders themselves can decide their future. U.N. Secretary General Antonio Guterres is following the developments closely and with concern, a U.N. spokesperson said.

By Yimou Lee and Sarah Wu TAIPEI (Reuters) -China fired multiple missiles around Taiwan on Thursday, launching unprecedented military drills a day after a visit by U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi to the self-ruled island that Beijing regards as its sovereign territory. The exercises, China's largest ever in the Taiwan Strait, began as scheduled at midday and included live-firing in the waters to the north, south and east of Taiwan, bringing tensions in the area to their highest in a quarter century. China's Eastern Theatre Command said at around 3:30 p.m. (0730 GMT) it had completed multiple firings of conventional missiles in waters off the eastern coast of Taiwan as part of planned exercises in six different zones that Beijing has said will run until noon on Sunday. Taiwan's defence ministry said 11 Chinese Dongfeng ballistic missiles had been fired in waters around the island. The last time China fired missiles into waters around Taiwan was in 1996. Taiwan officials condemned the drills, saying they violate United Nations rules, invade its territorial space and are a direct challenge to free air and sea navigation. Tensions had been building ahead of Pelosi's unannounced but closely watched visit to Taiwan, made in defiance of heated warnings from China. Before Thursday's drills officially began, Chinese navy ships and military aircraft briefly crossed the Taiwan Strait median line several times in the morning, a Taiwanese source briefed on the matter told Reuters. By midday, warships from both sides remained in the area and in close proximity, and Taiwan scrambled jets and deployed missile systems to track multiple Chinese aircraft crossing the line. "They flew in and then flew out, again and again. They continue to harass us," the Taiwanese source said. China, which claims Taiwan as its own territory and reserves the right to take it by force, said on Thursday its differences with the self-ruled island are an internal affair. "Our punishment of pro-Taiwan independence diehards, external forces is reasonable, lawful," China's Beijing-based Taiwan Affairs Office said. In Taiwan, life was largely as normal, despite worries that Beijing could take the unprecedented step of firing a missile over the main island, similar to a launch by North Korea over Japan's northern island of Hokkaido in 2017. Taiwan residents are long accustomed to Beijing's threats. "When China says it wants to annex Taiwan by force, they have actually said that for quite a while," said Chen Ming-cheng, a 38-year-old realtor. "From my personal understanding, they are trying to deflect public anger, the anger of their own people, and turn it onto Taiwan." However, Taiwan said that the websites of its defence ministry, foreign ministry and the presidential office were attacked by hackers, and warned of the likelihood of stepped up "psychological warfare" in coming days. 'COMRADE PELOSI' Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi called Pelosi's visit to Taiwan a "manic, irresponsible and highly irrational" act by the United States, state broadcaster CCTV reported. Wang, speaking at a meeting of Southeast Asian foreign ministers in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, said China had made the utmost diplomatic effort to avert crisis, but would never allow its core interests to be hurt. Unusually, the drills in six areas around Taiwan were announced with a locator map circulated by China's official Xinhua news agency earlier this week - a factor that for some analysts and scholars shows the need to play to both domestic and foreign audiences. On Thursday, the top eight trending items on China's Twitter-like Weibo (NASDAQ:WB) service were related to Taiwan, with most expressing support for the drills or fury at Pelosi. "Let's reunite the motherland," several users wrote. In Beijing, security in the area around the U.S. Embassy remained unusually tight as it has been throughout the week. There were no signs of significant protests or calls to boycott U.S. products. "I think this (Pelosi's visit) is a good thing," said a man surnamed Zhao . "It gives us an opportunity to surround Taiwan, then to use this opportunity to take Taiwan by force. I think we should thank Comrade Pelosi." U.S. SOLIDARITY Pelosi, the highest-level U.S. visitor to Taiwan in 25 years, praised its democracy and pledged American solidarity during her brief stopover, adding that Chinese anger could not stop world leaders from travelling there. China summoned the U.S. ambassador in Beijing in protest against her visit and halted several agricultural imports from Taiwan. "Our delegation came to Taiwan to make unequivocally clear that we will not abandon Taiwan," Pelosi told Taiwan's President Tsai Ing-wen, who Beijing suspects of pushing for formal independence - a red line for China. "Now, more than ever, America's solidarity with Taiwan is crucial, and that's the message we are bringing here today." The United States and the foreign ministers of the Group of Seven nations warned China against using Pelosi's visit as a pretext for military action against Taiwan. White House national security spokesman John Kirby (NYSE:KEX) said earlier in the week that Pelosi was within her rights to visit Taiwan, while stressing that the trip did not constitute a violation of Chinese sovereignty or America's longstanding "one-China" policy. The United States has no official diplomatic relations with Taiwan but is bound by American law to provide it with the means to defend itself. China views visits by U.S. officials to Taiwan as sending an encouraging signal to the pro-independence camp on the island. Taiwan rejects China's sovereignty claims, saying only the Taiwanese people can decide the island's future.

By Yimou Lee and Sarah Wu TAIPEI (Reuters) -China launched unprecedented live-fire military drills in six areas that ring Taiwan on Thursday, a day after a visit by U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi to the self-ruled island that Beijing regards as its sovereign territory. Soon after the scheduled start at 0400 GMT, China's state broadcaster CCTV said the drills had begun and would end at 0400 GMT on Sunday. They would include live firing on the waters and in the airspace surrounding Taiwan, it said. Taiwan officials have said the drills violate United Nations rules, invade Taiwan's territorial space and are a direct challenge to free air and sea navigation. China is conducting drills on the busiest international waterways and aviation routes and that is "irresponsible, illegitimate behaviour," Taiwan's ruling Democratic Progressive Party said. Taiwan's cabinet spokesman, expressing serious condemnation of the drills, said also that websites of the defence ministry, the foreign ministry and the presidential office were attacked by hackers. Chinese navy ships and military aircraft briefly crossed the Taiwan Strait median line several times on Thursday morning, a Taiwanese source briefed on the matter told Reuters. By midday on Thursday, military vessels from both sides remained in the area and in close proximity. Taiwan scrambled jets and deployed missile systems to track multiple Chinese aircraft crossing the line. "They flew in and then flew out, again and again. They continue to harass us," the Taiwanese source said. On Wednesday night, just hours after Pelosi left for South Korea, unidentified aircraft, probably drones, flew above the area of Taiwan's outlying Kinmen islands near the mainland coast, Taiwan's defence ministry said. China, which claims Taiwan as its own territory and reserves the right to take it by force, said on Thursday its differences with the self-ruled island were an internal affair. "Our punishment of pro-Taiwan independence diehards, external forces is reasonable, lawful," China's Beijing-based Taiwan Affairs Office said. China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi called Pelosi's visit to Taiwan a "manic, irresponsible and highly irrational" act by the United States, state broadcaster CCTV reported. Wang, speaking at a meeting of Southeast Asian foreign ministers in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, said China had made the utmost diplomatic effort to avert crisis, but would never allow its core interests to be hurt. The foreign ministers in a statement had earlier warned that volatility caused by tensions in the Taiwan Strait could lead to "miscalculation, serious confrontation, open conflicts and unpredictable consequences among major powers". 'COMRADE PELOSI' Unusually, the drills in six areas around Taiwan were announced with a locator map circulated by China's official Xinhua news agency earlier this week - a factor that for some analysts and scholars shows the need to play to both domestic and foreign audiences. On Thursday, the top eight trending items on China's Twitter-like Weibo (NASDAQ:WB) service were related to Taiwan, with most expressing support for the drills or fury at Pelosi. "Let's reunite the motherland," several users wrote. In Beijing, security in the area around the U.S. Embassy remained unusually tight on Thursday as it has been throughout this week. There were no signs of significant protests or calls to boycott U.S. products. "I think this (Pelosi's visit) is a good thing," said a man surnamed Zhao in the capital's central business district. "It gives us an opportunity to surround Taiwan, then to use this opportunity to take Taiwan by force. I think we should thank Comrade Pelosi." Pelosi, the highest-level U.S. visitor to Taiwan in 25 years, praised its democracy and pledged American solidarity during her brief stopover, adding that Chinese anger could not stop world leaders from travelling there. China summoned the U.S. ambassador in Beijing in protest against her visit and halted several agricultural imports from Taiwan. "Our delegation came to Taiwan to make unequivocally clear that we will not abandon Taiwan," Pelosi told Taiwan's President Tsai Ing-wen, who Beijing suspects of pushing for formal independence - a red line for China. "Now, more than ever, America's solidarity with Taiwan is crucial, and that's the message we are bringing here today." The United States and the foreign ministers of the Group of Seven nations warned China against using Pelosi's visit as a pretext for military action against Taiwan. White House national security spokesman John Kirby (NYSE:KEX) said earlier in the week that Pelosi was within her rights to visit Taiwan, while stressing that the trip did not constitute a violation of Chinese sovereignty or America's longstanding "one-China" policy. The United States has no official diplomatic relations with Taiwan but is bound by American law to provide it with the means to defend itself. China views visits by U.S. officials to Taiwan as sending an encouraging signal to the pro-independence camp on the island. Taiwan rejects China's sovereignty claims, saying only the Taiwanese people can decide the island's future.

WU: la Cina esorta i militari statunitensi a fermare le provocazioni.

By Marc Jones LONDON (Reuters) - European shares moved sideways and bond markets rallied on Tuesday as some disappointing earnings, the prospect of another super-sized U.S. interest rate hike and a looming gas crisis all kept the mood cautious. Asia had been buoyed overnight by a new Chinese plan to tackle its property crisis and as tech giant Alibaba (NYSE:BABA) sought a primary listing in Hong Kong [.SS], but Europe and Wall Street could not keep it going. A Walmart (NYSE:WMT) profit alarm pushed Dow and S&P 500 futures lower [.N] while Europe's STOXX 600 barely budged. In contrast to Walmart, its biggest consumer giant Unilever (NYSE:UL) delivered a profit upgrade and higher oil prices lifted commodity stocks [O/R]. But they were offset by broader recession fears as European Union leaders agreed to cut their country's gas usage and as 6% dive in UBS shares hit the banking sector. (EU) "The key question we have as these earnings come out is how much pricing power do these (consumer facing) firms have," said Diamond Hill international equities portfolio manager Krishna Mohanraj, referring to the pressures of higher inflation. In the United States, Walmart's shares were down around 9% in pre-opening bell trading after it had slashed its forecasts on Monday due to those exact issues. [.N]. General Electric (NYSE:GE) rose 6% though after growth in its aviation business helped it beat estimates. Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) gained 1% as it raised forecasts. In Europe too, Unilever, which makes everything from laundry detergent to ice cream, raised its forecasts owing to what its CEO Alan Jope said had been "strong pricing to mitigate input cost inflation". European Union countries approved a weakened emergency plan to curb their gas usage on Tuesday after striking compromise deals to limit the cuts for some countries as they brace for further Russian cuts in supply. The Kremlin also warned again that state monopoly Gazprom (MCX:GAZP) would reduce its supply further this week due to another maintenance issue on the Nord Stream 1 pipeline. Flows will fall to 33 million cubic metres per day - a halving of the current, already reduced level. That sent European gas prices up almost 10% and they are now more than 450% higher than a year ago, although still some way below the record highs hit shortly after Russia began its invasion of Ukraine in February. "It is game of cat and mouse," said Christopher Granville Managing Director of EMEA & Global Political Research at TS Lombard. "The Russia position will always be that it will continue to supply the gas within the constraints caused by the West's sanctions. But they will then find lots of problems that suddenly pop up." Graphic - Europe's gas price surge " onerror="this.style.display='none'" class="msg-img" /> FED UP Investors are also awaiting a likely 75 basis point Federal Reserve interest rate increase on Wednesday - with markets pricing about a 10% risk of a larger hike, as well as waiting to see whether economic warning signs prompt a shift in rhetoric. The International Monetary Fund is set to publish its closely-watched world forecasts later too which are expected to point to even slower growth and higher inflation. "We are leaning to the view that 75 bps is most likely but won't be the end unless they see some demand destruction and some tempering of inflation," said John Milroy, an investment adviser at Ord Minnett. NOT SO HIGH TECH Global tech giants Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) and Google (NASDAQ:GOOGL) are both reporting after the Wall Street session later, followed by Facebook (NASDAQ:META) owner Meta tomorrow and Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) and Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) on Thursday. It adds up to more than $7.5 trillion of market cap, Deutsche Bank (ETR:DBKGn)'s Jim Reid pointed out. "Although with these 5 stocks being down between around -13% (Apple) YTD to around -50% (Meta), with the other three down around -20 to -25%, this figure would have been closer to $10 trillion at the start of the year." In Asia, MSCI's broadest regional index outside Japan had bounced 0.5%. Chinese stocks had jumped after reports the country would set up a fund of up to $44 billion to help property developers. [.SS] Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index ended 1.7% higher on the Alibaba news although Japan's Nikkei fell 0.16%. (T) In currencies, the dollar was pushing for recent milestone highs as uncertainty continued to swirl around the interest rate and economic outlook. [/FRX] The euro tumbled back to $1.0139 from $1.0250 hemmed in by all the uncertainty over Europe's energy security. The yen steadied at 136.44 per dollar. The U.S. dollar index, which touched a 20-year high this month, was up 0.6% on the day at 107.132. [FRX/] Oil prices rose further on expectations Russia's reduction in natural gas supply to Europe could encourage a switch to crude, with Brent futures last up 1.5% at $106.68 a barrel and U.S. crude up 1.6% at $98.21 a barrel. Benchmark 10-year Treasury yields tumbled to 2.73% from 2.87% at the end of last week. Germany's benchmark 10-year bond yield has slumped back under the psychological 1% threshold too as Europe's recession worries have intensified. [US/] [GVD/EUR] Tuesday also marked the 10-year anniversary since then ECB President Mario Draghi pledged to do "whatever it takes" to prevent a break up of the euro currency project. (Additional reporting Kane Wu in Hong Kong; Editing by Edmund Klamann and Angus MacSwan)

i know some chinese writing and spoken , "wo shang wu"

Il segretario alla Difesa statunitense Austin esorta la Cina a migliorare la comunicazione in caso di crisi. Portavoce Wu Qian del Ministro della Difesa cinese : La Cina condanna le recenti vendite di armi statunitensi a Taiwan.

Amy Wu: Gaming Companies Can't Afford to Avoid Web 3 https://www.coindesk.com/business/2022/05/02/amy-wu-gaming-companies-cant-afford-to-avoid-web-3/?utm_medium=referral&utm_source=rss&utm_campaign=headlines

Ministero della Difesa cinese Portavoce Wu Qian: I colloqui a livello di Comando Generale tra Cina e India sono stati costruttivi.

By Tom Westbrook SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Stockmarkets took a breather on Friday after several days of sizeable gains, as geo-political tensions arising from the Ukraine conflict kept investors on guard going into the weekend. After a fourth straight day of talks between Russian and Ukrainian negotiators without tangible progress, earlier hopes for a peace deal have begun to wane and oil prices have begun climbing again. Adding to the mix, U.S. President Joe Biden is expected to deliver a warning that Beijing will pay a price if it supports Russia's war effort when he speaks to China's President Xi Jinping in a call scheduled for 1300 GMT. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was flat and Hong Kong's Hang Seng steadied following a furious two-day surge. Japan's Nikkei rose 0.6%. S&P 500 futures eased 0.4% while Euro STOXX 50 futures and FTSE futures were flat. [.HK][.T] Oil, which had crumbled some 30% from last week's peak, has bounced hard as traders fret that hope for peace in Ukraine is misplaced. Brent crude futures were last up 2% and at $108.64, have added more than $10 a barrel in two sessions. "It's very difficult to get any confidence that you're going to be able to reliably source commodities out of Russia or Ukraine," said Tobin Gorey, a commodities strategist at Commonwealth Bank of Australia (OTC:CMWAY) in Sydney. "You're going to be looking elsewhere and that just tends to get priced up." Wheat and corn futures, which are sensitive to Black Sea supply disruptions, have bounced sharply. [GRA/] Australia's miner-heavy ASX 200 index logged its best week since February last year and the commodities-sensitive Australian dollar hit a two-week high of $0.7398. [.AX][AUD/] INVERSION Problems faced by policymakers whose economies are suffering surging inflation and sagging growth were also underscored during a series of central bank meetings this week. The U.S. Federal Reserve raised rates for the first time in more than three years on Wednesday, and surprised traders with a more hawkish than expected outlook. The Bank of England also hiked but surprised with a dovish outlook that drove a rally in gilts. The Bank of Japan offered no surprises on Friday, leaving policy ultra easy, which has kept heavy pressure on the yen. Japan's currency hit a six-year low of 119.13 this week and last traded at 118.78 per dollar. "The next multi-session target may well be the 120.00 psychological level," said Terence Wu, a strategist at OCBC Bank in Singapore. [FRX/] The euro hovered at $1.1086. Hong Kong's Hang Seng followed its worst session in more than six years with its biggest two-day rally since 1998 this week and rate cut hopes kept it bid on Friday. [.SS] Treasuries steadied, but a flat yield curve that is flirting with inversion reflected worries about longer-term growth. The benchmark 10-year Treasury yield was last at 2.1780%. Spot gold hovered at $1,932 and bitcoin was clinging on above $40,000.

Katherine Wu on What Gets Built Next in Crypto https://www.coindesk.com/podcasts/the-breakdown-with-nlw/katherine-wu-on-what-gets-built-next-in-crypto

By Brenda Goh SHANGHAI (Reuters) -Alibaba Group Holding Ltd said it will reorganise its international and domestic e-commerce businesses and replace its CFO - changes that come as the tech giant grapples with an onslaught of competition, a slowing economy and a regulatory crackdown. It will form two new units - international digital commerce and China digital commerce which it said was part of efforts to become more agile and accelerate growth. The international digital commerce unit will include AliExpress which sells to retail buyers particularly in Europe and South America, its Southeast Asian e-commerce business Lazada and Alibaba (NYSE:BABA).com which is more focused on selling to overseas business customers. It will be headed by Jiang Fan, who had been in charge of its main Chinese retail marketplaces, and the change is seen in line with Alibaba's aim to make 'globalisation' a key focus area in addition to cloud computing and domestic consumer spending. Globalisation "helps Alibaba to get new traffic volume externally (and) seek new growth potential while China has been increasing supervision," said Hong Kong-based Guotai Junan analyst Danny Law. The China digital commerce unit will include Alibaba's two main marketplaces, Tmall for established brands and Taobao which welcomes all kinds of merchants. It will be led by Trudy Dai, who has previously overseen a number of Alibaba platforms. The new structure for domestic e-commerce puts Dai in charge of all China retail marketplaces, including Taocaicai - its community e-commerce service, Taobao Deals as well as Lingshoutong, a retail management platform for mom and pop stores, said 86research.com analyst Xiaoyan Wang. "This could possibly unlock more synergies via cross-selling and integration of supply chain," she said. Alibaba also announced that deputy chief financial officer Toby Xu will succeed Maggie Wu as CFO from April, describing his appointment as part of the company's leadership succession plan. Xu joined Alibaba from PWC three years ago. The e-commerce giant's Hong Kong-listed shares slid 6% in early morning trade, tracking Friday declines made in the United States. U.S.-listed shares of Chinese firms have tumbled on concerns about stricter regulatory scrutiny at home in the wake of plans by Didi Global Inc to delist from the New York Stock Exchange. Hit by weaker growth for the economy and fierce competition from a plethora of rivals, Alibaba last month slashed its forecast for annual revenue growth https://www.reuters.com/business/chinas-alibaba-misses-quarterly-revenue-expectations-2021-11-18 to its slowest pace since its 2014 stock market debut. It also saw sales at its banner event, online shopping festival Singles Day, grow at their slowest rate ever https://www.reuters.com/technology/chinas-alibaba-kicks-off-final-hours-singles-day-shopping-event-2021-11-10. Chinese regulators have also cracked down on the tech and other sectors, particularly on anti-trust issues that have seen Alibaba abandon a policy of requiring merchants to exclusively set up shop on its platforms. The company was fined a record 18 billion yuan ($2.8 billion) in April for abusing its dominant market position. ($1 = 6.3686 Chinese yuan) (Reporting Brenda Goh in Shanghai and Scott Murdoch in Hong Kong; Additional reporting by Akriti Sharma in Bengaluru; Editing by Edwina Gibbs)

By Julie Zhu and Kane Wu HONG KONG (Reuters) - Ride-hailing giant Didi Global said it will delist from the New York stock exchange just five months after its debut and pursue a listing in Hong Kong - having raised the ire of Chinese regulators for ignoring a request to put its U.S. IPO on hold. Didi pushed ahead with its $4.4 billion U.S. initial public offering despite being asked to suspend it while a review of the company's data practices was conducted. The powerful Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC) then quickly ordered app stores to remove 25 of Didi's mobile apps and told the company to stop registering new users, citing national security and the public interest. Didi remains under investigation. "Following careful research, the company will immediately start delisting on the New York stock exchange and start preparations for listing in Hong Kong," Didi said on its Twitter-like Weibo (NASDAQ:WB) account. The company said it would ensure that its New York-listed shares would be convertible into "freely tradable shares" on another internationally recognised stock exchange. It did not explain its reasons for the plan but said in a separate statement that it would organise a shareholder vote at an appropriate time. The upending of Didi's New York listing - likely to be a difficult and messy process - illustrates both the huge clout that Chinese regulators possess and their emboldened approach to wielding it. Billionaire Jack Ma also ran afoul of Chinese authorities, leading to the dramatic scuppering of a mega-IPO for Ant Group last year. The move will also likely further discourage Chinese firms from listing in the United States and could prompt some to reconsider their status as U.S. publicly traded companies. "Chinese ADRs face increasing regulatory challenges from both U.S. and Chinese authorities. For most companies, it will be like walking on eggshells trying to please both sides. Delisting will only make things simpler," said Wang Qi, CEO at fund manager at MegaTrust Investment (HK). Sources have told Reuters that Chinese regulators pressed Didi's top executives to devise a plan to delist https://www.reuters.com/world/china/china-asks-didi-delist-us-security-fears-bloomberg-news-2021-11-26 from the New York Stock Exchange due to concerns about data security. Didi is planning to proceed with a Hong Kong listing soon before embarking on a delisting from New York, sources with knowledge of the matter told Reuters. It aims to complete a dual primary listing in Hong Kong in the next three months, and under pressure from Beijing delist from New York by June 2022, said one of the sources. The sources were not authorised to talk to media and declined to be identified. Didi did not immediately respond to Reuters requests for comment. Listing in Hong Kong might, however, prove complicated. One key challenge is whether the bourse would willing to approve it given that only 20%-30% of the company’s core ride-hailing business in China is fully compliant with regulations requiring three permits, a source with knowledge of the matter said on Friday. The source, who was not authorised to talk to media and declined to be identified, added that this had been the main obstacle to the company conducting an IPO in Hong Kong earlier. Didi did not immediately respond to Reuters requests for comment. Sources have also told Reuters that Didi is preparing to relaunch its apps https://www.reuters.com/technology/exclusive-didi-prepares-relaunch-apps-china-anticipates-probe-will-end-soon-2021-11-11 in China by the end of the year in anticipation that Beijing's cybersecurity investigation into the company would be wrapped up by then. The CAC did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Didi's plans to delist from New York. Didi made its New York debut on June 30 at $14 per American Depositary Share, which gave the company a valuation of $67.5 billion on a non-diluted basis. Those shares have since slid 44% until Thursday's close, valuing it at $37.6 billion. Shares in Didi investor SoftBank Group Corp fell 2% after the Didi announcement, also hurt by Southeast Asian ridehailing giant Grab's slump in its Nasdaq debut. SoftBank's Vision Fund owns 21.5% of Didi, followed by Uber Technologies (NYSE:UBER) Inc with 12.8%, according to a filing in June by Didi.

Wu Tang Clan?

$MGI $WU partnership - insider intelligence

U.S. futures are holding steady, only moderately lower from yesterday’s closing all-time highs for the major averages as investors brace for the FOMC meeting, with results expected tomorrow afternoon. Bitcoin prices surging to highs, up over 4% around $63,400 in another broad spike for crypto assets; Ethereum +3.25% at $4,450. House Speaker Pelosi is planning to go ahead with plans to vote this week on President Biden’s two bills even though Democratic moderates are echoing Senator Manchin’s complaints that they don’t know full cost & economic impact. In corporate news, JNJ, TEVA, ENDP and ABBV win the first case for pharmaceutical companies in the four-year litigation over the drugs in a $50B opioid litigation case. In commodity prices, gold holds below $1,800, oil is little changed around $84 per barrel and Wheat hit $8.00 a bushel Monday, highest levels since 2012 as world reserves declined following extreme weather. The Aussie dollar drops and the curve bull steepens after the RBA scraps its April 2024 yield target and signals openness to earlier rate hikes. Tesla $TSLA falls over 4%, is falling off a record high close of $1,208.59 – follows tweet from CEO Musk overnight saying there has been no contract signed yet with Hertz and that the Hertz deal has zero effect on Tesla’s economic. Wall Street’s main indexes notched record closing highs again on Monday, adding to the big totals in October as Tesla $TSLA shares surged and the energy sector gained on rising oil prices while investors looked ahead to a major Federal Reserve meeting later in the week. The Dow Jones Industrial Average briefly eclipsed 36,000 points for the first time before slipping just below. Along with the barrage of earnings again this week, the Federal Reserve is expected to approve plans to scale back its $120 billion monthly bond-buying program on Wednesday. The small-cap Russell 2000 index was a standout, rising 2.7% for its biggest daily percentage gain since late August. Economic data was mixed as the ISM U.S. manufacturing activity slowed in October, with all industries reporting record-long lead times. In Asian markets, The Nikkei Index slipped -0.43% to 29,520, the Shanghai Index dropped -1.1% to 3,505, and the Hang Seng Index fell -0.22% to 25,099. In Europe, the German DAX is up +0.4% at 15,875, while the FTSE 100 declines around -0.6% below 7,250. Events Calendar for Today · 7:45 AM ET ICSC Weekly Retail Sales · 8:55 AM ET Johnson/Redbook Weekly Sales Earnings Calendar: · Earnings Before the Open: AME, APO, ARCB, AVNS, BBGI, BCC, BHC, BLD, BLMN, CEIX, CLW, CMI, COP, CRSR, CTLT, DD, EL, EPD, ESPR, ETN, EXLS, EXPD, EXTR, GNRC, GPN, HEES, HEP, HSC, HSIC, IART, IDXX, INCY, IPGP, IT, KKR, LCII, LDOS, LEA, LGIH, LPX, MIME, MLM, MMP, MPC, MPLX, MYGN, NRZ, NXST, NYMT, OMCL, PFE, PINC, RL, ROK, SABR, SAGE, SEE, TMX, TNC, UAA, VAL, WEC, WLK, XHR, XYL ZBRA · Earnings After the Close: ACT, AFG, AIZ, AKAM AMGN, ANDE, ATVI, AWK, AYX, BFAM, BGFV, BKH, BRY, BXC, CASA, CDK, CERS, CHK, COUR, CRK, CSLT, CZR, DCO, DCPH, DEI, DENN, DOX, DRRX, DVN, EGHT, EIX, ENLC, EXAS, EXEL, FMC, FNF, FRSH, GAIN, GNW, GPOR, HALO, HCC, HLF, HRB, HURN, INFI, INSP, KAI, KAMN, KAR, LPI, LSCC, LSI, LYFT, MANT, MDLZ, MG, MGNX, MOD, MRCY, MTCH, NP, NSA, OKE, OVV, PAA, PAGP, PAYC, PKI, PRO, PRTS, PRU, RAMP, RARE, RCKY, RM, RRR, SGRY, SKY, SRC, STE, TCS, TMUS, TVTY, UIS, UNM, VECO, VOYA, VRSK, WTTR, WU, ZG Other Key Events: · China Caixin Services PMI for October · Wolfe Research Wealth Symposium, 11/2-11/3 $virtual · Senator Manchin says he is prepared to support a Build Back Better plan that combats inflation, is fiscally responsible, and will create jobs. The plan the House is finalizing meets those tests-it is fully paid for, will reduce the deficit, and brings down costs for health care, child care, elder care, and housing

AFRM Wu tang REVERSAL!

By Kane Wu HONG KONG (Reuters) - Asian stocks largely rallied on Tuesday, following Wall Street's record highs overnight, though fresh worries about China's property sector weighed on investors' sentiments. Europe and U.S. markets look set to keep the upward momentum as FTSE futures and E-mini futures for the S&P 500 index were up 0.06% and 0.24% respectively at 0531 GMT. MSCI’s gauge of Asia Pacific stocks outside Japan rose 0.15% and briefly touched its highest in six weeks on Tuesday, after gaining throughout October. The Asian regional benchmark however is down about 11% from its February high compared to the MSCI world equity index which is in sight of its record high hit six weeks ago. "Equity prices are likely to be driven by technical positioning this week, as trade enters the final week of the month," said Anderson Alves, an equities trader at global online trading platform ActivTrades. Japan's benchmark Nikkei average gained nearly 1.8%, while Australia's S&P/ASX 200 closed 0.03% higher. The CSI300 index inched 0.05% higher led by information technology stocks, but the Hong Kong benchmark Hang Seng Index eased 0.4%. China property stocks extended their losses in the afternoon sessions as another developer, Modern land, defaulted on a payment, adding to worries about spiralling effects of the debt crisis at China Evergrande Group. An index of Hong Kong-listed mainland property firms dropped 4.7% and the mainland's CSI 300 Real Estate Index was down 2.4%. China has said it will roll out a pilot real estate tax in some regions, adding to existing investor concerns about real estate in the mainland. Edison Pun, Senior Market Analyst at Saxo Markets in Hong Kong noted that markets remained on a strong trend, having begun digesting the prospect that the U.S. Federal Reserve will begin tapering its monetary stimulus in November. "However, we need to watch whether it will put on extra pressure on the Chinese property market when the property tax is rolled out. It could hurt consumption in the end if we are seeing an overall downturn in Chinese property prices," he said. A large proportion of S&P 500 companies are due to report results this week, including technology heavyweights Facebook (NASDAQ:FB), Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL), Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN), Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT), and Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL), which have been the drivers of the market rally this year. "Of the S&P 500 firms that have reported this season, the net surprise on earnings has been 13%. So it is easy to understand the optimism percolating through risk appetite despite inflation fears," said ANZ Research in a note. "The economy remains very strong. We expect the recovery will re-accelerate once bottlenecks and COVID concerns subside." The European Central Bank and Bank of Japan are both set to hold monetary policy meetings on Thursday, although neither are expected to take major action on interest rates. The Dow Jones Industrials and S&P 500 closed at record highs on Monday. Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA), which jumped 12.66% and breached $1 trillion in market capitalisation, also provided the biggest boost to the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq. Benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury notes were steady at 1.6397% off last week's five month top of 1.7% as uncertainty about when the Federal Reserve would raise rates to curb rising inflation weighed on market sentiment. The dollar rose 0.1% on Tuesday, recovering from a near one-month trough hit during the previous session. Already nudging multi-year highs, oil prices rose marginally in a market gripped by tight global supply and strengthening fuel demand in the United States and beyond. Brent crude futures pared earlier losses to stand at$86.11 a barrel, up 0.14%, while the U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures edged 0.01% higher to $83.76 a barrel. Spot gold was down nearly 0.2% to around $1,804 per ounce.

The US Government Sold a Wu-Tang Album to a DAO for $4M https://www.coindesk.com/podcasts/the-breakdown-with-nlw/the-us-government-sold-a-wu-tang-album-to-a-dao-for-4m

Music NFT drops: Snoop Dogg joined the Harlem Globetrotters in an NFT Sitcom, and Boi-1da partnered with Bacardi to launch an NFT mixtape on the platform Sturdy Exchange. Snoop Dogg is one of the more outspoken crypto enthusiasts of his celebrity stature today; he even claims to be the prolific NFT collector Cozomo de’ Medici himself. His earlier April 2021 drop on Crypto.com had amassed just under $2M — making him one of the top 10 NFT musicians by primary sales earnings, according to our crypto market update at the time. The Boi-1da x Bacardi drop, which has already raised over $30k in sales (both fiat and ETH), features emerging Caribbean female artists with the aim to shine light on gender disparity in music. In their marketing materials, they are treating buyers as “Fanvestors,” echoing language on other NFT platforms like Royal and Republic that focus more on equity crowdfunding. Music/Creator DAOs: PleasrDAO joins the database as the new owners of the Wu-Tang Clan’s single-copy album Once Upon a Time in Shaolin. While it might seem a little counterintuitive for a DAO to purchase a physical item, PleasrDAO’s “Chief Pleasing Officer” (!) describes Shaolin in a New York Times interview as “the original predecessor to NFTs” and “a protest against rent-seeking middlemen, and people who are taking a cut away from the artist,” an ethos widely shared by the crypto community. This is potentially the highest-profile art acquisition made by a DAO so far, and perhaps establishes an interesting precedent for DAOs to invest in physical objects — and maybe even artists’ catalogs. NFT platforms focused on music: Public Pressure is the 56th (!) NFT music platform to announce a launch this year. The platform is based in Europe and is launching in collaboration with Lark Creative, High Focus and Patric Moxey (Founder and CEO of Ultra Music), with the hopes of “kickstart[ing] a new Italian Renaissance in the modern digital world.” … But what does that actually mean? *shrug* As recently covered in our Extended Play column, most new NFT platforms claim to have a unique selling point of connecting fans directly to artists, but most haven’t demonstrated genuine differentiation from the increasing competition in the market.

PleasrDAO adds $4M ‘OG NFT’ Wu-Tang Clan album to its collection https://cointelegraph.com/news/pleasrdao-adds-4m-og-nft-wu-tang-clan-album-to-its-collection

How Wu-Tang Clan's USD 4M Album Reflects Crypto Ethos https://cryptonews.com/news/how-wu-tang-clans-usd-4m-album-reflects-crypto-ethos.htm

PleasrDAO adds $4M 'OG NFT’ Wu-Tang Clan album to its collection https://cointelegraph.com/news/pleasrdao-adds-4m-og-nft-wu-tang-clan-album-to-its-collection

Martin Shkreli’s Wu-Tang Clan Album Now Belongs to a DAO https://www.coindesk.com/tech/2021/10/20/martin-shkrelis-wu-tang-clan-album-now-belongs-to-a-dao/

Upgrades 10/20: $CLW $F $HAL $IEX $TEL $TMO $WTI . Downgrades 10/20: $ARRY $APO $ASND $AVIR $BBL $BHP $CMP $FSLR $GRTX $KSU $MU $NFLX $QRVO $RIO $SEDG $SHLS $SYF $VALE $WDC $WLTW $WU $ZTO

Wu tang reversal? @DarkPoolAlgo OCGN?

Wu tang Wednesday!

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3800 $WU FEB2022 $21 Cs trade 1.09

3800 $WU FEB2022 $21 Cs trade 1.09

This list is ALL bullish this week. $BABA, $CCJ, $CIEN, $DE, $DHI, $FCX, $LLY, $LMND, $SPOT, $STZ, $WPM, $XPEV, $YUM, THESE HAVE the Wu options column not a Wu-Tang pattern the meet options oi is greater than volume $BILI, $DKNG, $EA, $FSLR, $JD, $NTES, $PDD, $WB, $ZM

$SNAP with the "Wu"

By Clare Jim, Anshuman Daga and Kane Wu HONG KONG/NEW YORK (Reuters) - Persistent default fears eclipsed efforts by China Evergrande Group's chairman to lift confidence in the embattled firm on Tuesday, as Beijing showed no signs it would intervene to stem any domino effects across the global economy. Analysts played down the threat of Evergrande's troubles becoming the country's "Lehman moment," though concerns about the spillover risks of a messy collapse of what was once China's top-selling property developer have roiled markets. In an effort to revive battered confidence in the firm, Evergrande Chairman Hui Ka Yuan said in a letter to staff the company is confident it will "walk out of its darkest moment" and deliver property projects as pledged. In the letter, coinciding with China's mid-autumn festival, the chairman of the debt-laden property developer, also said Evergrande will fulfil responsibilities to property buyers, investors, partners and financial institutions. "I firmly believe that with your concerted effort and hard work, Evergrande will walk out of its darkest moment, resume full-scale constructions as soon as possible," said Hui, without elaborating how the company could achieve these objectives. Investors in Evergrande, however, remained on edge. Its shares fell as much as 7%, having tumbled 10% in the previous day, on fears its $305 billion in debt could trigger widespread losses in China's financial system in the event of a collapse. The stock ended down 0.4%. Other property stocks such as Sunac, China's No.4 developer, and state-backed Greentown China on Tuesday recouped some of their hefty losses in the previous session. The Hong Kong property sector index rose nearly 3%. "There must be negotiations behind the scenes about a systemic recapitalization (of Evergrande) by state proxies," said Andrew Collier, managing director of Hong Kong-based Orient Capital Research. "If one piece of Evergrande's debt is allowed to default, it would trigger questions about all of their remaining debt from investors and the government doesn't want a wider crisis like that," he said. The Chinese government has been largely quiet on the crisis at Evergrande in recent weeks. World stocks stabilised somewhat on Tuesday and oil prices recovered from the previous day's heavy selling, as investors grew more confident that contagion from the distress of Evergrande would be limited. However, the spillover concerns at least in the property sector remained. S&P Global (NYSE:SPGI) Ratings downgraded Sinic Holdings to 'CCC+' on Tuesday, citing the Chinese developer's failure "to communicate a clear repayment plan". Hong Kong-listed shares of small-sized Chinese developer Sinic plunged 87% on Monday, wiping $1.5 billion off its market value before trading was suspended. A major test for Evergrande comes this week, with the firm due to pay $83.5 million in interest relating to its March 2022 bond on Thursday. It has another $47.5 million payment due on Sept. 29 for March 2024 notes. Both bonds would default if Evergrande fails to settle the interest within 30 days of the scheduled payment dates. "I think (Evergrande's) equity will be wiped out, the debt looks like it is in trouble and the Chinese government is going to break up this company," said Andrew Left, founder of Citron Research and one of the world’s best known short-sellers. "But I don't think that this is going to be the straw that breaks the global economy's back," said Left, who in June 2012 published a report that said Evergrande was insolvent and had defrauded investors. SPILLOVER RISKS The Chinese government will help Evergrande at least get some capital, but it may have to sell some stakes to a third party, such as a state-owned enterprise, Dutch bank ING said in a research note. "The spin-off of non-core businesses, for example, those that are not residential real estate type businesses, will probably be done first," wrote Iris Pang, ING's Chief Economist, Greater China. "After that could come sales of stakes that are at the core of Evergrande's business," Pang said. Citi analysts in a research note said that regulators may "buy time to digest" Evergrande's non-performing loan problem by guiding banks not to withdraw credit and extend the interest payment deadline. Still, Citi said that while Evergrande's default crunch was a potential systemic risk to China's financial system, it was not shaping up as "China's Lehman moment". In any default scenario, Evergrande, teetering https://www.reuters.com/world/china/chinas-house-cards-evergrande-threatens-wider-real-estate-market-2021-09-14 between a messy meltdown, a managed collapse or the less likely prospect of a bailout by Beijing, will need to restructure the bonds, but analysts expect a low recovery ratio for investors. S&P Global Ratings said in a report on Monday it does not expect Beijing to provide any direct support to Evergrande. "We believe Beijing would only be compelled to step in if there is a far-reaching contagion causing multiple major developers to fail and posing systemic risks to the economy," the rating agency said. "Evergrande failing alone would unlikely result in such a scenario," S&P said.

damnnn look at EMR with that sexy ass Wu-Tang Pattern Reversal!

$UPST - MAKING that Wu be careful Cath h the pullback

By Kane Wu HONG KONG (Reuters) - Asia stocks reversed earlier losses while the dollar was pinned near two-week lows on Tuesday, with investors staying mostly cautious on fresh signs of slowdown in China's economy. MSCI's gauge of Asia Pacific stocks outside Japan was up 1%, while Japan's Nikkei 225 bounced back strongly to stand 1.1% higher, despite weak July industrial output data. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index recovered and was up nearly 1% while China's benchmark CSI300 Index widened losses to 0.37%. FTSE futures were trading 0.3% higher while E-mini futures for the S&P 500 index rose 0.35%, indicating strong momentum following Wall Street's all-time highs on Monday. The dollar index stood at 92.537 against a basket of currencies, near its lowest level in two weeks, with trade seen driven by month-end flows as investors looked ahead to U.S. jobs figures later in the week. "The dollar could fall further today amid month‑end flows, particularly against the euro...," Commonwealth Bank of Australia (OTC:CMWAY) said in a note. "However, we still expect the dollar can firm into the end of the week. Concerns about the Delta variant slowing the economy and a strong August non-farm payrolls print are both potential dollar supports." China's businesses and the broader economy came under increasing pressure in August as factory activity expanded at a slower pace while activity in the services sector contracted, raising the likelihood of more policy support to boost growth. Beijing on Monday cut the amount of time players under the age of 18 can spend on online games to an hour on Fridays, weekends and holidays, sending down tech indices and stocks. The CSI information technology sub-index slumped 2.67%. The ChiNext Composite start-up board was 2.51% weaker and Shanghai's tech-focused STAR50 index fell 2.8%​. "Chinese tech sector is under pressure. Divergence should continue when market faces a lot of uncertainties over Chinese policies," said Edison Pun, senior market analyst at Saxo Markets. Australian shares rose further with the S&P/ASX 200 up 0.65% by 0537 GMT. "Asian shares traded sideways on Tuesday following a mixed handover from Wall Street," said Anderson Alves, an equities trader at global online trading platform ActivTrades. "Tuesday's session is the last trading day of the month and some volatility is to be expected as traders hunt for liquidity while trying to get better prices for the monthly settlement, especially on the FX and rates space," he said. U.S. and global equity benchmarks hit all-time highs on Monday, as the Federal Reserve appeared in no rush to step away from its massive stimulus. Elsewhere, oil prices fell on concerns that power outages and flooding in Louisiana after Hurricane Ida will cut crude demand from refineries at the same time global producers plan to raise output. U.S. crude reversed losses to stay flat at $69.22 a barrel. Brent also trimmed losses to $73.41 a barrel, as Hurricane Ida weakened into a Category 1 hurricane within 12 hours of coming ashore as a Category 4. "Eyes on OPEC+ meeting after hurricane Ida's hit, short-term supply shock is relieved and OPEC+ meeting could mean more future supply. Crude oil may return to weakness after strong rebound for about 10% last week," Pun said. Spot gold gained 0.44% to $1,818.15 per ounce. ("Eyes on OPEC+ meeting after hurricane Ida's hit, short-term supply shock is relieved and OPEC+ meeting could mean more future supply. Crude oil may return to weakness after strong rebound for about 10% last week," Pun said.Reporting by Kane Wu in Hong Kong; Editing by Richard Pullin and Jacqueline Wong)

CASH RULE EVERY ASIAN MIDGET > @HeyShoe said: WU TANG is forever

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WU TANG financial 

Thursday, August 5, 2021 Futures Up/Down % Last Dow 55.00 0.16% 34,745 S&P 500 9.25 0.22% 4,404 Nasdaq 33.50 0.22% 15,107 U.S. futures are looking up modestly, rising roughly about 0.2% across the board into one of the heaviest days of corporate earnings of the season, as major averages continue to hold not far off record highs. The S&P 500 index has held the pivotal 4,400 level for over a week now, as overall major averages have moved sideways for two or three weeks now, bolstered by rising on better economic data, earnings results, and an accommodative Fed, which has offset rising Delta variant concerns and fears of further global restrictions to contain the rise in cases and tighter government restrictions in China. Oil prices edge higher after sliding sharply the last 3-days on demand concerns. Bitcoin prices are down about 4% holding just above the $38,000 level while Ethereum slips nearly 4% to 2,600 in the crypto sector. Ahead of tomorrow’s nonfarm payrolls report, investors will get two more labor market data points with the Challenger jobs report at 7:30 and the weekly jobless claims. Euro Stoxx 50 rises 0.5% around best levels for the week. Wednesday’s after-hours big-name earnings were disappointing for the most part, which could weigh on sentiment. Major averages ended the session mixed on Wednesday, following conflicting signals on the economy that showed a hot services sector, but a labor market that continues to struggle to find workers. The Institute for Supply Management survey on Wednesday jumped to a record high of 64.1 in July, but the ADP Employment Report showed private payrolls only rose by 330,000 last month, well shy of the 695,000 estimate ahead of tomorrow’s payrolls. The Dow Jones saw the biggest fall, dragged lower by a decline of more than 6% in Amgen in the wake of its quarterly results, accounting for about 103 points to the downside while energy was the weakest sector on the day, suffering its biggest daily percentage drop since July 19. In Asian markets, The Nikkei Index gained 144 points to 27,728, the Shanghai Index dipped -10 points to 3,466 and the Hang Seng Index declined -221 points (0.84%) to settle at 26,204. In Europe, markets are little changed as the German DAX is up a few points at the 15,700 level, while the FTSE 100 is down a couple of points at 7.120. Market Closing Prices Yesterday The S&P 500 Index slipped -20.49 points, or 0.46%, to 4,402.66 The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell -323.73 points, or 0.92%, to 34,792.67 The Nasdaq Composite edged higher 19.24 points, or 0.13%, to 14,780.53 The Russell 2000 Index declined -27.26 points, or 1.23% to 2,196.32 Events Calendar for Today 7:30 AM ET Challenger Job Layoffs for July 8:30 AM ET Weekly Jobless Claims 8:30 AM EST Continuing Claims 10:30 AM ET Weekly EIA Natural Gas Inventory Data Earnings Calendar: Earnings Before the Open: ABMD, ADNT, AES, AHCO, AKBA, AMRS, ARWR, AVEO, BBGI, BCRX, BDX, BERY, BKI, BLDR, BLL, BV, CAH, CARS, CCOI, CHH, CI, CNP, COMM, CRAI, DDOG, DIN, DLX, DUK, ECOM, EPAM, EPC, EVRG, FOUR, GCP, GNL, GOGO, GOLF, GTN, HBI, HBIO, HII, HL, IDCC, INSM, IRM, IRWD, ITI, K, KPTI, LAMR, LAUR, LNG, LXP, MMS, MPLN, MRNA, MUR, MYE, NINE, NS, NTLA, PCTY, PBH, PBPB, PEI, PENN, PH, PNW, PPL, PRTY, PWR, PZZA, RC, RDUS, REGN, ROLL, SEAS, SSYS, TEN, THS, TRGP, UFS, USPH, VG, VIAC, VST, W, WD, WOW, WRK, XEC, XERS, XTNT, XXII, YETI, ZIXI, ZTS Earnings After the Close: AAOI, AEE, AEL, AIG, AINV, ALRM, ALTR, AMBC, APLE, APPN, ARNA, ASTG, AVLR, AXON, BAND, BECN, BGS, BHF, BIGC, BKD, BL, BRBR, BRKS, BYND, CARG, CDXS, CGNX, CHRS, CHUY, CLNE, CNXN, COLD, CSOD, CVNA, CWK, DBX, DHX, DIOD, EB, ECOR, EGLE, ENTA, ENV, ERII, EXEL, EXPE, FEYE, FLDM, FLS, FND, FOXF, FSR, FTSI, G, GDYN, GEOS, GH, GKOS, GPRO, GRPN, GSBD, HASI, HCAT, HCI, HEAR, HTA, IFF, ILMN, IHRT, IOVA, IRTC, ITT, JCOM, KALA, KAMN, LGF.A, LNT, LOCO, LTHM, MAIN, MDRX, MNST, MP, MSI, MTW, MTZ, NET, NKTR, NVAX, NWSA, NYMT, OLED, OUT, PBYI, PK, PODD, POST, PRA, QDEL, RAMP, RDFN, REZI, RMD, RUN, SFM, SGMO, SHAK, SPCE, SQ, SYNA, TDC, TGH, TMDX, TMST, TRUE, TRUP, TTOO, VLDR, VMEO, VOYA, VV, WSC, Y, YELP, ZEUS, ZG, ZNGA Macro Up/Down Last Nymex 0.37 68.52 Brent 0.26 70.64 Gold 0.40 1,811.75 EUR/USD 0.0005 1.1842 JPY/USD 0.03 109.51 10-Year Note -0.004 1.19% Sector News Breakdown Consumer Boot Barn ($BOOT) Q1 EPS $1.35 vs est. $0.88 in revs $306.3M vs est. $288.9M; same-store sales +78.9% vs 1Q20, +52.3% vs 1Q19; opened 3 new stores in the quarter Costco ($COST) reported total comparable sales for July of +13.8%; July U.S. comparable sales excluding fuel, currencies +8.5% L.F. Beauty ($ELF) 1Q EPS $0.15 vs est. $0.15 on sales $97Mm vs est. $79.3Mm; guides FY adj EPS $0.65-0.68 vs est. $0.67, sees FY sales $356-364Mm vs est. $350.5Mm Etsy Inc. ($ETSY) shares tumble -13% on guidance; 2Q EPS $0.68 vs est. $0.63 on revs $528.9Mm vs est. $524.7Mm, qtrly consolidated GMS $3.0B +13%; guides 3Q revs $500-525Mm vs est. $524.7Mm, sees 3Q GMS $2.9-3.0B Frontdoor Inc. ($FTDR) Q2 EPS $0.76 vs est. $0.63 on revs $462M vs est. $466M, sees Q3 revenue $470M-$480M, lowered FY revenue outlook to $1.6B-$1.62B (est. $1.64B) from $1.63B-$1.65B Jack in the Box ($JACK) Q3 EPS $1.79 vs est. $1.49 on revs $269.5M vs est. $258.5M, same-store sales +10.2%, systemwide sales +10.6%, company-operated same-store sales +9.0%, sees FY21 capex $40M-$45M, FY22 capex $65M-$75M Leslie’s ($LESL) Q3 adj EPS $0.64 vs. est. $0.55; Q3 revs $596.54M vs. est. $570.37M; Q3 comparable sales growth of 23.9%; raises FY21 adjusted EPS view 80c-85c from 75c-80c (est. 77c) and boosts FY21 revs to $1.31B-$1.33B from $1.28B-$1.3B (est. $1.3B); Adjusted EBITDA of $179.3 million compared to $119.8 million in the prior year quarter, an increase of 49.7% MGM Resorts ($MGM) 2Q adj EPS ($0.13) vs est. ($0.30) on net revs $2.3B vs est. $2.28B, MGM China net revs $311Mm, LV Strip net revs $1.0B, regional net revs $856Mm Rent-A-Center ($RCII) 2Q adj EPS $1.63 vs est. $1.35 on revs $1.2B vs est. $1.14B, qtrly comps +16.6% led by e-comm; guides FY revs $4.55-4.67B vs est. $4.56B, sees Rent-A-Center segment revs $2.02-2.06B, sees FY adj EPS $5.90-6.40 vs est. $5.66; announces $250Mm repurchase auth Uber ($UBER) Q2 EPS $0.58 on revs $3.93B vs. est. $3.74B; Q2 gross bookings grew 114% yoy to $21.9 billion, or 104% on a constant currency basis, with Mobility Gross Bookings of $8.6 billion and Delivery Gross Bookings of $12.9 billion; Q2 Adj EBITDA Loss $509M vs. est. loss $324.5M; sees Q3 Adj EBITDA loss below $100M vs. est. loss $95.4M Wynn Resorts (WYNN) 2Q adj EPS ($1.12) vs est. ($1.61) on revs $990.1Mm vs est. $932.5Mm, Wynn Macau revs $184Mm, LV ops revs $355.1Mm ADT Inc. ($ADT) adj EPS ($0.07) vs est. $0.25 on revs $1.304B vs est. $1.28B; Gross recurring monthly revenue (RMR) additions grew 28%; end of period RMR of $352 million increased by 4%; solid customer retention with attrition at 13.3% Driven Brands ($DRVN) 12M share Secondary priced at $29.50 European Wax Center ($EWCZ)6M share IPO priced at $17.00 Weber ($WEBR) 18M (which was cut down from 46.8M) share IPO priced at $14.00 Energy APA Inc. ($APA) Q2 adj EPS $0.70 vs. est. $0.57’ Q2 revs $1.75B vs. est. $1.46B; qtrly adjusted production, which excludes Egypt noncontrolling interest and tax barrels, was 342,000 boe per day; at current strip prices, we expect to generate approximately $1.7B of free cash flow this year Earthstone Energy ($ESTE) files for offering of up to 6.2 mln shares of class a common stock by selling stockholders Marathon Oil ($MRO) Q2 EPS $0.22 vs. est. $0.15; Q2 revs $1.14B vs. est. $1.09B; Q2 oil-equivalent production of 348,000 net boed; raising 2021 full year oil-equivalent production guidance by 5,000 net boed; Q2 oil production of 170,000 net bopd; raised quarterly base dividend by 25% to 5c; raising the midpoint of its 2021 full year U.S. oil-equivalent production guidance by 5,000 net boed Warrior Met Coal ($HCC) 2Q adj EPS $0.25 vs est. ($0.18) on revs $227.4Mm vs est. $128.3Mm; not providing FY guide at this time Whiting Petroleum ($WLL) Q2 adj EPS $3.01 vs. est. $1.97; Q2 revs $352M vs. est. $244.27M; said generated net cash provided by operating activities of $183M and $111M in adjusted free cash flow during the quarter and over $200 million through six months; raises FY21 production view to 88-92 MBOE per day from 82-88 Financials Allstate Corp. ($ALL) Q2 adj EPS $3.79 vs. est. $3.04; Q2 revs $12.65B vs. est. $10.51B; announces new $5B repurchase program; 2Q Book Value Per Shr $86.33; Q2 Catastrophe Loss $952M; Q2 Property-Liability Premiums Earned $10.01B; 2Q Property-Liability Premiums Written $10.32B;2Q Property-Liability Combined Ratio 95.7 Fleetcor ($FLT) Q2 EPS $2.30 vs est. $2.94, adj EPS $3.15, on revs $667.4M vs est. $637.3M; its board increased its share repurchase authorization by$1B; sees Q3 adj EPS $3.35-$3.55 vs est. $3.36, and raised outlook for FY adj EPS to $12.80-$13 (est. $12.61) from $12.32-$12.88 and FY revs to $2.74B-$2.79B (est. $2.68B) from $2.6B-$2.7B Lemonade ($LMND) Q2 EPS loss (-$0.90) vs. est. loss (-$0.89); Q2 revs $28.2M vs. est. $26.8M; customer count increased by 48% to 1,206,172 yoy; premium per customer, defined as in force premium divided by customers, was $246 at the end of the second quarter, up 29% yoy; raises FY21 revenue view to $123M-$125M from $117M-$120M (est. $118.94M); narrows FY21 adjusted EBITDA view to ($173M)-($169M) from ($173M)-($163M) Lincoln National ($LNC) Q2 adj operating EPS $3.17 vs. est. $2.35; Q2 revs $4.85B vs. est. $4.72B; Reports book value per share, including AOCI, of $115.00, up 7%; BVPS, excluding AOCI, of $75.45, up 9% MetLife ($MET) announces new $3B share repurchase authorization; Q2 adj EPS $2.37 vs. est. $1.57; Q2 revs $18.52M vs. est. $15.77B; qtrly premiums, fees & other revenues $11.22 bln vs $10.49 bln; qtrly net investment income $5.28 bln vs $4.09 bln; book value of $75.86 per share at qtr-end, down 4% from $78.65 per share at June 30, 2020 RE/MAX Holdings ($RMAX) 2Q adj EPS $0.63 vs est. $1.31 on revs $77.2Mm vs est. $76.4Mm; guides 3Q revs $86.5-91.5Mm vs est. $79.1Mm; sees FY revs $321-336Mm vs est. $308.7Mm Western Union (WU) Q2 adj EPS $0.48 vs. est. $0.47; Q2 revs $1.3B vs. est. $1.26B; reaffirms FY21 adj EPS view $2.00-$2.10 vs. est. $2.06; reaffirms FY21 revenue growth view mid-to-high single digits; Consumer-to-Consumer (C2C) transactions increased 15% in the quarter, while revenues increased 15% on a reported basis, or 12% constant currency. Robinhood ($HOOD) filed with the SEC a prospectus related to the offer and sale from time to time of up to 97,876,033 shares of Class A common stock of Robinhood Markets, Inc. by certain selling stockholders

Wednesday, August 4, 2021 Futures Up/Down % Last Dow -25.00 0.07% 34,973 S&P 500 -1.25 0.04% 4,413 Nasdaq 11.50 0.08% 15,058 U.S. S&P futures are flat heading into the trading day, looking to build on record highs from Tuesday as positive earnings boost U.S and European stocks while worries over China’s gaming and technology crackdown ease, helping lift those markets. Risk sentiment improves across Asia as Chinese and Hong Kong stocks push higher on tech recovery and solid Caixin PMI data. In Asian markets, The Nikkei Index fell -57 points to 27,854, the Shanghai Index rose 29 points to 3,477 and the Hang Seng Index jumped 231 points to settle at 26,426. In Europe, the German DAX is climbing around 125 points to 15,680, while the FTSE 100 is up 0.4% to 7,135. Chinese Jul Caixin Services PMI beat: 54.9 vs 50.6 consensus. Some also see the spread of the Covid-19 delta variant as delaying rather than stopping the economic recovery. The New York Times reported overnight that the FDA plans to give full approval to Pfizer (PFE) and BioNTech (BNTX) coronavirus vaccine by the start of the next month. Earnings season has been strong with about 87% of S&P 500 companies reporting earnings and revenue beats, according to FactSet. Just under 70% of the S&P 500 now has reported earnings. The S&P 500 closed at record highs with gains in Apple and healthcare stocks, as concerns over a surge in the Delta variant of the coronavirus was put to the back-burner, overshadowed by continued upbeat corporate earnings. Ten of the 11 S&P indexes traded higher, with energy stocks rebounding after getting hit by a dip in oil prices. Market Closing Prices Yesterday The S&P 500 Index gained 35.99 points, or 0.82%, to 4,423.15 The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 278.24 points, or 0.80%, to 35,116.40 The Nasdaq Composite climbed 80.23 points, or 0.55%, to 14,761.29 The Russell 2000 Index advanced 8.09 points, or 0.36% to 2,223.58 Events Calendar for Today 7:00 AM ET MBA Mortgage Applications Data 8:15 AM ET ADP Employment Change for July…est. 695K 9:45 AM ET Markit Composite PMI, July-F 9:45 AM ET Markit Services PMI, July-F 10:00 AM ET ISM Non-Manufacturing Services PMI for July…est. 60.5 10:30 AM ET Weekly DOE Inventory Data Earnings Calendar: Earnings Before the Open: ABC, AEIS, ALE, APO, ASTE, BCOR, BDC, BGCP, BWA, CDW, CLVS, CLH, CLW, CMLS, CRL, CSII, DNOW, DOC, EDIT, EMR, ETR, EXC, FLOW, FUN, GEL, GM, HDSN, HFC, HZNP, IONS, JLL, KHC, LL, MAC, MKL, MPC, MPLX, MTOR, NI, NYT, ODP, RCL, SBGI, SGRY, SITE, SMG, SPR, SUP, TGI, TUP, TXMD, UTHR, VCEL, VMC, WLL Earnings After the Close: ACAD, ACLS, ADPT, ADTN, AGL, ALB, ALL, AMED, ANGI, ANSS, APA, ATO, AXGN, BBSI, BE, BFAM, BKNG, BOOT, CCMP, CDAY, CENX, CHNG, CMP, CPS, DGII, DOX, DVAX, DXC, EA, EGHT, ELF, EMKR, EOG, ETSY, EVH, FLT, FOXA, FSLY, FTDR, GDDY, GNK, HI, HUBS, IAC, INGN, IVR, JACK, LESL, LNC, LPI, LUMN, MAXR, MBI, MCK, MED, MET, MGM, MOD, MRO, MTG, NUS,NVRO, ONEM, PARR, PDCE, $PING, PLYA, QRVO, QTWO, RCII, REGI, RGR, RMAX, RNWK, EOKU, RPD, $RVLV, RYN, SBRA, SMSI, SUM, T$NDM, TPC, TTGT, TVTY, TWNK, TWO, TXG, $UBER, UHAL, VVV, VZIO, WDC, WU, YELL Other Key Events: Jefferies Industrials Conference (virtual), 8/3-8/4 Piper Wealth Management Forum (virtual), 8/3-8/6 Macro Up/Down Last Nymex -0.34 70.22 Brent -0.18 72.23 Gold 3.30 1,813.75 EUR/USD -0.0008 1.1856 JPY/USD 0.13 109.17 10-Year Note +0.008 1.182% Sector News Breakdown Consumer Caesar’s Entertainment ($CZR) Q2 EPS $0.34 vs. est. loss (-$0.26); Q2 revs $2.5B vs. est. $2.27B; Q2 same-store Adjusted EBITDA was $1B versus (-$131M) for the comparable prior-year period; Company posted all-time records in quarterly Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA margin. Denny’s ($DENN) Q2 adj EPS $0.18 vs. est. $0.11; Q2 revs $106.2M vs. est. $98.1M; Q2 domestic system-wide same-store sales decreased 1.2% compared to the equivalent fiscal period in 2019, including a 1.5% decrease at domestic franchised restaurants and a 1.9% increase at company restaurants. Herbalife ($HLF) Q2 adj EPS $1.52 vs. est. $1.29; Q2 revs $1.55B vs. est. $1.57B; Q2 adjusted EBITDA of $262.1M; raises FY21 EPS view to $4.70-$5.10 from $4.65-$5.05 (est. $4.93); sees FY net sales growth to be in a range of 8.5% to 12.5%, lowering the midpoint by 150 basis points compared to prior full year 2021 guidance. Host Hotels ($HST) Q2 adj FFO $0.12 vs. est. $0.04; Q2 revs $649M vs. est. $606.58M; said RevPAR reached nearly $100 for the quarter, which dramatically outperformed consensus RevPAR, with average room rates only 8.4% below our 2019 second quarter rates; not providing year guidance Hyatt ($H) 2Q adj EPS ($1.15) vs est. ($0.85) on comparable system-wide REVPAR $72.47, qtrly total revs $663Mm vs est. $686.9Mm; guides FY net rooms growth more than +6%, sees FY adj SG&A about $240Mm, sees FY CAPEX about $110Mm Energy Devon Energy ($DVN) Q2 adj EPS $0.60 vs est. $0.52 on revs $2.42B vs est. $2.35B, operating cash flow $1.1B, production for the quarter averaged 291k barrels/day; will pay total dividend of 49c/shr (11c fixed + 38c variable), a 44% increase from Q1; sees 3q production 566-594 mboe/d vs est. 564.80 mboe/d Occidental Petroleum ($OXY) Q2 adj EPS 32c vs est. 1c on revs $5.96B vs est. $5.92B, FCF $2B, cash flow from continuing operations $3.3B; said oil and gas results improved from Q1 due to higher commodity prices and sales volumes; executed debt tender offer and repaid over $3B of long-term debt in July ONEOK ($OKE) Q2 EPS $0.77 vs. est. $0.75; Q2 revs $3.39B vs. est. $3.03B; sees 2021 net income, adj earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, amortization to be above midpoints of ranges provided on April 27, 2021 SunPower ($SPWR) Q2 adj EPS $0.06 vs. est. $0.04; Q2 revs $308.9M vs. est. $327.31M; guides Q3 revs $325M-$375M vs. est. $400.83M; sees Q3 GAAP net loss of $10 to $0 million and MW recognized of 125 MW to 150 MW; Q2 added 13,000 residential customers – residential bookings up 16 percent sequentially, 67 percent year-over-year (YoY) The American Petroleum Institute ($API) showed a draw of 879K barrels of oil for the latest week; gasoline inventories show a draw of 5.75M barrels, distillate inventories show a draw of 717K barrels and Cushing inventories show a build of 659K barrels W&T Offshore ($WTI) Q2 EPS $0.02 vs. est. $0.07; Q2 revs $132.8M vs. est. $122.38M; Q2 Production was 40,888 Boe/d or 3.7 MMBoe, an increase of 3% compared to 39,657 Boe/d in Q1 and down 3% versus 42,037 Boe/d in Q2 of 2020 Financials Assurant Inc. ($AIZ) Q2 operating EPS $2.99 vs. est. $2.45; Q2 revs $2.54B vs. est. $2.39B; continue to expect to grow eps, ex. catastrophes, by 10 to 14 percent for 2021 Fair Isaac ($FICO) Q3 non-GAAP EPS $3.38 vs. est. $2.76; Q3 revs $338M vs. est. $328.3M; Applications revenues, which include the company’s decision management applications and associated professional services, were $133.2 million in the third quarter, compared to $141.5 million in the prior year period, a decrease of 6% Genworth Financial ($GNW) Q2 adj EPS $0.38 vs. est. $0.22; Q2 revs $2.04B vs. est. $1.9B; planned IPO of Enact remains a key strategic objective for Genworth and is subject to market and other conditions, however because the company is in registration and subject to applicable publicity restrictions, is unable to comment further or provide any additional detail at this time. Green Dot ($GDOT) Q2 adj EPS $0.68 vs est. $0.43 on revs $369.4M vs est. $313.2M; sees FY21 adj EPS $2.13-$2.27 vs prev. $2.06-$2.15, revs $1.33B-$1.35B vs est. $1.28B Prudential ($PRU) Q2 adj EPS $3.79 vs. est. $3.02; qtrly book value per common share of $160.31 versus $165.53 per share for year-ago; qtrly adjusted book value per common share of $104.39 versus $92.07 per share for year-ago; qtr end assets under management of $1.730 trillion versus $1.605 trillion for year-ago; now expect to return a total of $11.0B to holders from $10.5B prior Tanger Outlets ($SKT) 2Q core FFO/shr $0.43 vs est. $0.28, portfolio occupancy was 93% on June 30 vs 91.7% on March 31, avg tenant sales productivity was $424/sq ft for 12 months ended June 30 +7.3% yr/yr; guides FY FFO/shr $1.52-1.59 vs est. $1.46 Unum Group (UNM) Q2 adj EPS $1.39 vs. est. $1.11; Q2 revs $2.99B vs. est. $2.96B; Full-year 2021 outlook increased; after-tax adjusted operating income per share now expected to decline 1%-3% relative to full-year 2020, compared to an expected decline of 5%-6% prior Verisk Analytics ($VRSK) Q2 adj EPS $1.17 vs. est. $1.33; Q2 revs $747.5M vs. est. $737.3M; Net cash provided by operating activities was $233.2 million, down 6.5% for the second quarter of 2021. Free cash flow, a non-GAAP measure, was $170.7 million, down 11.5% Healthcare Change Healthcare ($CHNG) shares fell over 7% on a report that the U.S. Dept. of Justice is considering a lawsuit to block the company’s $8B sale to UnitedHealth ($UNH) https://bit.ly/3yA4Etu Option Care Health ($OPCH) 18M share Spot Secondary priced at $20.25 Amgen Inc. ($AMGN) Q2 adj EPS $4.38 vs. est. $4.06; Q2 revs $6.5B vs. est. $6.43B; backs FY21 adj EPS view $16.00-$17.00 vs. est. $16.34; backs FY21 revenue view $25.8B-$26.6B vs. est. $26.04B Amid surge in new COVID-19 infections across U.S., the FDA plans to give full approval to Pfizer (PFE) – BioNTech (BNTX) coronavirus vaccine by the start of the next month, The New York Times reports The FDA classified the recent recall of some of Philips’ (PHG) ventilators as Class 1, or the most serious type of recall, saying the use of these devices may cause serious injuries or death – Reuters CVS Health ($CVS) Q2 adj EPS $2.42 vs. est. $2.06; Q2 revs $72.62B vs. est. $70.11B; raises FY21 adjusted EPS view to $7.70-$7.80 from $7.56-$7.68 (est. $7.66); sees FY21 cash flow from operations $12.5B-$13B DaVita Inc. (DVA) 2Q EPS $2.64 vs est. $2.17; says total US dialysis treatments for 2Q were 7,413497 (avg 95,045/day); guides FY adj EPS $8.80-9.40 vs est. $8.63, sees FY adj op income $1.8-1.875B vs est. $1.816B Inspire Medical ($INSP) 2Q EPS ($0.48) vs est. ($0.64) on revs $53Mm vs est. $43.9Mm; guides FY revs $210-213Mm vs est. $195.9Mm, sees FY gr mgn 85-86%, sees opening 48-52 new US medical centers per qtr for 2H Jazz Pharma ($JAZZ) Q2 adj EPS $3.90 vs. est. $3.42; Q2 revs $751.8M vs. est. $735.62M; reaffirms FY21 non-GAAP EPS view $13.40-$14.70 (est. $14.45) and also back FY21 revenue view $3.020B-$3.180B vs. est. $3.11B; as of June 30, cash, cash equivalents were $891.4 mln, and outstanding principal balance of co’s long-term debt was $7.1 bln