What You missed LAST Week:  

                                                                                        QUARTER ENDS

March 29, 2021—April 02, 2021 Monday, when Fed Gov Waller speaks, we believe it will be his first public speech since his nomination cleared the US Senate. Other Fed speakers include Quarles, NY Fed’s Williams, Dallas Fed’s Kaplan, and Philly Fed’s Harker, but nothing like last week’s Powell et al onslaught. Still, given Equities trade only 4 days, this week, that’s a lot of Fed speakers for a short week.

The quarter ends Wednesday, the Bureau of Labor Statistics releasing March Unemployment Data Friday, even though Equities will be closed. Because of the BLS, the Bond Market will remain open until noon, Friday, a rare instance when Equities are closed and the Bond market will be open—albeit only for the morning. Data besides Friday’s Employment Report includes both the FHFA & Case Shiller Jan Home Price Indices, Tuesday, and Wednesday’s March Pending Home Sales from the National Association of Realtors—NAR to Cognoscenti. Thursday, to open the new month, we’ll get PMIs, ISMs, and Vehicle Sales from those who still report such data—the biggest 2 US OEMs, perhaps not releasing their sales until they report their Quarters in late April or early May. In short, the Treasury Issuance Calendar is light, the Economic Data Calendar heavy by comparison.

However, with Friday a holiday, and next weekend promising Easter, whatever plans PMs have to rebalance their portfolios to end the month will be largely finished by Wednesday—any buying intentions likely to wait until after Easter Sunday.

The Earnings Calendar is particularly thin, with Micron Technology & Walgreens Boots Alliance, both Wednesday. There are a few other tickers highlighted, including BioNTech, Chewy, McCormick (the spice company) and PVH, formerly Phillips Van Heusen, but neither BNTX nor CHWY are highlighted because of their Earnings. On the contrary, CHWY is better known, right now, for its founder’s position at GameStop, and BNTX known for the vaccines it partnered with Pfizer to produce. CarMax on Thursday could be the overlooked report that might surprise the most, as Used Car prices have been rising, making for better margins until the cost of buying its inventory gets too high to justify.

The Event Calendar is what you should expect from a week shortened by a holiday—not to mention the fact that Monday is the 2^nd day of Passover which for some, is a holiday. If I had to circle one event that stands out, this week, it might be B. Riley’s Spring Sports Betting & Gaming Conference, given the interest in those topics, right now. Much as Guggenheim’s Genomic Medicines & Rare Diseases peaks the interest, given it’s scheduling on a day when many will work half a day, if at all, it could get lost in the shuffle.

Stocks have been reaching new highs so regularly, it doesn’t make sense to bet against them. On the other hand, with a new Quarter starting, and the possibility that Earnings Warnings could be few and far between, any that crop up could upset the market more than they normally would. In short, the unusual, rather than the expected is what could upset the trend—and I don’t see much of that arriving too soon. But I would watch the big tech names that have been left on the side of the road. If they’re going to see a renaissance, a new quarter would be a good time for that.

ECONOMIC: (Highlights, only, below. Full Int’l Economic Calendar & Links here)
SUNDAY, 03/28
    OVERNIGHT into US Mon. a.m. et:
        BoJ Summary of Opinions
        BoE Feb Consumer Credit
        UK Nationwide Mar Housing Prices, Mortgage Approvals/Lending

MONDAY, 03/29
Dallas Fed Mar Manufacturing Index
BoE FPC (until 03/31) Dir of Financial Stability/Strategy/Risk @Reuters Newsmaker (3pm bst)
Fed Gov Waller on Federal Reserve Independence @Peterson Institute (1pm et)
US Treasury Auctions $57B 3- & $54B 6-month Bills
    OVERNIGHT into US Tues. a.m. et:
       Japan Feb Unemployment Rate, Jobs/Applicants, Retail Sales
       EU, France, Germany, Italy, Spain CPI/HICP
       Tom Mutton (BoE dir of FinTech) City & Financial Future Regulation of Cryptoassets V-Sum-mit: "Towards a Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC): Opportunities & Challenges’ (9:30am gst)
       ECB MPC McCaul panelist @AON Global webinar

TUESDAY, 03/30
Redbook weekly store sales snapshot
Fed V.Ch. Quarles on Financial Stability Board @Peterson Institute (9am et)
FHFA Jan House Price Index
S&P/CaseShiller Jan Home Price Index
Conference Board’s Mar Consumer Confidence
US Treasury Auctions $40B reopened 42-day Bills
Demand Compensation & the Strength of Recoveries FRB Atlanta/MIT (11:45am et)
K.C. Fed Banking & Economy: "Exploring Central Bank Digital Currency" (noon ct)
Fed’s Williams (2:30pm et) on Role Small Business Plays on Building Financial Resilience for the 50+ @State of the 50+ Entrepreneur Jt NY Fed/AARP V-Event (2pm est)
    OVERNIGHT into US Wed. a.m. et:
       China NBS: Mar Manufacturing/non-Manufacturing/Composite PMI
       UK BRC Shop Price Index
       Swiss ZEW March Conditions/Expectations Survey
       BoE monthly Decision Maker Panel Data (9:30am gst)
       UK 4Q20 GDP/Business Investment/Current Account

WEDNESDAY, 03/31
MBA weekly Mortgage Purchase/Refinance Applications
Canada Jan GDP, Feb PPI/RMPI (Raw Materials Prices)/IPPI
ADP March US Private Payrolls Report
Chicago March PMI
SNB (Swiss) Quarterly Bulletin
NAR Mar Pending Home Sales
EIA weekly Petroleum/Gasoline/Distillates/Refineries Report (10:30am et)
USDA Planting Plans
Large Bank Relief from SLR (Supplemental Leverage Ratio) Expires at midnight
    OVERNIGHT into US Thurs. a.m. et:
       Japan Q1 Tankan Manufacturing/non-Manufacturing Index/Outlook
       So. Korea Mar Trade Balance, Nikkei Mnftg PMI
       Aussie Feb Trade Balance, Home Loans, Retail Sales
      Japan Jibun Bank Mar Mnftg PMI
      Japan Inc ends its Fiscal Year, though wile Yen moves unlikely
      LME starts inspection of Commodity Warehouses anytime, now
      EU, France, Germany, Italy March Markit Mnftg PMI

THURSDAY, APRIL 01
Challenger March US Job Cuts
US weekly Initial Jobless Claims/Continuing Claims
US Feb Construction Spending
Markit March US Manufacturing PMI
US March Manufacturing ISM/Prices/Employment/Orders/Shipments
EIA weekly Natural Gas Draws/Injections/Stockpiles Report
S.F. Fed sponsored V-Seminar on Climate Economics: The Food Problem & Aggregate Productivity-Consequences of Climate Change (11am et)
US Treasury Auctions 4-, & 8-week Bills (values announced mid-week)
Russia 4Q20 GDP
Baker-Hughes weekly US/No. Am. Total/Oil rig Count (1pm et)
Fed’s Harker hosts Philly Fed/Conference of State Bank Supervisors Jt FinTech V-Symposium (1pm thru 04/02)
FRB Atlanta/EMORY V-Seminar: Do Credit Conditions Move House Prices? (4pm et)
Dallas Fed’s Kaplan Global Perspectives/Michael Beschloss, author "Presidents of War" (5pm)
    OVERNIGHT into US Fri. a.m. et:
       Ward’s March US Vehicle Sales

FRIDAY, 04/02
March US Unemployment Report Released (8:30am et)
March New York ISM Index
US Bond Markets OPEN until Noon
US Equity Markets CLOSED ALL DAY
Good Friday

SATURDAY, 04/03
Holy Saturday

SUNDAY, 04/04
Easter Sunday

MONDAY, 04/05
Easter Monday Holiday in most Western Markets ex-US

    WEEKS AHEAD:
          04/07  FOMC Minutes of March 16—17 Meeting
          04/21  Bk of Canada FPC Meets
          04/22  ECB MPC Meets
          04/27  BoJ MPC Meets
   04/27—28  FOMC Meets
          05/06  BoE FPC Meets

EARNINGS: (We cover only the money-center banks, largest regional banks, and largest foreign banks traded on US Equity Exchanges. If you’re an investor partial to banks of all sizes, outside that perimeter, we’re not the place for you. If a reporting date couldn’t be confirmed by Thursday, at noon but seems reasonable (based on past experience), we note that ticker in lower case letters, followed by 3 question marks. Some provide no heads-up. Those that require us to accept ALL cookies before allowing us a peek at investor information are UNacceptable to us. Tickers in bold are those we expect to attract the most attention, whether we think it’s justified, or not, favoring consumer discretionary & so-called ‘meme’ names. Once in a while, we embolden a ticker because it appears the Street is missing the prospects, particularly those that have consistently beaten Street estimates in several recent quarters, OR because the chart blows us away. We ignore ‘The’ in a company name unless it’s integral to the ticker, which it’s not, in most cases.)

MONDAY, 03/29: GOED, ABCL, ACTG, AACG, BIOC, CALM, GATO, GSMG, QD, SEER, SRAX, NCTY, tgi???, PCVX

TUESDAY, 03/30: MASS, ASO, ango???, APR, RKDA, BOSC, BEEM, BLCM, BNTX, BB, CHWY, CAAS, CWBR, CAAP, CRNX, DARE, DYAI, EDAP, ELDN, FDS, GVA, HYGM, HYRE, IGMS, KNDI, LULU, MKC, NGS, OSMT, OZON, PIRS, PTE, PLX, PVH, QIWI, REED, TH, TOMZ, USIO, VJET

WEDNESDAY, 03/31: AYI, aehr??? APYX, FUV, EARS, PHGE, CSSE, CRTD, PLAY, DCTH, DGLY, dlpn???, EVK, GNLN, GVP, GES, IDEX, mag???, MU, MICT, nak???, NG, PRPO, PRPH, MARK, SJT, SPWH, UNF, VERB, VTRU, WBA, WLMS

THURSDAY, 04/01: KMX, CWCO, FC

FRIDAY, 04/02: NONE

EVENTS:
SUNDAY, 03/28
CHPA Consumer Healthcare Products Ass’n Executive V-Conference (thru 27^th)
Harvard Business School Social Enterprise V-Conference
World Congress of Cardiology & Cardiovascular Health (Hybrid-Yokohama Japan)
SEAPEX Exploration Conference (Singapore)

MONDAY, 03/29
JPMorgan 10^th Annual Napa Valley V-Forum (thru 31^st)
B Riley Securities Spring Sports Betting & Gaming V-Conference
HSBC West Coast Financials V-Conference (thru 04/02)
HIDA (Health Industry Distributors) Executive V-Conference
NMR 62^nd Experimental Nuclear Magnetic Resonance V-Conference (thru 31^st)
World of Asphalt V-Annual (thru 31^st)
Moran Stanley 11^th Annual Hong Kong Investor V-Summit (thru 31st)
Jefferies China Internet 1x1 V-Days (thru 03/30)
CoalTrans China (Hybrid thru 31^st)
Microsoft (MSFT) MVP Global V-Summit (thru 04/01)

TUESDAY, 03/30
CIBC Annual Retail & Consumer Conference (Toronto Cda)
Platts 17^th Steel Markets No. Am. Webinar
Healthtech OPT Congress—Oligonucleotide Discovery & Delivery (thru 31^st)
Jefferies Pan-European Mid-Cap 1x1 V-Conference (thru 04/01)
Exane BNP Paribas DILS CEO V-Event
Macquarie Indonesia Mining V-Day
20^th China Int’l Petroleum & Petrochemical Technology & Equipment Expo (Beijing thru 04/01)
Power- Gen Int’l—Distribu-Tech (Postponed to Jan 2022)
(The) Andersons (ANDE) V-Marketing w/Stephens
Cisco (CSCO) Live! (virtual thru 04/01)
FootLocker Inc (FL) V-NDR Mngmnt Call w/B RIley
Grande West Transportation (BUS.CA) 1x1 Conf Call w/B Riley
BP Strategies Corp (GPX) V-NDR//Mngmnt call w/B Riley
GT Biopharma (GTBP) V-NDR –1x1 Conference call w/B Riley
Otis Worldwide (OTIS) ESG Conference Call (9am edt)

WEDNESDAY, 03/31
RBC Capital Real Estate Panel V-Series—Outlook for the Office
TD Securities Engineering & Construction V-Conference
Stifel CNS V-Day
Building Industry Show (BIS) Postponed
Bank Relief from SLR (Supplemental Leverage Ratio) Expires at midnight
Kids @Play Family Tech Summit (OnDemand; postponed from Jan. CES thru 06/11)
SNAC Int’l Bite-sized Insights into Future of Health & Snacking webinar
Cal-Maine Foods (CALM) V-marketing w/Stephens
Del Taco Restaurants Inc (TACO) V-marketing w/C L King
Hasbro (HAS) Pres/CEO John Frascotti becomes an advisor to new CEO Brian Goldner
Kroger (KR) Investor Conference (9am et)
Medallion Financial Corp (WFIN) Mgnmnt call w/B Riley
News Corp (NWSA) WSJ Artificial Intelligence Executive V-Forum: Unlocking Value in the New Normal
Stoneridge Inc (SRI) V-Marketing w/Stephens

THURSDAY, 04/01
Guggenheim Healthcare V-Talks: 2021 Genomic Medicines & Rare Disease
NY Int’l Auto Show (NYIAS) Postponed until August
MLB (Major League Baseball) season Opens with EVERY TEAM playing
Acceleron Pharma (XLRN) V-NDR w/Wolfe Research

FRIDAY, 04/02
Good Friday
JPMorgan Auto Conference likely postponed until August, with NYIAS
US Bond Markets Open Until Noon
US Equity Markets CLOSED ALL Day
FILMS OPENING where theaters have reopened (streamed, otherwise): "Godzilla vs Kong," w/Alexander Skarsgard, Millie bobby Brown, Rebecca Hall, via Warner Bros (T). "The Unholy," with Jeffrey Dean Morgan Cary Elwes, Katie Aselton, William Sadler, via Screen Gems (SNE). "French Exit," with Michelle Pfeiffer, Lucas Hedges, Tracy Letts, Imogen Poots, based on a book by Patrick deWitt, via Sony Pictures Classics (SNE). "Every Breath You Take," with Michelle Monaghan, Sam Claflin, Casey Affleck, distributed by Vertical Entertainment. "The Girl Who Believes in Miracles," w/Mira Sorvino, Kevin Sorbo, Peter Coyote, via Atlas Distribution.

SATURDAY, 04/03
Holy Saturday
NCAA Men’s Division 1 March Madness Final 4 (Indianapolis IN ESPN [DIS])    EXCERPTS from EARLIER 2021 OUTLOOKS HERE

© Sandi Lynne 2021 Nothing contained in this commentary is intended as a recommendation to buy or sell any security. The opinions expressed are the author’s, alone, and should be just one factor in more complete due diligence.                                                                                                                                   

                                                                           Enjoy last week's highlights. I'm retired, now, and prepare what I like, when I want,

Regards
  Sandi Lynne
       (c) 1998--2021 Sandi Lynne