BETWEEN THE HEDGES: Today's Headlines

Bloomberg:

Seoul's Painful Stock Tax. Along with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un's saber rattling, foreign investors with an eye on South Korea may soon face another problem: higher taxes.

Asia Set for Equity Gains on Economic Optimism. Futures on stock indexes in Japan, Australia, South Korea and Hong Kong all rose. U.S. markets are shut Monday for the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday after the S&P 500 Index closed on Friday at a fresh all-time high. Retail sales spurred optimism in the American economy and JPMorgan Chase & Co. signaled tax cuts will boost profits, while an acceleration in core inflation bolstered the case for the Federal Reserve’s path of higher rates. The euro remained near a three-year high against the greenback on bets that central bank stimulus will be pared back further in Europe as its economy mends. Futures on Japan’s Nikkei 225 Stock Average added 0.2 percent in most recent trading, compared with prices from late Friday. Futures on Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index and on Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index advanced 0.5 percent.

Stricken Iranian Oil Tanker Sinks in East China Sea After Blast. (video)

Republicans See Possible DACA Deal Despite Trump's Twitter Posts. Republicans held out hope that a deal can be reached allowing young undocumented immigrants to remain in the U.S., despite President Donald Trump saying the effort is “probably dead” amid growing tensions about keeping the government funded past Friday. Trump escalated his rhetoric on immigration in a pair of early-morning Sunday Twitter messages that appeared to move away from what a few days ago seemed to be a potential deal with Democrats and moderate Republicans on legislation to continue the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program.

Wall Street Journal:

GOP Senator Says Trump Didn’t Use Crude Term to Describe African Nations. Two lawmakers at a meeting where Trump allegedly used the term ‘shithole countries’ call into question his use of the term.