Morning Note - August 18, 2021

Good Morning!

Futures are flat this am with the dow down 80 points, S&P down 5, and Nasdaq up 2. The 10-yr is up 1.2 bps to 1.27%. Today is Fed day and investors are looking for clues into when the taper may start. We also got retail earnings from Target and Lowe's. New Zealand locks down from one Delta case. Afghanistan evacuations pick up as Taliban go…