Tech Dominates a Big Week of Earnings, China Crackdown Effect on Stocks, and Is the Delta Variant About to Peak? On the Crypto Front: Tether Execs Said to Face Criminal Probe and Bitcoin Jumps to 6-Week Highs Amid Speculation About Amazon

With stocks having finished Friday's session at record closing highs, Carl Quintanilla and Jim Cramer looked at what to expect from the markets as we enter a big week full of earnings reports, with mega-cap tech names Apple, Amazon, Microsoft, Facebook and Alphabet leading the pack. U.S.-China talks on the front burner as a Beijing official blamed the Americans for a "stalemate" in relations -- while stocks of China-based companies take another hit as Beijing ramps up its regulatory crackdown on technology and education firms. Cramer says China is engaging in an "attack on the rich" and says "you don't want your money there, you want your money here" in the U.S. The reopening trade and continuing spread of the COVID-19 Delta variant also in the spotlight. The anchors reacted to what former FDA Commissioner Dr. Scott Gottlieb told CNBC about the variant: He explained why he believes Delta could "plateau here in the United States" in the next two to three weeks. Carl and Jim also discussed a note out of Goldman Sachs Chief U.S. Equity Strategist David Kostin in which he sees the variant posing a "minimal risk to the U.S. equity markets." The anchors had lots of crypto news to highlight: A published report says a U.S. probe into Tether is homing in on whether executives behind the digital token committed bank fraud. Separately, Bitcoin hit a new six-week high and briefly passed $39,000 over the weekend -- with crypto rallying across the board, due in part to a report stating that Amazon is moving toward accepting Bitcoin for payment and is also considering the creation of its own digital token. Also in focus: Tesla as a China proxy ahead of its after-the-bell earnings report, Hasbro surging on better-than-expected quarterly results, and Norwegian Cruise Line sets sail for the first time since suspending cruising 500 days ago due to the pandemic. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.