Trump Trade: Trump slams Powell while Fed chair appears before Congress

Catch up on the top industries and stocks that were impacted, or were predicted to be impacted, by the comments, actions and policies of President Trump with this daily recap compiled by The Fly: 

CEASEFIRE: President Donald Trump posted to Truth Social on Monday night that there has been a “complete and total” ceasefire between Israel and Iran. He said: “CONGRATULATIONS TO EVERYONE! It has been fully agreed by and between Israel and Iran that there will be a Complete and Total CEASEFIRE (in approximately 6 hours from now, when Israel and Iran have wound down and completed their in progress, final missions!), for 12 hours, at which point the War will be considered, ENDED! Officially, Iran will start the CEASEFIRE and, upon the 12th Hour, Israel will start the CEASEFIRE and, upon the 24th Hour, an Official END to THE 12 DAY WAR will be saluted by the World. During each CEASEFIRE, the other side will remain PEACEFUL and RESPECTFUL. On the assumption that everything works as it should, which it will, I would like to congratulate both Countries, Israel and Iran, on having the Stamina, Courage, and Intelligence to end, what should be called, “THE 12 DAY WAR.” This is a War that could have gone on for years, and destroyed the entire Middle East, but it didn’t, and never will! God bless Israel, God bless Iran, God bless the Middle East, God bless the United States of America, and GOD BLESS THE WORLD!”

Israel later accused Iran of what it described as a “severe violation” of President Donald Trump’s ceasefire,  a charge Iran denies, NBC News reports. Trump acknowledged that both Iran and Israel violated the ceasefire, telling a group of reporters that he is going to see if he can stop the ceasefire violations. “We basically have two countries that have been fighting so long and so hard that they don’t know what the f— they’re doing,” he said.

FED RATE SHOULD BE LOWER: On Monday night, President Donald Trump posted to Truth Social: “Too Late” Jerome Powell, of the Fed, will be in Congress today in order to explain, among other things, why he is refusing to lower the Rate. Europe has had 10 cuts, we have had ZERO. No inflation, great economy – We should be at least two to three points lower. Would save the USA 800 Billion Dollars Per Year, plus. What a difference this would make. If things later change to the negative, increase the Rate. I hope Congress really works this very dumb, hardheaded person, over. We will be paying for his incompetence for many years to come. THE BOARD SHOULD ACTIVATE. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!”

The Fed’s Jerome Powell, in comments in his Semiannual Monetary Policy Report to the Congress, said the U.S. economy and labor market remain in a solid position and that the effects of policy changes on the economy remain uncertain. Powell added that the ultimate tariff level will determine their impact. “For the time being, we are well positioned to wait to learn more about the likely course of the economy before considering any adjustments to our policy stance,” Powell said. 

BIG BANKS LOOK TO APPEASE OFFICIALS: Representatives from JPMorgan Chase (JPM), Citigroup (C), Wells Fargo (WFC), and other large banks have recently met with officials in Republican states, including Texas and Oklahoma, to defend against allegations they refuse to do business with industries such as gun manufacturing and fossil-fuel extraction, Alexander Saeedy, AnnaMaria Andriotis, and Dylan Tokar of The Wall Street Journal report, citing people familiar with the discussions. Additionally, the banks are worried that President Trump could turn the federal government against them, with some people familiar with the matter stating the Trump administration is considering an executive order on “debanking.” Other publicly traded companies in the space include Bank of America (BAC), Goldman Sachs (GS), Morgan Stanley (MS), and U.S. Bancorp (USB). 

WHATSAPP BANNED ON DEVICES: Meta‘s (META) WhatsApp is now banned from congressional staffers’ government devices, The U.S. House’s chief administrative officer informed employees on Monday, Andrew Solender of Axios reported on Monday. “The Office of Cybersecurity has deemed WhatsApp a high-risk to users due to the lack of transparency in how it protects user data, absence of stored data encryption, and potential security risks involved with its use,” the CAO said in an email obtained by Axios. “House staff are NOT allowed to download or keep the WhatsApp application on any House device, including any mobile, desktop, or web browser versions of its products.” The CAO said that Microsoft Teams (MSFT), iMessage (AAPL), FaceTime, Wickr, and Signal, are acceptable alternatives to WhatsApp.

OIL FROM IRAN: In a Truth Social post, President Trump stated: “China can now continue to purchase Oil from Iran. Hopefully, they will be purchasing plenty from the U.S., also. It was my Great Honor to make this happen!” Publicly traded companies in the oil space include BP (BP), Chevron (CVX), ConocoPhillips (COP), Exxon Mobil (XOM), Shell (SHEL) and TotalEnergies (TTE).