Trump Weekly: Trump demands oil prices be kept down

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 weekly recap compiled by The Fly:

IRAN ATTACK: President Trump said via Truth Social on Saturday: “We have completed our very successful attack on the three Nuclear sites in Iran, including Fordow, Natanz, and Esfahan. All planes are now outside of Iran air space. A full payload of BOMBS was dropped on the primary site, Fordow. All planes are safely on their way home. Congratulations to our great American Warriors. There is not another military in the World that could have done this. NOW IS THE TIME FOR PEACE! Thank you for your attention to this matter.”

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. Earlier, the two countries agreed to the proposed truce after nearly two weeks of attacks. Trump acknowledged that both Iran and Israel violated the ceasefire, telling a group of reporters that he is going to see if he could 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. 

‘KEEP OIL PRICES DOWN’: President Trump said Monday via Truth Social: “Everyone, keep oil prices down. I’m watching. You’re playing right into the hands of the enemy. Don’t do it!” Publicly traded companies in the oil space include BP (BP), Chevron (CVX), ConocoPhillips (COP), Exxon Mobil (XOM), Shell (SHEL) and TotalEnergies (TTE).

POWELL COMMENTS: 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. 

FED CUTS ‘UNLIKELY’: Morgan Stanley Chief U.S. Economist Michael Gapen noted on Friday that the market’s probability for a July cut from the Federal Reserve rose from 8% to over 20% and for September from 60% to 90%, but the firm still thinks cuts in the next two meetings are “unlikely.” The majority of Fed officials align with Powell’s cautious stance and are unlikely to support cuts soon, says the analyst, who adds that negative payroll prints, rising unemployment, and subdued inflation could trigger a sooner cut, but that is not the firm’s “base case.”

CRYPTO AS FEDERAL MORTGAGE ASSET: FHFA Director William Pulte has ordered Fannie Mae (FNMA) and Freddie Mac (FMCC) to explore crypto as an asset for single-family mortgage applications without converting it to USD, CNBC’s MacKenzie Sigalos reports. Only digital assets held on U.S.-regulated, centralized exchanges will qualify under the new guidance and Fannie and Freddie must design safeguards to account for crypto’s volatility and submit their plans to the FHFA, according to the report. The move aligns with President Donald Trump’s vision “to make the United States the crypto capital of the world,” Sigalos writes. “Cryptocurrency is an emerging asset class that may offer an opportunity to build wealth outside of the stock and bond markets,” the order states. 

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.

‘PRODUCTIVE TALKS’: OpenAI CEO Sam Altman said in a New York Times podcast that he has had productive talks with President Trump about AI and credited him with understanding “the potential for economic transformation, sort of geopolitical importance, the need to build a lot of infrastructure.”

WEDBUSH UPGRADES METALS COMPANY: Wedbush upgraded Metals Company (TMC) to Outperform from Neutral with a price target of $11, up from $6, citing “significantly increased confidence” in the long-term growth story following the executive order signed by President Trump at the end of April. The firm also cites its recent industry checks on boosting domestic critical mineral supply through deep sea mining in its upgrade.

TRUMP MEDIA SHARE BUYBACK: Trump Media and Technology Group’s (DJT) Board of Directors has authorized the repurchase of up to $400M of the company’s common stock. CEO and Chairman Devin Nunes said, “The Board took a vote of confidence in our Company, our stock, and our strategic plans. Since Trump Media now has approximately $3B on its balance sheet, we have the flexibility to take actions like this which support strong shareholder returns, as we continue exploring further strategic opportunities.” The share repurchase authorization will be funded separately from, and would not alter, Trump Media’s previously announced Bitcoin treasury strategy, which featured a private placement offering of approximately $2.3B in the aggregate, the company said.