How Trump's Policies Moved Stocks - Dec. 23

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 and his administration with this weekly recap compiled by The Fly:

1. SOCIAL MEDIA ‘SO BIASED’: U.S. President Donald Trump tweeted on Tuesday that, "Facebook (FB), Twitter (TWTR) and Google (GOOG, GOOGL) are so biased toward the Dems it is ridiculous! Twitter, in fact, has made it much more difficult for people to join @realDonaldTrump. They have removed many names & greatly slowed the level and speed of increase. They have acknowledged-done NOTHING!"

2. TAX BREAK FOR ALCOHOL COMPANIES BLOCKED: The White House finalized a regulation limiting the ability of U.S. wineries and global alcohol companies to cut import taxes, the Wall Street Journal reported on Monday. The government believes the new rules stop wine and liquor companies from double-dipping on tax breaks, and argues that the companies are getting or seeking a tax advantage for imports over domestic production, the report noted. Publicly traded alcohol companies include Diageo (DEO), Constellation Brands (STZ) and Brown-Forman (BF-A, BF-B).

3. DRUG INDUSTRY: After Reuters reported that nearly 30 drugmakers are planning to raise the prices of their medicines in the U.S. starting in January, including Novartis (NVS), Bayer (BAYRY), GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), Amgen (AMGN), AstraZeneca (AZN), Biogen (BIIB) and Allergan (AGN), Wells Fargo analyst David Maris told investors in a research note earlier this week that he has repeatedly highlighted how the practice of drug price increases is a risk for the industry, and believes the latest actions by these manufacturers will be "front and center" for the Trump administration heading towards an election year. Further, the analyst pointed out that he expects to see increased political and legislative pressure on drug prices as Democrats take over the House in January, and continues to believe that the drug industry is facing a "brave new world" with greater scrutiny of drug prices, lower price increases versus historical levels, and as a result potentially lower profit margins.

4. U.S.-CHINA TRADE: Zhu Min, who was deputy governor of the People's Bank of China from 2009 to 2010, thinks the U.S. and China can reach a trade deal by the end of their 90-day truce, but believes it will take at least six months to a year before the countries can resolve their trade conflict, The South China Morning Post reported earlier this week. However, on Friday, Trump's trade adviser, Peter Navarro, told Nikkei there are "no half-measures," and that China has to address all of America's concerns - including forced technology transfers, cyber intrusions, state-directed investments, tariffs and nontariff barriers - for the two sides to reach an agreement, which he admits will be "difficult." Navarro is further quoted as saying: "China is basically trying to steal the future of Japan, the U.S. and Europe, by going after our technology."

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