Week In Review: How Trump Policies Moved Stocks

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. TARIFF ON WASHING MACHINES: On Monday, the Trump Administration announced that it will impose a 20% tariff on the first 1.2M imported large residential washing machines in the first year and a 50% tariff on machines above that number. Commenting on the news, Jeff Fettig, the chairman of U.S. home appliance manufacturer Whirlpool (WHR) praised the President's decision and said: "This announcement caps nearly a decade of litigation and will result in new manufacturing jobs in Ohio, Kentucky, South Carolina and Tennessee. [...] By enforcing our existing trade laws, President Trump has ensured American workers will compete on a level playing field with their foreign counterparts, enabled new manufacturing jobs here in America and will usher in a new era of innovation for consumers everywhere." Conversely, Samsung (SSNLF) said the announcement is a "great loss" for American consumers and workers. "This tariff is a tax on every consumer who wants to buy a washing machine. Everyone will pay more, with fewer choices."

2. TARIFF ON SOLAR IMPORTS: This week, the Trump Administration also announced the President's decision to slap tariffs on imported solar cells. A 30% tariff will be imposed on imported solar cells and modules in the first year, with the tariffs declining to 15% by the fourth year. The tariff allows 2.5 gigawatts of unassembled solar cells to be imported tariff-free in each year. According to Bloomberg, foreign solar panel manufacturers, including China's JinkoSolar Holding (JKS) and JA Solar (JASO), thought that the 30% tariff implemented on U.S. imports by President Donald Trump was "better than expected." The companies had been preparing since October when the U.S. International Trade Commission recommended a 35% tariff. Commenting on the news, Credit Suisse analyst Michael Weinstein notes that the approved solar import tariff was in-line with expectations. The analyst argued that the news is positive for companies exempt from the tariff, notably First Solar and Tesla (TSLA) until now. Conversely, Weinstein pointed out that he expects negative sentiment around Chinese solar manufacturers, such as JinkoSolar and JA Solar, and expects negligible impact to residential solar developers Sunrun (RUN) and Vivint Solar (VSLR). Other companies in the space include SunPower (SPWR), Canadian Solar (CSIQ), Yingli Green Energy (YGE), Solaredge (SEDG), Enphase Energy (ENPH), Sunrun and Sky Solar (SKYS).

3. MORE EMPLOYEE BONUSES: On Tuesday, Disney (DIS) announced that over 125,000 eligible employees will receive a one-time $1,000 cash bonus. The announcement followed one from JPMorgan (JPM), which this morning announced a $20B, five-year comprehensive investment in its employees as well as branch expansion. The bank plans to boost wages to $15-$18 an hour for 22,000 workers and intends to open up 400 new Chase branches in new cities and states. The same day, Verizon Communications (VZ) CEO Lowell McAdam said on CNBC that his company is giving all non-executive employees 50 shares of stock following tax reform in the U.S.

4. VEHICLE-EMISSIONS RULES: Earlier this week, The Wall Street Journal reported that California regulators and Trump administration officials have met to discuss changes to controversial vehicle-emissions rules in effort to prevent a legal battle over future regulation. The California Air Resources Board has supported current federal rules that require automakers to cut emissions so vehicles sold average more than 50 miles a gallon by 2025, but the Trump administration is looking to see if the state is open to relaxing future emissions and mileage goals. Publicly traded companies in the space include Daimler AG (DDAIF), Fiat Chrysler (FCAU), Ford (F), General Motors (GM), Honda (HMC), Nissan (NSANY), Toyota (TM), Volkswagen (VLKAY) and Tesla (TSLA).

  

Disclaimer: TheFly.com, Inc.'s staff does NOT provide any individual investment advice or money management assistance. TheFly.com, Inc.'s employees are not brokers, dealers or ...

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