President Donald Trump expressed confidence in reaching a peace deal with Iran, describing the country as being in a desperate position after its military assets were crippled by the US. Even as a two-week ceasefire is about to expire, Trump insisted he would not bow to Congressional pressure to end the military campaign hastily without full security guarantees.
On the financial front, Trump expressed surprise at the stability of the stock market amid the conflict. Trump had originally expected the market to enter a “bear market” phase with a 20% drop and oil prices soaring to $200 a barrel. This statement suggests that the economic impact of the war has so far been milder than the White House had initially projected.
The issue of the Federal Reserve’s (Fed) independence also came into focus when Trump publicly stated his expectation that Kevin Warsh, the nominee for the new Fed Chair, would implement aggressive interest rate cuts. This added pressure to Warsh, who is scheduled to attend a Senate confirmation hearing on Tuesday, amid a prolonged dispute between Trump and Jerome Powell.
Trump also touched on the controversial issue of tariffs, warning U.S. companies not to seek refunds for tariffs that have been declared invalid by the Supreme Court. He argued that the tariff system, while complex, would provide greater financial returns to the country in the long run.
Finally, on the corporate and technology front, Trump hinted at interest in Anthropic's artificial intelligence model for military use. He also expressed an anti-monopoly stance on the merger of giant airlines United and American Airlines, but supported the sale of budget carrier Spirit Airlines.
