Good morning. Here's what happened overnight and what you need to know today.
1.
Trump moves: Donald Trump said the US will announce tariffs on semiconductor and pharmaceutical imports “within the next week or so.” In a CNBC interview, he said pharmaceutical tariffs would start “small” but rise to 150%, then 250% within 18 months “because we want pharmaceuticals made in our country.” On semiconductors, he added “We’re going to be announcing on semiconductors and chips, which is a separate category.” Trump said tariffs on Indian goods could rise “very substantially” within 24 hours, up from a previously imposed 25%, and threatened 35% on the EU if they don’t make good on promised investments. Separately, Trump said Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent is no longer being considered for Federal Reserve chair. “I asked him just last night, ‘Is this something you want?’ ‘No, I want to stay where I am.’ He actually said ‘I want to work with you,’” Trump said. Instead, “the two Kevins” — Kevin Hassett and Kevin Warsh — are among four candidates. Trump also said he would “shortly” nominate a replacement for Fed Governor Adriana Kugler, who resigned early, potentially choosing his next chair from that pick. (Capital Brief)(CNBC)(Bloomberg)(WSJ)(CNN)(Reuters)
2.
Conservative credit: The Wall Street Journal is reporting Trump is preparing an executive order to crack down on banks that deny services to customers over political or religious beliefs, escalating conservative claims of being unfairly debanked, which he said he also experienced when JPMorgan and Bank of America rejected him. A draft of the order, seen by the Journal, directs regulators to investigate potential violations of credit, antitrust and consumer protection laws, with penalties including fines and legal referrals. It also instructs agencies to scrap policies that may have contributed to customer removals and orders the Small Business Administration to review banks involved in loan guarantees. The draft order also criticises the role that some banks played in an investigation into the 6 January riots at the US Capitol, according to the paper. The move follows pressure from crypto firms, Trump allies and religious groups. (WSJ)(FT)(CNBC)
