Seeking Alpha’s roundup of statements, announcements, and remarks that could impact markets, sectors, or individual stocks.
- President Trump has selected former Federal Reserve Gov. Kevin Warsh as his nominee to succeed Jerome Powell as Fed chair.
“I have known Kevin for a long period of time, and have no doubt that he will go down as one of the GREAT Fed Chairmen, maybe the best. On top of everything else, he is ‘central casting,’ and he will never let you down. Congratulations Kevin!” Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social.
- Republican Sen. Thom Tillis, who sits on the Senate Banking Committee, said he plans to block Warsh’s nomination until the Trump administration ends its criminal investigation into the Fed and Fed Chair Jerome Powell.
“I am pleased with the nominee; I think that by most accounts he’s well regarded,” Tillis told Bloomberg TV. “But we still have to clear the current matter,” Tillis said, adding that the investigation was “frivolous prosecution.”
Powell, who has been harshly criticized by Trump in recent months, is slated to step down as Fed chair at the end of May.
“We have some time between now and May for that investigation to go away and for the confirmation process to open up,” Tillis said.
- Exxon Mobil (XOM) CEO Darren Woods said the Venezuelan government needs to implement major reforms before his company could consider investing in the country’s oil industry.
“Those priorities start with one, stabilizing the country,” Woods told CNBC. “Second is to kickstart the economy and try to recover some of the damage that’s been done over the decades of abuse that the dictators brought in, and then ultimately to transition into representative government.”
- Meanwhile, Chevron (CVX), which continued to operate in Venezuela during the Maduro regime, said the government has taken positive steps to help protect investments in its oil industry.
In an interview with CNBC, Chevron CEO Mike Wirth said that contract security, commercial stability, and regulatory predictability were needed in order for the country to attract additional investment.
“We see Venezuela taking steps in a positive direction to address those issues, which will encourage investment, not only from a company like ours but from others that I think are also considering the opportunities there,” Wirth told CNBC.
“We’ve stayed when others didn’t,” Wirth added. “We’re getting paid back some debts that we’re owed, and it does give us a significant head start. And the country has tremendous long-term potential.”