Opening Bell: 8.5.25

White House Preps Order to Punish Banks That Discriminate Against Conservatives [WSJ]
A draft of the executive order, which was viewed by The Wall Street Journal, directs bank regulators to investigate whether any financial institutions might have violated the Equal Credit Opportunity Act, antitrust laws or consumer financial-protection laws.
Violators could be subject to monetary penalties, consent decrees or other disciplinary measures, according to the draft…. “The banks discriminated against me very badly, and I was very good to the banks,” Trump said.

Trump rules out Bessent as next Fed chair, says may name Powell replacement soon [Yahoo!]
“The two Kevins are doing well, and I have two other people that are doing well,” Trump said in an interview with CNBC on Tuesday. The “two Kevins” are in reference to former Fed governor Kevin Warsh and Kevin Hassett, director of the National Economic Council.
When asked about Fed governor Chris Waller and Secretary Bessent, Trump didn’t deny that Waller was among the four possible replacements for Powell, but he did say that Bessent does not want the job.
“I love Scott, but he wants to stay where he is,” Trump said.

Trump’s BLS Firing Tests Wall Street’s Reliance on Government Data [WSJ]
Banks have fielded calls from clients, anxious that they may need to rethink how they invest if inflation and employment statistics tied to U.S. investments can’t be trusted. Comments over the weekend from the White House’s chief economist Kevin Hassett, suggesting that more shakeups could be coming to the bureau, only stoked those fears further.

Elon Musk awarded $29 billion pay package from Tesla [CNN]
Tesla said that Musk has “not received meaningful compensation for eight years” and that its “legal efforts continue” to reinstate the 2018 pay package, adding that there’s “no clear timeline for resolution.”

Wall Street Bonuses Are on Track to Rise Despite Tariff Uncertainty [Bloomberg]
“The year will end up broadly positive, which is a big change from what we were thinking three or four months ago,” Alan Johnson, managing director of Johnson Associates, said in an interview. “Financial services have fared pretty well, and benefited in some cases from the volatility, and the up markets.”

Company advised by Trump sons said it hoped to benefit from fed money, then took it back [AP]
Eric Trump and Donald Trump Jr. are getting “founder shares” worth millions of dollars in New America Acquisition 1 Corp., a company with no operating business that hopes to fill that hole by purchasing an American company that can play “a meaningful role in revitalizing domestic manufacturing,” according to the filing…. The original version of the securities filing said the target company should be “well positioned” to tap federal or state government incentives. That reference was taken out of the revised version.