Trump Makes Huge Deals With Saudis, Now In Israel

Monday, May 22nd, 2017

As President Trump continues his first overseas trip as head of state this week, we see the results of his efforts after spending the weekend in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, making huge deals and issuing tough talk about the Saudis’ main regional rival, Iran. A massive $110 billion arms deal with Saudi Arabia is presented as the crown jewel of the weekend’s deal-making.

In fact, deals through this initial weekend could total more than a third of a trillion dollars, including a $50 billion deal with state-sponsored energy giant Saudi Aramco. The Saudis have also agreed to extend its oil supply production cut for six months, in order to further bring down the global supply glut of oil. General Electric (NYSE:GE) has also struck a deal with Saudi Arabia worth $12 billion in contracts regarding power, healthcare and energy.

In typical Trump fashion, he has congratulated his own deal making, saying that for the U.S. this will mean “Jobs, Jobs, Jobs.” The President also called Iran the greatest source of instability in the Middle East, something that must have pleased the Saudi elites. In all, with no unscripted gaffes for his entire stay in Riyadh, the administration surely feels the first leg of Trump’s nine-day trip was a successful one.

Trump is now in Jerusalem, where he will meet with Israeli officials later today. Some high-ranking members in the U.S.’s biggest ally in the Middle East have expressed concern over the giant Saudi arms deal potentially shrinking Israel’s large military advantage in the region, although Prime Minister Netanyahu has so far made no mention of this deal.

Aside from striking major 12-figure deals with the world’s biggest oil producer, Trump’s agenda also can be seen as an emphatic rejection of President Obama’s Mid-East policy previously. The biggest measure with the previous administration was a large deal with Iran, whereby that country agreed to ceasing nuclear weapons development in exchange for lifted sanctions and trade routes for the country.

This deal, signed in 2015, was meant to increase security in the region while also curbing the Saudis’ immense influence in the overall region. With Trump’s latest actions, this agreement looks to be less solid. It will be worth keeping in mind as time moves along.

Ford Changes CEO

After three years at the helm of Ford Motor Company (NYSE:F) , CEO Mark Fields is being replaced by its board of directors, reportedly at the behest of former CEO Bill Ford and other members of the Ford family. Jim Hackett, former CEO of Steelcase and former head of Ford’s Smart Moblity program, will be the new head of the automaking major, and shares of Ford are up more than 2% in today’s pre-market at this hour.

A news conference is scheduled for 15 minutes passed the opening bell today, so analysts will surely be poring over the details. Ford stock is down 10% year to date and more than 17% from this time a year ago. Ford, a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) stock, has missed 2 of its last 4 quarterly earnings estimates. Officially, Fields will be retiring from his position, but unofficially, this is the third CEO of the last four — including Bill Ford, who took himself out of the job — to be removed from Ford’s corner office.

Mark Vickery
Senior Editor

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