Trump Team Plans Metals Tariff Rollback; NASA, SpaceX Launches Crew-12 | Bloomberg Brief 2/13/2026
Watch on YouTube ↗  |  February 13, 2026 at 11:58 UTC  |  46:20  |  Bloomberg Markets
Speakers
Vonnie Quinn — Anchor, Bloomberg Brief
Xavier Abu Omar — Reporter, London
Max Kettner — Chief Multi-Asset Strategist, HSBC
Benedict Kammel — Reporter, Bloomberg
Jonathan Tamari — Reporter, Bloomberg Government
Anastasia Radina — Chair, Ukraine Anti-Corruption Committee
Matt Bloxham — Analyst, Bloomberg Intelligence

Summary

  • Market Regime: Markets are wavering following a "fear trade" sell-off in logistics and tech, but HSBC argues this is a rotation rather than a systemic downturn. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq have erased year-to-date gains.
  • Tariff Reversal: The Trump administration is reportedly planning to roll back 50% tariffs on aluminum and steel to combat cost-of-living issues, causing metals prices to drop.
  • AI Hardware Strength: Despite broader tech volatility, AI infrastructure (Applied Materials, Arista) is surging on earnings beats, driven by memory chip shortages and AI computing demand.
  • Consumer Shift: Tax reimbursements are expected to boost the lower end of the K-shaped economy, favoring retail and homebuilders.
  • Geopolitics: Venezuela is opening oil production to Chevron (projected 30-40% growth). Ukraine focuses on anti-corruption to secure continued Western aid.
Trade Ideas
Ticker Direction Speaker Thesis Time
LONG Xavier Abu Omar
Reporter, Bloomberg
AMAT is up 12% and ANET is soaring pre-market due to sales forecasts blowing past estimates. The "memory chip crunch" and AI computing demand are accelerating. Unlike other sectors facing "air disruption fears," the hardware infrastructure providers are seeing tangible order flow. Long AI hardware infrastructure as the primary beneficiary of the memory cycle. Broader tech sell-off dragging down high-beta names. 45:47
LONG Max Kettner
Chief Multi-Asset Strategist, HSBC
Mag-7 stocks are trading at ~26.5x forward earnings, comparable to the Russell 2000 at ~24x. Valuation compression has occurred because prices stayed flat while earnings grew. The "fear trade" provides a buying opportunity in high-quality growth at reasonable valuations compared to historical premiums. Buy the dip in Big Tech; valuations are no longer stretched relative to the broader market. Regulatory headwinds or a hotter-than-expected CPI print. 34:50
SHORT Vonnie Quinn
Anchor, Bloomberg
President Trump is planning to narrow the scope/roll back the 50% tariffs on aluminum and steel to address cost of living. The removal of protectionist tariffs increases foreign supply in the US market, forcing domestic prices down (Aluminum and Steel prices already dropping in response). Short domestic metals producers as pricing power erodes. The report could be false, or the rollback might be smaller than expected. 0:35
CVX
LONG Vonnie Quinn
Anchor, Bloomberg
Venezuela is granting more oil production land to Chevron; production expected to grow 30-40% in the first year. The US administration is pushing for private companies to rebuild Venezuela's energy sector. Chevron is in "pole position" due to existing infrastructure. Long CVX as the primary beneficiary of Venezuelan energy reopening. Political instability in Venezuela or US policy reversal. 7:08
SHORT Xavier Abu Omar
Reporter, Bloomberg
DraftKings is down nearly 15% in pre-market. The company explicitly cited competition from "prediction markets" eating into their market share and margins. Short traditional sports betting as liquidity migrates to prediction market platforms. Regulatory crackdowns on prediction markets could send users back to traditional platforms. 3:11
LONG Max Kettner
Chief Multi-Asset Strategist, HSBC
Tax reimbursements are hitting US households in February and April. Data shows the "lower end of the K-shaped economy" is ramping up consumption. This liquidity injection specifically benefits mass-market retail, homebuilders, and transport sectors. Rotate into cyclical consumer sectors that benefit from lower-income spending power. Persistent inflation eroding the real value of tax refunds. 6:35
LONG Xavier Abu Omar
Reporter, Bloomberg
Rivian is up 19% pre-market. While legacy auto (Ford/GM) is writing off EV investments due to policy headwinds, Rivian is bucking the trend, signaling it may be capturing the remaining pure-play EV demand. Long Rivian as a momentum play diverging from the broader auto sector weakness. Trump administration environmental policy changes hurting the broader EV sector.
LONG Xavier Abu Omar
Reporter, Bloomberg
Coinbase is up 7% despite recent volatility. Bitcoin is recouping losses, and Coinbase is acting as a high-beta proxy for the crypto market recovery. Long COIN as a play on Bitcoin price stabilization. Regulatory actions or a renewed drop in crypto asset prices. 26:54