Administration plans flavored e-cigarettes ban as President applauds activist involvement with AT&T

Catch up on the top industries and stocks that were impacted, or were predicted to be impacted, by the comments, actions and policies of President Donald Trump and his administration with this weekly recap compiled by The Fly:

1. U.S.-CHINA TRADE DISPUTE: A White House official said on Thursday that the Trump administration is "absolutely not" considering an interim trade deal with China, according to CNBC's Eamon Javers. The comment followed a Bloomberg report, which cited five people familiar with the matter, that administration officials have discussed offering China a limited trade agreement that would delay, and possibly roll back, some U.S. tariffs in exchange for China committing to intellectual property changes and agriculture purchases.

2. BAN ON FLAVORED E-CIGARETTES: Secretary of Health and Human Services Alex Azar said on Wednesday that the Food and Drug Administration will move to ban flavored electronic cigarettes, according to Bloomberg. "Not only is it a problem overall, but really specifically with respect for children," President Trump told reporters at the White House, the publication added. Publicly traded companies in the tobacco space include Altria Group (MO), British American Tobacco (BTI), Imperial Brands (IMBBY) and Philip Morris (PM). Juul, in which Altria Group has a 35% stake, is the dominant e-cigarette maker in the U.S.

3. BIOFUEL DEAL: The White House was said to meet with representatives from both the biofuel and oil refining industries as the Trump administration aims to hash out a deal to help farmers by increasing U.S. ethanol demand, Reuters' Stephanie Kelly and Jarrett Renshaw reported, citing sources familiar with the matter. The meetings were intended to discuss Washington's plan to boost biofuel blending mandates after its decision last month to exempt 31 refineries from an obligation to blend ethanol with gasoline angered the Farm Belt, the authors noted. Trump officials were expected to first meet with companies such as Louis Dreyfus and Renewable Energy (REGI), followed by discussions with some oil refiners, including Phillips 66 (PSX), Marathon Petroleum (MPC), and Valero Energy (VLO), the publication added. Other companies in the biofuel and refiner spaces include Enviva Partners (EVA), Aemetis (AMTX), Pacific Ethanol (PEIX), Green Plains Partners (GPP), Delek US (DK), HollyFrontier (HFC),Tesoro (TSO), and Western Refining (WNR).

4. AT&T: Earlier this week, President Trump said via Twitter:

"Great news that an activist investor is now involved with AT&T [T]. As the owner of VERY LOW RATINGS @CNN, perhaps they will now put a stop to all of the Fake News emanating from its non-credible 'anchors.' Also, I hear that, because of its bad ratings, it is losing a fortune... But most importantly, @CNN is bad for the USA. Their International Division spews bad information & Fake News all over the globe. This is why foreign leaders are always asking me, 'Why does the Media hate the U.S. sooo much?' It is a fraudulent shame, & all comes from the top!"