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Hundreds of investing and finance newsletters hit my (and maybe your) inbox every week. This is the best of the best of policy from the past week. Every Wednesday, we’ll wrap up finance, and every Friday, we’ll take on tech.

This week, we’ve got…

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The federal government officially shut down last week, leaving federal workers unpaid and markets jittery. Lawmakers skipped town, and the White House filled the vacuum by canceling billions in climate funding and freezing infrastructure projects in states led by political opponents.

At the same time, the administration is flexing its influence in the pharma sector. Pfizer’s CEO stood next to the president to announce a drug pricing deal, sending its stock up nearly 7% and putting immediate pressure on competitors like Eli Lilly. Regulators are also moving to ease capital rules for big banks, while Citigroup quietly picked up Trump family money after years of Wall Street shunning it.

The playbook is quickly shifting. Political gridlock is creating broad volatility, but pharma and financials are being reshaped by direct White House pressure. That means potential opportunities for those who can sit through the circus acts!

Similar to our report on Cleo Fields last week, Marjorie Taylor Greene is all about tech stocks once again. The main difference: Greene made some bets on energy (DUK) and banking (GS & MS) too.

See all new Congress trades here →

Chicago Fed President Austan Goolsbee poured cold water on hopes for rapid rate cuts. He said he’s “a little wary” of moving too quickly, pointing to a "sticky spot" where both inflation is ticking up and payroll numbers are deteriorating. We’ll see if his warning combined with lack of labor data (because of the gov. shutdown) can stop the rate cut train at the end of October.

New York Fed President John Williams added that unpredictable change is the new normal, with AI, demographics, and financial innovation all reshaping the landscape. The Fed’s toolkit may be bigger than it used to be, but the path forward is anything but smooth.

Meanwhile, the White House is adding its own curveball. A proposed “Compact for Academic Excellence” would tie federal funding for universities to a 10-point plan, a sweeping move that could reshape higher education and ripple into the broader economy. For investors, the Fed is signaling patience, but policy shocks from Washington remain a wild card.

Elected officials have had a tremendous amount of success in the market recently.

I want to keep you updated on what they’re trading and when—so you can leverage that intel as you plan out your own portfolio.

Data provided by Quiver Quant.

Remember to always DYOR.

That’s all for today. Write us and let us know your thoughts on the market, the newsletter, or the weather—we’d just love to hear from you.

Till next time,
— Brandon and Blake with Invested Inc.