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Wall Street dealmakers and corporate leaders expect the flood gates to open on merger and acquisition activity after President-elect Donald Trump takes office in January. And he’ll likely have congressional help. Trump defeated Democratic candidate Vice President Kamala Harris , and Republicans claimed a majority of the Senate in elections this week. That red wave is expected to spell loosening regulations on deal-making, with plenty of pent-up demand. “We know kind of where the world is headed in a Trump environment because we’ve seen it before,” said Jeffrey Solomon, president of TD Cowen, on CNBC’s “Money Movers” Wednesday . “I think the regulatory environment will be much more conducive to economic growth. There will be lighter and targeted regulation.” So...

The Federal Reserve announced Thursday it was lowering its key interest rate by a quarter-point — a widely expected move that coincides with inflation approaching the central bank's 2% goal. In their statement , Fed officials noted that inflation remains "somewhat elevated" while unemployment has "moved up but remains low." They did note that conditions in the labor market have "generally eased" — perhaps a nod to signs of growing softness in hiring. Some market participants noted the officials removed key language that had indicated it was still confident it would hit the 2% inflation target. In a note to clients, Omair Sharif, president of Inflation Insights, said that may signal a new willingness by the Fed to forgo a widely expected additional quarter-poin...

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said Thursday that he would not resign if president-elect Donald Trump asked him to. Asked whether he would step down amid chatter that Trump's advisers had suggested he do so, Powell replied, "No." Trump nominated Powell as Fed chairman in 2017 in his first administration. Powell also said that he was not legally required to leave if asked to do so, and that his staff had determined that the president lacked the capacity under the law to demote, at will, him or any other Fed governors. Powell's term is scheduled to end in May 2026. Powell made the comments during his regularly scheduled remarks following the release of the Federal Open Market Committee's latest statement on interest rate policy. The committee announced a quarter-p...

After feeling like they were on the precipice of history, many South Asian Americans say they’re heartbroken following Vice President Kamala Harris’ loss in the 2024 presidential race, but are looking back on her ascent in politics with pride for their community. Harris would have been the first Black woman and South Asian person to hold the nation’s highest office, and with her defeat by President-elect Donald Trump called Wednesday morning, they’re reflecting on the spotlight her unprecedented candidacy put on their community. “I was speechless,” said Anjali Bhatt, 27, who saw the results online when she woke up Wednesday morning. “The fact that there could have been a South Asian woman in the White House … we’re not there yet, but it would have been very nice. For the South Asian ...

Welcome to the online version of From the Politics Desk , an evening newsletter that brings you the NBC News Politics team’s latest reporting and analysis from the campaign trail, the White House and Capitol Hill. In today’s edition, senior national political reporter Jonathan Allen explains why Democrats need to retool their economic message during Donald Trump's second term. Plus, senior national politics reporter Matt Dixon writes that the battle to succeed Trump in four years is already underway. And "Meet the Press" moderator Kristen Welker asks Trump about his mass deportation plans in an interview. Sign up to receive this newsletter in your inbox every weekday here. How Trump broke both parties — and where Democrats go from here By Jonathan Al...

The S&P 500 and Nasdaq rose Thursday, extending Wall Street’s rally in the wake of President-elect Donald Trump’s victory, as traders weighed the latest rate cut from the Federal Reserve. The S&P 500 gained 0.74% to close at a record high of 5,973.10. The Nasdaq Composite advanced 1.51% to reach 19,269.46 — its first close above 19,000. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was little changed, ticking down less than one point to 43,729.34. All three indexes hit intraday record highs during the session. The moves built on a surge in stocks Wednesday after Trump’s win, which included a 1,500-point gain for the Dow . The S&P 500 jumped 2.53% for its best post-election day in history. The bond market has also been volatile since the election, ...

Donald Trump’s return to the presidency has done something no political opponent could: put an end date on his time atop the Republican Party. Well, sort of. Trump single-handedly remade the Republican Party in his own image, not only becoming its unquestioned leader but also rewiring what the Grand Old Party stands for. After he emerged on the scene in 2015, former party heavyweights who did not abide by the new MAGA ethos either were cast off to irrelevance or became the subjects of intense lines of attack from Trump and his supporters. But the fact is that the Constitution bars him from running for president again after a second term. And because Trump cannot run again, the process to figure out who will lead the party next has already begun, featuring a slate of ambitious and ...

The defense team for the man accused of murdering four University of Idaho students in 2022 said Thursday that his trial should not permit the death penalty as punishment, arguing that the state has "no real means" of executing an inmate and the methods are unconstitutional. The death penalty hearing in Boise, Idaho, on whether suspect Bryan Kohberger can be executed if he is convicted, came as the campus community prepares to mark next week two years since the quadruple homicide in the college town of Moscow. "I don't believe our Constitution allows for us to move forward and make him sit in death row for years and years and years if the way Idaho is doing it right now isn't really working," Ann Taylor, Kohberger's public defender, said. "It's not a realistic option." ...

The best desktop computers can elevate your home computing setup in a way that a compact laptop never could. When you don’t have to cram your CPU, RAM, storage, graphics card, screen and keyboard into a single gadget, it’s possible to get much better performance than a standard laptop. Setting up a desktop computer in a specific location allows you to invest in parts that are designed more for performance than portability. However, there are many desktop computers to choose from and PC configurations can be notoriously complicated. That’s why we spoke to gadget experts who could advise us on a shortlist of the best desktop computers. So whether you’re looking for an all-in-one desktop PC with a monitor and keyboard, or a compact desktop computer that connects to your existing kit, we’ll...

President-elect Donald Trump’s 2024 victory was powered by an overall voter shift in most places and most demographics compared to 2020 — with a new analysis of precinct data in pivotal Pennsylvania coloring in additional details about how Trump won. The NBC News Decision Desk collected and monitored precinct-level vote results in 50 of Pennsylvania’s 67 counties, totaling more than 8,300 of the state’s roughly 9,000 precincts. This granular data provides a detailed insight into what was happening neighborhood to neighborhood and block to block in the nation’s biggest battleground state. On average, Pennsylvania’s precincts shifted 1.6 percentage points toward the Republicans and 1.6 points away from the Democrats — a 3.2-point swing overall that flipped Pennsylvania from a 1-point v...