The Senate will hold hearings for President-elect Trump’s cabinet nominees this week in an effort to secure confirmations quickly after his inauguration. Today’s line-up includes former Rep. Doug Collins, who was tapped to be veterans affairs secretary, and Pete Hegseth, a former Fox News host and Army veteran who is Trump’s controversial pick to lead the Department of Defense. Among the high-profile choices who will also go before lawmakers this week are Sen. Marco Rubio for secretary of state, Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi to head the Justice Department, and South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem for the Department of Homeland Security.
Bill Ackman wants to make a “modern-day Berkshire Hathaway”...
Bill Ackman wants to make a “modern-day Berkshire Hathaway” with $1B deal. Hedge fund billionaire (and frequent main character on X) Bill Ackman wants a new role—namely, to become the next Warren Buffett by taking over real estate company Howard Hughes. Ackman, whose Pershing Square already owns 37.6% of the company, wants to buy the rest for $85 per share in a $1 billion deal. In a letter to shareholders, he claimed “with apologies to Mr. Buffett,” the tie-up could create a modern version of the famed investors’ conglomerate, by buying up other companies. But to do that, Ackman will have his work cut out for him: Berkshire Hathaway is valued at $956 billion, while Howard Hughes is at ~$4 billion, per Bloomberg.
Israel and Hamas are moving closer to a ceasefire and hostage release deal after a “breakthrough” in talks, officials said.
The Biden administration proposed new rules limiting the export of AI chips on national security grounds. Nvidia is not happy about it.
Blue Origin, Jeff Bezos’s space company, nixed the launch of its new massive New Glenn rocket yesterday—moments before it was scheduled to blast off—due to technical problems.
Johnson & Johnson has agreed to purchase psychiatric drug developer Intra-Cellular for $14.6 billion.
Carrie Underwood will perform at Donald Trump’s inauguration next week.
Monday produced a nearly 2% jump in crude oil prices over growing expectations...
Monday produced a nearly 2% jump in crude oil prices over growing expectations that the U.S. sanctions on Russian oil announced last Friday by the Biden administration will force India and China to go elsewhere for their oil.
West Texas Intermediate crude rose $2.25 or 2.9% to close Monday at $78.82 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
Brent crude, considered the global standard, climbed a $1.25 or 1.6% and finished Monday’s trading at $81.01 a barrel, the first time it’s been above the $80 level in several weeks.
Reuters reported it was the highest Brent close since Aug. 26 and the highest level for WIT since Aug. 12.
S&P 500 logs biggest intraday comeback since September as investors rotate out of tech
Stocks ended mostly higher Monday, with the S&P 500...
Stocks ended mostly higher Monday, with the S&P 500 shaking off earlier losses to post its biggest intraday comeback in four months.
The S&P 500 finished with a gain of 9.18 points, or 0.16%, to close at 5,836.22, after falling 0.92% at its session low. That marked its biggest intraday comeback since Sept. 11, when it was down 1.61% but finished the day with a gain of 1.07%, according to Dow Jones Markets Data.
The energy and materials sectors each saw gains of 2.2% to lead the way higher for the S&P 500, while tech dropped 0.9% and the rate-sensitive utilities sector declined 1.2%.
The Dow Jones finished the day with a gain of 358.67 points, or 0.9%, at 42,297.12.
The Nasdaq Composite was unable to shake off weakness in tech shares, ending with a loss of 73.53 points, or 0.4%, at 19,088.10.
US gas-fired capacity poised for massive expansion
The growing energy needs...
The growing energy needs of AI data centers and manufacturing facilities are driving plans for up to 80 new natural gas-fired power plants in the US by 2030, which could increase power capacity by 46 gigawatts, according to Enverus. Major oil companies such as ExxonMobil and Chevron are also joining the fray with projects designed to power AI data centers directly, bypassing the traditional grid.
