Aurelia Butler

Here are some of the contenders for several posts overseeing regulation and enforcement.Commerce DepartmentLINDA MCMAHONMcMahon is seen as a top contender for Commerce secretary. She served as head of the Small Business Administration in the first Trump administration and is chair of the pro-Trump America First Action (WA:ACT) super political action committee. She serves on the board of social media platform Truth Social, and is a major Trump donor.ROBERT LIGHTHIZERA loyalist who served as Trump’s U.S. trade representative for essentially the president-elect’s entire first term, Lighthizer will almost certainly be invited back. He is considered a contender for the top jobs at Treasury, the Commerce Department and the U.S. Trade Representative’s office. Lighthizer is a firm believer in tariffs and was one of the leading figures in Trump’s trade war with China.VIVEK RAMASWAMYA Republican presidential candidate until he dropped out of the race in January, Ramaswamy is a potential choice for the top job at Commerce. The multi-millionaire former biotech executive gained fame in right-wing circles thanks to his 2021 bestseller “Woke, Inc.,” which decries decisions by some big companies to base business strategy around social-justice and climate-change concerns.NAZAK NIKAKHTAR Nikakhtar was formerly an assistant secretary and acted as under secretary for the Bureau of Industry and Security during the first Trump administration. She is being considered for a senior post at the Commerce Department, which oversees export controls that have been used by Washington in the U.S.-China tech war. She is a lawyer and currently chairs the national security practice at Wiley Rein.AntitrustGAIL SLATERA policy advisor to Vice President-elect JD (NASDAQ:JD) Vance, Slater is viewed by antitrust attorneys as a top candidate to lead the Federal Trade Commission. Slater previously advised Trump on data privacy and telecommunications, and held roles at Fox Corp (NASDAQ:FOXA) and Roku (NASDAQ:ROKU). Before that, Slater was at the FTC for 10 years, including as an advisor to then-Commissioner Julie Brill (AS:BRIL), who is now an executive at Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT).MELISSA HOLYOAKOne of the FTC’s two current commissioners, Holyoak is a possible pick for acting chair. She was Utah’s solicitor general, and previously led the Hamilton Lincoln Law Institute, a conservative non-profit law firm focused on free speech and limited government.ANDREW FERGUSONThe other Republican on the FTC, Ferguson is another potential candidate for top antitrust roles. He was previously chief counsel to Republican Senator Mitch McConnell and clerked for U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas. Both Ferguson and Holyoak voted against some of the agency’s initiatives under chair Lina Khan, including a rule that would make it easier to cancel subscriptions and ban non-compete agreements.ANDREW FINCHFinch, a former deputy in the Department of Justice’s antitrust division under Trump who expressed skepticism towards “drastic calls for breaking up firms or turning tech platforms into regulated utilities,” could be a contender to lead the division. Finch is a partner at Paul Weiss where he has represented Spirit Airlines (NYSE:SAVE), Uber Technologies (NYSE:UBER) and Mastercard (NYSE:MA) in merger reviews.BARRY NIGROA former antitrust official at the DOJ and FTC and partner at Fried Frank, Nigro is another potential candidate. Nigro handled the DOJ’s review of T-Mobile US (NASDAQ:TMUS) Inc’s $26-billion takeover of Sprint Corp in 2020 and pharmacy-chain CVS Health Corp (NYSE:CVS)’s $69-billion acquisition of health insurer Aetna Inc (NYSE:AET).CybersecurityJOSHUA STEINMANA protégé of former Trump National Security Adviser Gen. Michael Flynn, Steinman played a key role in the first Trump administration’s aggressive stance on government hacking operations and is a contender for a senior cybersecurity position.Federal Communications CommissionBRENDAN CARROne of two Republican members of the Federal Communications Commission, Carr is a likely pick for acting chair of the FCC (BME:FCC) – and a potential permanent chair. He has been a supporter of Elon Musk’s efforts to win subsidies for broadband internet service and criticized NBC for letting Vice President Kamala Harris appear on “Saturday Night Live” just before the election. More

The company, which has been grappling with a deteriorating market for residential solar in Europe, will focus contract manufacturing in four existing locations – two in the US, one in India and one in China. The company will cease its contract manufacturing operations in Guadalajara, Mexico, it added. Enphase’s shares have fallen close to 50% so far this year, with demand for its services weighed down by lower electricity prices and greater competition in key markets such as the Netherlands and Germany. Enphase will incur about $17 million to $20 million in restructuring and asset impairment charges, of which about $14 million would be in the fourth quarter of 2024. The total cash expenditures would be about $11 million to $12 million. The latest move comes after the company unveiled previous job cuts in December last year, when Enphase said it would reduce its global workforce by about 10%, impacting about 350 contractors and employees. “The ongoing challenges from a tough 2023 solar market have continued to impact us and our industry partners throughout 2024,” CEO Badri Kothandaraman said in a message to employees, which was disclosed in a regulatory filing.”A combination of factors — including reduced U.S. residential solar demand due to high interest rates and declining demand in Europe due to policy changes and utility rate adjustments — has contributed to sustained unpredictability in our industry.” Enphase said its adjusted operating expenses in the fourth quarter are expected to increase as a result of restructuring plan. The company expects to reduce its adjusted operating expenses to a range of $75 million to $80 million a quarter in 2025. It expects to substantially complete these restructuring actions by end of the first quarter of 2025. More

“A Republican clean sweep will lead to easier U.S. fiscal policy, which should mean fewer rate cuts by the Fed,” strategists from Alpine Macro (BCBA:BMAm) led by Harvinder Kalirai said in a recent note.The post-election bond market reaction has left some scratching their heads as yields on Treasuries moved higher.While some on Wall Street have interpreted this move as potential loss of investor confidence, the strategists believe it’s quite the opposite. “Yields are rising on stronger U.S. growth expectations,” they said. Higher Treasury yields are a “reflection of stronger growth expectations, which are attracting more capital inflows and pushing up the dollar.”A Republican clean sweep  would likely put Trump in a “stronger position to push his economic policies forward,” they said.”At minimum, it would mean that the 2018 tax cuts that are scheduled to expire at the end of next year will be extended,” they added.Against the backdrop of a stronger economy and less easing by the Fed, the steady state for 10-year Treasuries could be near 4.5%, assuming a nominal R-star, or neutral rate of 4%, and term premium of around 50 basis points, souring investor appetite to increase duration, or bet on stronger bond prices.   In FX, the strategists are now shifting their long USD/JPY, GBP/USD, and AUD/USD positions from against the dollar to the euro.”All three central banks should be less dovish than the ECB,” they added. More

The spread on the ICE BofA U.S. Corporate Index, a commonly used benchmark for high-grade debt, declined to 78 basis points on Thursday, its lowest since 1998. Spreads were at 86 bps at the end of last month.Meanwhile, spreads in the ICE BofA U.S. High Yield Index, which tracks so-called junk bonds, dipped to 273 basis points on Thursday, their lowest since 2007, down from 288 bps at the end of October, LSEG data on Friday showed.The moves come amid a sharp rally in equities markets after Trump won a second term as U.S. president in Tuesday’s election. His policies are largely expected to benefit corporations due to lower taxes and looser regulation.The S&P 500 briefly touched the psychologically significant 6,000 mark for the first time on Friday.Investment-grade credit index spreads narrowed 8 basis points over the week, which was the largest weekly narrowing for the index since June 2023, Daniel Krieter, director of fixed income strategy at BMO Capital Markets, said in a note on Friday.  More

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