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    Lucid slightly tops Wall Street’s third-quarter expectations amid widening losses

    Electric carmaker Lucid Group slightly beat Wall Street’s third-quarter expectations.
    The company’s net loss for the third quarter widened to $992.5 million compared to a loss of $630.9 million a year earlier.
    Lucid executives will host an earnings conference call at 5:30 p.m. ET.

    Brand new Lucid electric cars sit parked in front of a Lucid Studio showroom in San Francisco on May 24, 2024.
    Justin Sullivan | Getty Images

    Lucid Group slightly beat Wall Street’s third-quarter expectations as the electric carmaker cuts costs ahead of plans to begin consumer production of a new SUV by the end of this year.
    Here is how the company performed in the quarter, compared with average estimates compiled by LSEG:

    Loss per share: 28 cents adjusted vs. a loss of 30 cents expected
    Revenue: $200 million vs. $198 million expected

    Shares of Lucid increased more than 8% during after-hours trading Thursday. The stock closed regular trading at $2.22 per share, up 4.2%.
    The company’s net loss for the third quarter widened to $992.5 million. That compares to a loss of $630.9 million a year earlier.
    Lucid CEO Peter Rawlinson described the quarter as a “landmark” for the company, citing record deliveries of 2,781 units as well as cost-cutting measures. He also noted that the company hit financial and production targets.
    The automaker’s costs of $324.4 million in research and development and $233.6 million in selling, general and administrative during the third quarter were up 40.1% and 23.1%, respectively, compared with a year earlier. Others, such as cost of revenue and restructuring, notably declined from a year earlier.
    The company reaffirmed plans to produce roughly 9,000 vehicles this year, which would mark a 6.8% increase compared to 8,428 units in 2023.

    Lucid said it had $5.16 billion in total liquidity to end the quarter. That excludes a $1.75 billion stock offering and capital raise last month that surprised many investors.

    Stock chart icon

    Lucid, Rivian and Tesla stocks in 2024.

    Lucid’s stock has been under pressure this year amid widening losses, slower-than-expected sales and significant cash burn. Shares of the company are off by about 45% this year, including an 18% decline — its worst daily loss since December 2021 — following the recent capital raise.
    Rawlinson previously told CNBC the public offering of nearly 262.5 million shares of its common stock was a timely, strategic business decision to ensure the electric vehicle company has enough capital for its ongoing operations and growth plans.
    The company reiterated Thursday that its current funds now secure its capital into 2026, ahead of it launching a new midsize platform later that year.
    Lucid is currently in a highly capital-intensive investment period as it expands its sole U.S. factory in Arizona; builds a second plant in Saudi Arabia; prepares to launch its second product, an SUV called Gravity; develops its next-generation powertrain; and builds out its retail and service network.
    The company during its second-quarter earnings call said capital expenditures this year were expected to be $1.3 billion, down from previous guidance of $1.5 billion amid cost-cutting actions.
    Gagan Dhingra, Lucid interim chief financial officer and principal accounting officer, said cost cuts are occurring across the automaker: “We are not leaving any corner. It’s across the board.”
    Lucid reported third-quarter results Thursday afternoon after opening up orders for its upcoming Gravity SUV that is expected to begin consumer production by the end of this year. More

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    DoubleLine’s Gundlach says expect higher rates if Republicans also win the House

    Jeffrey Gundlach speaks at the 24th Annual Sohn Investment Conference in New York, May 6, 2019.
    Adam Jeffery | CNBC

    DoubleLine Capital CEO Jeffrey Gundlach said Thursday that interest rates could shoot higher if Republicans end up controlling the House, securing a governing trifecta that gives President-elect Donald Trump free rein to spend as he pleases.
    Gundlach, a noted fixed-income investor whose firm manages over $96 billion, believes the higher government spending would require more borrowing through Treasury issuance, putting upward pressure on bond yields.

    “If the House goes to Republicans, there’s going to be a lot of debt, there’s going to be higher interest rates at the long end, and it’ll be interesting to see how the Fed reacts to that,” Gundlach said on CNBC’s “Closing Bell.”
    The race to control the House is undecided as of Thursday after Republicans clinched their new Senate majority. The Federal Reserve cut rates Thursday, and traders expect the central bank to cut again in December and several times in 2025.
    Notable investors such as Gundlach have been voicing concerns about the challenging fiscal situation. Fiscal 2024 just ended with the government running a budget deficit in excess of $1.8 trillion, including more than $1.1 trillion dedicated solely to paying financing costs on the $36 trillion U.S. debt.
    “Trump says he’s going to cut taxes … he’s very pro cyclical stimulus,” Gundlach said. “So it looks to me that there will be some pressure on interest rates, and particularly at the long end. I think that this election result is very, very consequential.”
    If the Trump administration extends the 2017 tax cuts or introduces new reductions, it could add a significant amount to the nation’s debt in the next few years, worsening the already troublesome fiscal picture.

    Still, Gundlach, who had predicted a recession in the U.S., said the Trump presidency makes such an economic downturn less likely.
    “I do think that it’s right to see the Trump victory as being as reducing the odds for near-term recession fairly substantially,” Gundlach said. “Certainly, the odds of recession drop when you have this type of agenda being promoted in plain English for the past three months by Mr. Trump.” More

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    Traders see good chance the Fed cuts again in December then skips in January

    Expectations for a December interest rate cut remained strong after the Federal Reserve trimmed rates by a quarter percentage point in November.
    On Thursday afternoon, the U.S. central bank lowered the federal funds rate to a target range of 4.5% to 4.75%.

    Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell speaks during a news conference following the Nov. 6-7, 2024, Federal Open Market Committee meeting at William McChesney Martin Jr. Federal Reserve Board Building in Washington, D.C., on Nov. 7, 2024.
    Andrew Caballero-Reynolds | AFP | Getty Images

    Expectations for a December interest rate cut remained strong after the Federal Reserve trimmed rates by a quarter percentage point in November, but market pricing is suggesting the likelihood of a “skip” in January.
    On Thursday afternoon, the U.S. central bank lowered the federal funds rate, which determines what banks charge each other for overnight lending, to a target range of 4.5% to 4.75%.

    Before the Fed released this decision at 2 p.m. ET, market pricing pointed toward a 67% chance of another quarter-point cut in December and a 33% chance of a pause that month, according to the CME FedWatch Tool.
    The probability of a quarter-point December rate cut rose to more than 70% following the meeting, while the chances of a pause slipped to nearly 29%. Future rate probabilities found in the CME FedWatch Tool are derived from trading in 30-day fed funds futures contracts.
    Meanwhile, the odds that the Federal Reserve would skip an interest rate cut in January was around 71%. This was slightly higher from 67% before the release of the Fed’s November decision on Thursday afternoon.
    — CNBC’s Jeff Cox contributed to this report.

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    Federal Reserve cuts interest rates by a quarter point

    The Federal Open Market Committee lowered its benchmark overnight borrowing rate by a quarter percentage point, or 25 basis points, to a target range of 4.50%-4.75%.
    The vote was unanimous. Fed officials have justified the easing mode for policy as they view supporting employment becoming at least as much of a priority as arresting inflation.

    WASHINGTON — The Federal Reserve approved its second consecutive interest rate cut Thursday, moving at a less aggressive pace than before but continuing its efforts to right-size monetary policy.
    In a follow-up to September’s big half percentage point reduction, the Federal Open Market Committee lowered its benchmark overnight borrowing rate by a quarter percentage point, or 25 basis points, to a target range of 4.50%-4.75%. The rate sets what banks charge each other for overnight lending but often influences consumer debt instruments such as mortgages, credit cards and auto loans.

    Markets had widely expected the move, which was telegraphed both at the September meeting and in follow-up remarks from policymakers since then. The vote was unanimous, unlike the previous move that saw the first “no” vote from a Fed governor since 2005. This time, Governor Michelle Bowman went along with the decision.
    Stocks closed positive after the meeting wrapped, with the Nasdaq, whose holdings are tilted towards the tech sector, rallying 1.5% to lead the major averages. Both the Nasdaq and the S&P 500 closed at record highs. Treasury yields plunged after roaring higher the day before.
    The post-meeting statement reflected a few tweaks in how the Fed views the economy. Among them was an altered view in how it assesses the effort to bring down inflation while supporting the labor market.
    “The Committee judges that the risks to achieving its employment and inflation goals are roughly in balance,” the document said, a change from September when it noted “greater confidence” in the process.

    Recalibrating policy

    Fed officials have justified the easing mode for policy as they view supporting employment becoming at least as much of a priority as arresting inflation.

    The statement slightly downgraded the labor market, saying “conditions have generally eased, and the unemployment rate has moved up but remains low.” The committee again said the economy “has continued to expand at a solid pace.”
    Officials have largely framed the change in policy as an attempt to get the rate structure back in line with an economy where inflation is drifting back to the central bank’s 2% target while the labor market has shown some indications of softening. Fed Chair Jerome Powell has spoken of “recalibrating” policy back to where it no longer needs to be as restrictive as it was when the central bank focused almost solely on taming inflation.
    “This further recalibration of our policy stance will help maintain the strength of the economy and the labor market and will continue to enable further progress on inflation as we move towards a more neutral stance,” Powell said at his post-meeting news conference.
    There is uncertainty over how far the Fed will need to go with cuts as the macro economy continues to post solid growth and inflation remains a stifling problem for U.S. households.
    Gross domestic product grew at a 2.8% pace in the third quarter, less than expected and slightly below the second-quarter level, but still above the historical trend for the U.S. around 1.8%-2%. Preliminary tracking for the fourth quarter is pointing to growth around 2.4%, according to the Atlanta Fed.
    Generally, the labor market has held up well. However, nonfarm payrolls increased by just by 12,000 in October, though the weakness was attributed in part to storms in the Southeast and labor strikes.The decision comes amid a changing political backdrop.
    President-elect Donald Trump scored a stunning victory in Tuesday’s election. Economists largely expect his policies to pose challenges for inflation, with his stated intentions of punitive tariffs and mass deportations for undocumented immigrants. In his first term, however, inflation held low while economic growth, outside of the initial phase of the Covid pandemic, held strong.
    Still, Trump was a fierce critic of Powell and his colleagues during his first stint in office, and the chair’s term expires in early 2026. Central bankers assiduously steer clear of commenting on political matters, but the Trump dynamic could be an overhang for the course of policy ahead.
    An acceleration in economic activity under Trump could persuade the Fed to cut rates less, depending on how inflation reacts.
    Powell said the new administration won’t factor directly into monetary policy.
    “In the near term, the election will have no effect on our policy decisions,” Powell said. The November meeting was moved back a day due to the election.
    Powell also said he would not step down even if the president-elect asked for his resignation. He ended the news conference a bit shorter than usual after being peppered with questions about the incoming administration.

    Pace of future cuts

    Questions have arisen over what the “terminal” point is for the Fed, or the point at which it will decide it has cut enough and has its benchmark rate where it is neither pushing nor holding back growth. Traders expect the Fed likely will approve another quarter-point cut in December then pause in January as it assesses the impact of its tightening moves, according to the CME Group’s FedWatch tool.
    “We interpret the statement overall as pointing to a steady-as-she-goes policy path for now as policymakers take their time to digest emerging Trump shocks to economic policy, financial conditions and animal spirits, with another cut in December a good base case,” said Krishna Guha, Evercore ISI vice chairman.
    The FOMC indicated in September that members expected a half percentage point more in cuts by the end of this year and then another full percentage point in 2025. The September “dot plot” of individual officials’ expectations pointed to a terminal rate of 2.9%, which would imply another half percentage point of cuts in 2026.
    Even with the Fed lowering rates, markets have not responded in kind. Treasury yields have jumped higher since the September cut, as have mortgage rates. The 30-year mortgage, for instance, has climbed about 0.7 percentage point to 6.8%, according to Freddie Mac. The 10-year Treasury yield is up almost as much.
    The Fed is seeking to achieve a “soft landing” for the economy in which it can bring down inflation without causing a recession. The Fed’s preferred inflation indicator most recently showed a 2.1% 12-month rate, though the so-called core, which excludes food and energy and is generally considered a better long-run indicator, was at 2.7%.

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    How Trump’s victory could change abortion rights in America

    Abortion was one of the top hot-button issues that drove voters to the polls this election.
    President-elect Donald Trump’s comeback will likely make abortion rights in the U.S. more vulnerable and uncertain, health policy experts said, even as ballot measures to protect access were passed in seven of the 10 states that had them. 
    Trump and his political appointees could further restrict abortion on the federal level through methods that won’t require Congress to pass new legislation.

    Anti-abortion demonstrators listen to President Donald Trump as he speaks at the 47th annual “March for Life” in Washington, D.C., Jan. 24, 2020.
    Olivier Douliery | Afp | Getty Images

    Voters in seven out of 10 states approved ballot measures this week to safeguard abortion rights, a hot-button issue that helped drive Americans to the polls.
    But President-elect Donald Trump’s victory early Wednesday could make access to the procedure more vulnerable and uncertain across the U.S., health policy experts warned, leaving the reproductive well-being of many women hanging in the balance.

    Trump has waffled considerably on his position on abortion, most recently saying he would not support a federal ban and wants to leave the issue up to the states. But Trump and his appointees to federal agencies could further restrict abortion on the federal level through methods that won’t require Congress to pass new legislation.
    “The more restrictions we see on abortion over the next four years, the worse health outcomes are going to be. People are suffering and dying unnecessarily,” said Katie O’Connor, senior director of federal abortion policy at the National Women’s Law Center.
    Abortion access in the U.S. has already been in a state of flux in the two years since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade and ended the federal constitutional right to the procedure — a decision Trump takes credit for since he reshaped the court. As of last year, more than 25 million women ages 15 to 44 lived in states where there are more restrictions on abortion than before the court’s ruling in 2022, PBS reported.
    Experts say a further crackdown on abortion by the Trump administration could put the health of many patients, especially those who are lower-income or people of color, at risk.
    “As long as we have a government that is not fully committed to abortion access for everyone who seeks it, there is going to be chaos and confusion on the ground around what is legal and what is available,” O’Connor said. “It’s going to contribute to the ongoing health-care access crisis we’re seeing with abortion.”‘

    It’s unclear what Trump’s actions around the issue could look like. There is little public support for Congress to pass nationwide bans on abortion, according to a poll conducted in June by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. At least 70% of Americans oppose a federal ban on abortion or a ban on the procedure at six weeks.
    If Trump does decide to curb access, experts say, that could include limiting the use of medication abortion, particularly when it is administered through telehealth or delivered by mail. 
    Medication is the most common method used to end a pregnancy in the U.S., accounting for 63% of all abortions in the U.S. last year, according to a March study by the Guttmacher Institute, a research organization that supports abortion access. 
    Trump’s campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

    The decades-old Comstock Act

    A Trump administration could sharply restrict or ban medication abortion by enforcing an interpretation of the long-dead Comstock Act, according to Julie Kay, co-founder and executive director of The Abortion Coalition for Telemedicine. 
    The law, passed in 1873, makes it a federal crime to send or receive drugs or other materials designed for abortions in the mail. It has not been widely enforced for decades.

    National Women’s Strike holds a protest marking the second anniversary of Dobbs v. Jackson, the Supreme Court decision that overturned Roe v. Wade, outside the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington on Monday, June 24, 2024.
    Bill Clark | Cq-roll Call, Inc. | Getty Images

    Trump’s administration could use the act to block the shipment and distribution of abortion pills and potentially any medical equipment used in abortion procedures, such as dilators and suction catheters, preventing doctors from performing abortions at hospitals, according to Kelly Dittmar, director of research at the Rutgers Center for American Women and Politics.
    To enforce it, Trump would have to appoint an anti-abortion U.S. attorney general, which would require Senate confirmation. 
    The Biden administration maintains that the Comstock Act’s provisions are outdated. Trump in August said he had no plans to enforce the Comstock Act. 
    But anti-abortion advocates and people in Trump’s close circle, including his running mate, Vice President-elect JD Vance, have urged the opposite. Some of Trump’s former advisors, writing in the conservative policy blueprint Project 2025, also endorse the use of the Comstock Act to restrict abortion pills. So does every major anti-abortion organization in the country.
    There would likely be legal opposition to any effort to enforce it, O’Connor noted. 
    That issue could end up at the Supreme Court, whose justices have expressed openness to the idea that the Comstock Act could ban abortion. Earlier this year, Justices Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas repeatedly invoked the Comstock Act during oral arguments in a case regarding medication abortion. 

    Appointing anti-abortion actors to key agency roles

    Trump could also appoint anti-abortion leaders to control key federal agencies that could use executive power to severely limit or ban the procedure in the U.S. That includes the Department of Health and Human Services, the Food and Drug Administration and the Department of Justice. 
    “Those agencies have been instrumental in clarifying or protecting as much as possible in a post-Dobbs world when it comes to abortion rights,” said Kelly Baden, vice president for policy at the Guttmacher Institute, referring to the Supreme Court’s decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, which overturned Roe v. Wade.
    Trump and his political appointees to the FDA could direct that agency to severely restrict or potentially eliminate access to mifepristone, one of two drugs used in a common medication abortion regimen. 
    Anti-abortion physicians squared off with the FDA in 2023 in a legal battle over the agency’s more than two-decade-old approval of the medication. In June, the Supreme Court unanimously dismissed the challenge to mifepristone and sided with the Biden administration, meaning the commonly used medication could remain widely available.

    Mifepristone and Misoprostol pills are pictured Wednesday, Oct. 3, 2018, in Skokie, Illinois.
    Erin Hooley | Chicago Tribune | Tribune News Service | Getty Images

    But Trump’s FDA appointees could push to roll back certain changes made from 2016 to 2021 that expanded access to mifepristone. That could include reinstating requirements that would require mifepristone to be dispensed in person, which would effectively eliminate access to the pill via telehealth. 
    Telehealth has become an increasingly common way to access abortion bills, accounting for nearly 1 in 5 of them during the last months of 2023, according to a research project published in May by the Society of Family Planning. 
    Restricting telehealth as an option would have an “incredibly chilling effect” on abortion access,” said Alina Salganicoff, a senior vice president and the director of Women’s Health Policy at KFF, a health policy research organization. 
    “We will likely see more people in states where abortion is banned having to travel, more delays in getting care and the potential for more of them actually being denied that care due to difficulties related to getting the procedure in person,” she said. 
    New FDA leaders could also attempt to use a more extreme approach: rescinding mifepristone’s approval altogether. Either strategy would disregard significant scientific research demonstrating mifepristone’s safe and effective use in the U.S., experts said.
    Trump vaguely suggested in August that he would not rule out directing the FDA to revoke access to mifepristone. Just days later, Vance attempted to walk back those remarks. 
    Trump’s comments appear to be a shift from his stance in June, when the former president said during a CNN debate that he “will not block” access to mifepristone.

    Reviving old rules, gutting Biden’s

    At the very least, Trump could reinstate some of the policies implemented during his first term that made abortions harder to obtain and gut some of the efforts that the Biden administration used to expand access. 

    Rep. Lois Frankel, D-Fla., left, points out states with restricted reproductive rights as Rep. Joyce Beatty, D-Ohio, and Rep. Joe Neguse, D-Colo., hold the map during a news conference on reproductive rights in the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday, May 8, 2024. 
    Bill Clark | Cq-roll Call, Inc. | Getty Images

    Trump could reinstate a so-called domestic gag rule, which he implemented in 2019 and that the Biden administration reversed in 2021.
    The rule prohibited providers that are part of the federally funded Title X family program from referring patients for abortion care or providing counseling that includes abortion information. Title X is a decades-old program that provides family planning and preventive health services to patients, especially lower-income individuals. 
    Guttmacher’s Baden said the rule “decimated” Title X’s network of family planning clinics and constrained its ability to serve low-income patients. She said those clinics are “still recovering from that.” 
    “I see no reason to assume that he wouldn’t go back to reinstating that rule in the first 100 days,” Baden said.
    A Trump administration could also quickly nullify some of Biden’s executive orders, memorandums and other efforts that aimed to protect and expand access to reproductive health services, according to Baden.  More

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    Steve Madden to slash China sourcing by as much as 45% as Trump’s tariff plan looms

    Steve Madden’s CEO said the company will reduce the goods it imports from China by as much as 45% over the next year.
    On the campaign trail, President-elect Donald Trump said he would impose a 10% to 20% tariff on all imports, with tariffs as high as 60% to 100% on goods from China.
    Other retailers and brands have already made a push to diversify sourcing from China because of tariff risks, labor shortages and supply chain disruptions.

    The logo of the label Steve Madden at the fashion fair Premium. 
    ens Kalaene | Picture Alliance | Getty Images

    Steve Madden said Thursday that it will slash the goods it imports from China by as much as 45% over the next year as it braces for President-elect Donald Trump to carry out his pledge for steep tariffs on imports from other countries.
    On an earnings call, CEO Edward Rosenfeld said the shoe brand has been “planning for a potential scenario in which we would have to move goods out of China more quickly.” Over the past few years, he said, it’s looked for factories in other countries, including Cambodia, Vietnam, Mexico and Brazil.

    “As of yesterday morning, we are putting that plan into motion,” he said Thursday. “And you should expect to see the percentage of goods that we sourced from China to begin to come down more rapidly going forward.”
    Rosenfeld said imports to the U.S. account for about two-thirds of Steve Madden’s business. Of that, he said, “we currently source a little bit more than 70% of those goods from China.” That means slightly less than half of its business would be at risk of tariffs on Chinese imports, he said.
    “Our goal over the next year is to reduce that percentage of goods that we sourced from China by approximately 40% to 45%, which means that if we’re able to achieve that and we think we have the plan to do it, that a year from today, we would be looking at just over a quarter of our business that would be subject to potential tariffs on Chinese goods,” he said.
    Trump is expected to put pressure on companies to move more of their production to the U.S. During his presidential campaign, Trump said he would impose a 10% to 20% tariff on all imports, including tariffs as high as 60% to 100% for goods from China.
    Other retailers and brands have already made a push to diversify sourcing because of a variety of factors, including reduced labor in China because of its growing middle class and as part of an effort to bulletproof their supply chains after disruption from the Covid pandemic and Red Sea shipping crisis.

    Retail analysts and trade groups have warned the proposed tariffs could drive up prices for U.S. consumers and soften spending.
    Tarang Amin, CEO of makeup and skin care maker E.l.f. Beauty, said it may have to raise prices on some of its items if tariffs take effect. He said the company has moved more of its production outside of China since tariffs began under Trump’s first administration.
    For Tapestry, the parent company of Coach and Kate Spade, less than 10% of overall sourcing comes from China, the company’s CFO, Scott Roe, said on a Thursday earnings call. He said the handbag-, apparel- and accessory-maker is watching tariff policy closely, but has gotten plenty of practice with staying nimble.
    “My goodness, we’ve had so many disruptions and challenges that have forced us to make adaptions based on port strikes and freight lanes, whatever it might be, tariff regimes changing over time,” he said. “So we’re pretty well versed in managing through this.”
    — CNBC’s Gabrielle Fonrouge contributed to this report.

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    Here’s what changed in the new Fed statement

    This is a comparison of Thursday’s Federal Open Market Committee statement with the one issued after the Fed’s previous policymaking meeting in September.
    Text removed from the September statement is in red with a horizontal line through the middle.

    Text appearing for the first time in the new statement is in red and underlined.
    Black text appears in both statements.

    Arrows pointing outwards More

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    Wall Street expects Trump presidency will unlock deal-making

    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.
    Deal-making has slowed in recent years, largely due to high interest rates, soaring company valuations and a tight regulatory environment.
    Kroger’s takeover of Albertsons and Tapestry’s proposed acquisition of Capri have both been scrutinized by regulators and could have a clearer path under a Trump presidency.

    Attendees cheer as a broadcast of former US President and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trum speaking at his Florida election party is shown on a screen at the Nevada GOP election watch party in Las Vegas, Nevada on November 6, 2024. 
    Ronda Churchill | Afp | Getty Images

    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.”
    Solomon added that the scaled-back regulation will be focused on certain areas “of particular interest to the Trump administration,” rather than a broad based reassessment of the entire landscape.
    In recent years, there has been greater scrutiny of pending deals by the Biden administration’s Department of Justice and Federal Trade Commission, headed by Chair Lina Khan. Some have pointed to that dynamic as a chilling factor on deal flow. High interest rates and soaring company valuations have contributed, too.
    Khan said in September that “when you see greater scrutiny of mergers, you can see greater deterrence of illegal mergers.” Her hard line has drawn harsh criticism, but now, there’s optimism around a forthcoming FTC with a lighter hand.
    “Assuming interest rates drop and you see corporate tax rates go down, the ingredients are there for a really active M&A market,” said one top dealmaker, who talked to CNBC on the condition of anonymity to speak candidly.

    On Wednesday, markets rallied on the Republican presidential win, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average soaring 1,500 points to a new record high.

    Sector specific

    Some sectors, including financial and pharmaceutical industries in particular, are likely to get a lift under a second Trump regime, experts said.
    Pharmaceutical executives are especially optimistic that lighter antitrust enforcement could clear the way for deal-making, said one health-care-focused M&A advisor, who added that antitrust enforcement could have “hardly gotten worse” under either administration but now believes things will improve “meaningfully.”
    Khan has taken on scores of biopharma mergers over the last four years, arguing that monopolies will stifle the development of new drugs in certain disease areas and hurt consumer choice. Biotech company Illumina last year said it would divest diagnostic test maker Grail after heated battles with the FTC and European antitrust regulators.
    Also last year, the FTC blocked Sanofi’s proposed acquisition of a drug in development for Pompe disease, a genetic condition, from Maze Therapeutics. Sanofi ultimately terminated that deal.
    “Whether or not Lina Khan is bounced day one is a key consideration, but even if fewer changes at the FTC take place, there is no doubt this administration — at least on paper — will be far more amicable when it comes to business combinations,” Jared Holz, Mizuho health-care equity strategist, said in an email on Wednesday.
    One top dealmaker expected an M&A uptick broadly, but agreed that pharmaceuticals and the financial sector were particularly poised for a resurgence. That deal-maker also noted that with the Senate flipping, more outspoken antitrust voices like Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., could find it more difficult to push for DOJ or FTC investigations.
    In the financial sector regional banks recognize the need for scale, making them likely candidates for consolidation, said one former industry executive, noting that smaller banks had been getting gobbled up for “some time.” That person expects the pace and size of those acquisitions to ramp up under a Trump presidency.
    Other industries, such as tech, may still face an uphill battle in getting deals done.
    One M&A advisor, who also spoke to CNBC anonymously, noted that Trump’s disdain for Big Tech companies — historically active deal-makers — might keep them on the sidelines. On Wednesday, tech leaders took to social media to congratulate Trump.
    Apparent GOP opposition to the CHIPS Act means that semiconductor consolidation might be challenging, the advisor noted, while cautioning it is still too early to know what a Trump presidency would mean. CNBC previously reported that Qualcomm recently approached Intel about a potential takeover.
    “I think the simplest way to put it is more deals, less regulation with the administration having its thumb on the scale, perhaps with a willingness to pick winners and losers,” said Jonathan Miller, chief executive of Integrated Media, which specializes in digital media investments.

    Eyes on retail, media

    David Zaslav at the Allen & Company Sun Valley Conference on July 9, 2024 in Sun Valley, Idaho.
    David Grogan | CNBC

    A Trump presidency could usher in a number of retail deals that have been hamstrung by the FTC. Kroger’s bid to take over grocery chain Albertsons could have a better chance of getting approved under Trump, as could Tapestry’s proposed acquisition of Capri.
    The merger between Kroger and Albertsons is currently under review by a federal judge, while Tapestry is working to appeal a federal order that granted the FTC’s motion for a preliminary injunction against the tie-up.
    “The hostile approach of the FTC to mergers and acquisitions will almost certainly be reset and replaced with a worldview that is more favorable to corporate dealmaking,” said GlobalData managing director Neil Saunders. “This does not necessarily mean that big deals like Kroger-Albertsons will be waved through, but it does mean others like Tapestry-Capri will receive a far warmer reception than they have under the Biden administration.”
    Meanwhile, ongoing turmoil in the media industry has led many to consider consolidation as the next step for the sector.
    Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav on Thursday highlighted opportunities that could come up if regulations were to loosen, doubling down on comments he made earlier this year at Allen & Co.’s annual Sun Valley conference.
    “We have an upcoming new administration. … It’s too early to tell, but it may offer a pace of change and opportunity for consolidation that may be quite different, that would provide a real positive and accelerated impact on this industry that’s needed,” Zaslav said on an earnings call.
    Broadcast station group owner Sinclair on Wednesday echoed a similar sentiment.
    “We’re very excited about the upcoming regulatory environment,” CEO Chris Ripley said during an earnings call. “It does feel like a cloud over the industry is lifting here.”
    Still, the track record between the previous Trump administration and the Biden administration for media industry deals is split.
    Trump’s DOJ allowed Disney to buy Fox’s assets, but then sued to block AT&T’s deal for Time Warner.
    Under the Biden administration, Amazon’s $8.5 billion deal for MGM and the merger of Warner Bros. and Discovery Communications were both waved through, but a federal judge blocked the $2.2 billion sale of Simon & Schuster to Penguin Random House.
    Skydance Media and Paramount Global agreed to merge earlier this year and expect to receive regulatory approval in 2025. More