NEW YORK (Reuters) -Wall Street CEOs voiced confidence on Wednesday that the incoming U.S. administration would be business-friendly and good for banks as they reported a profits surge after dealmaking and trading picked up. The market environment has already been favorable for banks, with buoyant equity markets and anticipation that President-elect Donald Trump will usher in a deregulatory and lower-tax agenda. “There has been a meaningful shift in CEO confidence, particularly following the results of … Read more…

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The Biden administration on Wednesday sued Southwest Airlines, accusing the carrier of illegally operating multiple chronically delayed flights and disrupting passengers’ travel. The U.S. Transportation Department said in its civil suit filed with the Justice Department that the carrier had operated unrealistic schedules, and said it is seeking maximum civil penalties. The department said Southwest operated two chronically delayed flights – one between Chicago and Oakland, California, and another between Baltimore and … Read more…

(Reuters) – Traders of interest-rate futures on Wednesday were pricing close to even odds the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates twice by the end of this year, with the first reduction to come in June. Government data showed consumer prices rose 2.9% in the 12 months through December, in line with economists’ expectations.    Before the report, interest-rate futures were pricing a single quarter-point interest-rate cut this year, no sooner than June. (Reporting by … Read more…

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. government posted an $87 billion budget deficit in December, reduced partly by a shift of benefit payments into November but capping a record $711 billion deficit for the first three months of the 2025 fiscal year, the U.S. Treasury Department said on Tuesday. The Treasury, releasing its final budget report before President-elect Donald Trump takes office next week, said that the $711 billion October-December deficit was $201 billion, or 39% … Read more…

A look at the day ahead in U.S. and global markets from Mike Dolan Thanks largely to a stabilisation of bond markets and an ebbing of the super-strong dollar, global stocks caught a rare new year bid on Tuesday with critical inflation and corporate earnings updates now in view. A slightly bizarre narrative developed behind Monday’s bounce in stocks, with some citing a Bloomberg report claiming President-elect Donald Trump’s team is studying gradual tariff hikes … Read more…

By Eduardo Baptista, Katie Paul and Krystal Hu (Reuters) – New users have piled in to Chinese social media app RedNote just days before a proposed U.S. ban on the popular social media app TikTok, as the lesser-known company rushes to capitalize on the sudden influx while walking a delicate line of moderating English-language content, sources told Reuters. In a live chat dubbed “TikTok Refugees” on RedNote on Monday, more than 50,000 American and Chinese users … Read more…