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Developer proposes Henrico industrial park after resistance to data centers

After resistance to a data center campus in eastern , a developer appears to be pivoting to an proposal.

Plans filed with the county last week for the 195-acre site on 2248 Darbytown Road show seven industrial buildings totaling more than 1.82 million square feet. The buildings for the proposed Airport West Industrial Campus are of varying sizes, with the largest occupying 635,400 square feet.

Wagner Urban Logistics, alternatively known as Centra Logistics, previously sought to put eight 231,603-square-foot on the eastern site that sits near the Fareva and Mondelez International properties.

The application was filed in April, entering the county planning process. But, in June, the Henrico Board of Supervisors adopted an amendment creating new data center regulations. Hyperscale data center projects are no longer a by-right use in the county and now must get provisional use permits.

Wagner Urban Logistics applied for a provisional use permit. Henrico’s planning commission recommended denying the application in September, and the company later withdrew it.

The developer then pursued a vested rights claim. Under Virginia , a landowner’s rights are vested in a land use and unaffected by subsequent zoning ordinances under certain conditions. R. Joseph “Joe” Emerson, the county’s planning director, denied the claim in a letter dated Dec. 10. Emerson and the county attorney determined that Wagner didn’t meet the conditions for vested rights under the Code of Virginia, according to the letter, citing a lack of “a significant affirmative governmental act” and a lack of reliance on good faith from such an act.

The letter also said the Code of Virginia provision for vested rights applies to landowners. At the time, Fareva Richmond was the landowner, not Wagner.

Wagner has the right to appeal to the Board of Zoning Appeals within 30 days of the determination. Andrew Condlin, an attorney for the company, did not respond to a request for comment Thursday.

The Darbytown Road site is zoned for industrial use. The county planning director has 60 days, with a few exceptions, to act on a plan of development once a complete application is submitted.

Darbytown Road LLC purchased the site for $13.5 million on Nov. 14 from Fareva Richmond, part of French pharmaceutical, industrial and cosmetics company Fareva.

Trump signs order to ease US marijuana regulations, sparking industry hopes

Summary

  • Trump ordered the attorney general to move toward reclassifying marijuana
  • Shift could reshape the and expand medical research
  • Marijuana would remain illegal federally under a patchwork of state laws
  • Cannabis stocks jumped as investors welcomed the policy change

WASHINGTON, Dec 18 (Reuters) – U.S. President on Thursday signed an order directing the loosening of on marijuana, a move that could further reverse decades of tough-on-weed policy.

Trump’s order instructs the attorney general to quickly move ahead with reclassifying marijuana. If that happens, the psychoactive plant would be listed alongside common painkillers, ketamine and testosterone as a less dangerous drug.

Such a decision would represent one of the most significant federal changes to in decades. It could reshape the cannabis industry, unlock billions in research funding and open doors long closed to banks and investors. The Senate’s Democratic leader, Chuck Schumer, welcomed the move, while dozens of lawmakers in Trump’s own Republican Party blasted the decision.

TRUMP SAYS SOME PATIENTS NEED ACCESS TO THE DRUG

Marijuana will still remain illegal federally and subject to a patchwork of local laws across the country, Trump said. Some industry experts said congressional action was still needed to create more stable regulation.

“We have begging for me to do this, people that are in great pain for decades,” Trump told reporters at the White House. But the teetotaling president also said that controlled substances are risky and that experimentation was of no interest to him.

“I don’t want it, okay,” he said. “I’m not gonna be taking it. But a lot of people do want it. A lot of people need it.”

Senior administration officials said the primary purpose of the order was to increase medical research of marijuana and related products to understand their risks and potential for treatment. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services plans to allow some beneficiaries to use hemp-derived CBD products as soon as April.

Dozens of Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate wrote to Trump on Thursday, pleading with him not to sign the order.

“Reclassifying marijuana as a Schedule III drug will send the wrong message to America’s children, enable drug cartels, and make our roads more dangerous,” they said.

Marijuana is the most widely used illicit drug in the world and the United States. Nearly one in five U.S. residents use it a year, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Millions of Americans have been arrested for possession of the drug, even while growing businesses listed on stock exchanges sell cannabis-related products.

Prosecutors, police and judges could take a lighter touch toward criminal prosecutions in response to growing acceptance.

EASING DRUG REGULATIONS

The Drug Enforcement Administration has to review the recommendation to list marijuana as a Schedule III drug under the U.S. Controlled Substances Act and will decide on the reclassification. The issue has been bogged down in bureaucratic process at the agency.

Under the act, marijuana is listed as a Schedule I substance like heroin, ecstasy and peyote. That classification indicates it has a high potential for abuse and no currently accepted medical use. Schedule III drugs are seen as less addictive and as carrying legitimate medical uses.

Even under a reclassification, marijuana would still be treated as a controlled substance on a federal level and its use subject to tight restrictions and criminal penalties.

A patchwork of laws exists at the local level, from states where use and possession are fully to states where they are fully illegal. Since California first allowed medicinal use of marijuana in 1996, a 30-year trend has moved toward loosening regulation.

CANNABIS STOCKS HAVE GAINED VALUE

Stocks of cannabis-related companies gained on the news from Washington. U.S.-listed shares of Tilray, Aurora Cannabis, SNDL and Canopy Growth gained between 6% and 12% in afternoon trading.

Funding remains one of the biggest challenges for cannabis producers, as federal restrictions keep most banks and institutional investors out of the sector, forcing pot producers to turn to costly loans or alternative lenders. A black market also thrives because of the high costs of doing business.

“This shift marks an important step toward greater regulatory clarity and institutional acceptance of cannabis worldwide,” said a spokesperson for Organigram Global, a cannabis company

Most Americans tell pollsters they favor full legalization. During his 2021-2025 term in office, Democratic former President Joe Biden issued a blanket pardon for most federal marijuana possession charges and kickstarted the review of marijuana’s status. After that review, the Department of Health and Human Services recommended moving marijuana to Schedule III classification.

Trump has honed a reputation as a -and-order Republican, bombing alleged drug traffickers in international waters and deploying military into cities to combat crime, efforts that have drawn legal scrutiny. But he has also bucked tradition to reward favored groups and individuals, including pardoning several who were convicted of federal violations related to drugs.

(Reporting by Trevor Hunnicutt and Steve Holland; Additional reporting by Mariam E Sunny, Diana Jones, Nivedita Balu and Nolan McCaskill; Editing by Colleen Jenkins, Lisa Shumaker and Nick Zieminski)

 

 

Wall St closes higher fueled by tech rally, soft inflation data

Summary

  • Major U.S. indexes rose after cooler data lifted rate-cut expectations
  • Nasdaq jumped more than 1%, led by gains in chip and AI-related stocks
  • Micron surged 10% on a strong forecast tied to AI demand
  • Consumer discretionary stocks led sector gains on the S&P 500

Dec 18 (Reuters) – ‘s main indexes closed higher on Thursday as a soft inflation report fed expectations for interest by the , while chipmaker Micron’s blowout forecast signaled strong AI demand.

The Consumer Price Index report showed that consumer prices increased less than expected in the year to November. The Labor Department’s Bureau of Labor Statistics did not publish month-to-month CPI changes after the 43-day shutdown of the government prevented the collection of October data.

“The constructive … starts to ease pressure on policymakers further to potentially get more comfortable cutting rates next year,” said Bill Merz, head of capital markets research at U.S. Bank’s Asset Management Group. “We’ll want to see follow-through next month to ensure there wasn’t too much noise from the shutdown.”

The three major indexes rebounded from three-week lows, and the Russell 2000 index, tracking rate-sensitive smallcaps, also advanced 0.8%.

A jobless claims report showed new applications fell last week, reversing the prior week’s surge and suggesting labor market conditions remained stable in December. Earlier this week, an official jobs report showed U.S. job growth rebounded in November and the unemployment rate rose to 4.6%.

Traders now see a 58% chance for a dovish policy move by the Fed in March, according to CME’s FedWatch Tool.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 65.88 points, or 0.14%, to 47,951.85, the S&P 500 gained 53.33 points, or 0.79%, to 6,774.76 and the Nasdaq Composite gained 313.04 points, or 1.38%, to 23,006.36.

Six of the 11 S&P sectors gained, led by consumer discretionary stocks, which rose 1.78%.

Lululemon surged 3.5% on a report that activist investor Elliott has acquired more than a $1 billion stake in the athletic-wear company. Starbucks also rallied 4.9%.

Among tech stocks, jumped 10.2% after the company forecast quarterly profit at nearly double what analysts were expecting on strong -related demand.

Other memory companies including SanDisk and Western Digital also surged, while the Philadelphia SE Semiconductor Index climbed 2.6%.

Companies’ massive debt-backed spending on developing AI technology and uncertainty about how they plan to monetize it have plagued risk-taking this quarter.

Oracle rose 0.9%, recovering from a fall on Wednesday when funding plans for a Stargate data center sparked a broad equities selloff.

& Technology jumped 41% after the company and company said they have agreed to combine in an all-stock deal valued at more than $6 billion.

Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 1.9-to-1 ratio on the NYSE. There were 216 new highs and 105 new lows on the NYSE. On the Nasdaq, 2,892 stocks rose and 1,773 fell as advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 1.63-to-1 ratio.

The S&P 500 posted 15 new 52-week highs and no new lows while the Nasdaq Composite recorded 112 new highs and 178 new lows.

Volume on U.S. exchanges was 16.89 billion shares, compared with the 16.96 billion average for the full session over the last 20 trading days.

(Reporting by Abigail Summerville in New York and Johann M Cherian and Shashwat Chauhan in Bengaluru; Editing by David Gregorio)

 

 

Trump Media bets on fusion energy with $6 billion TAE deal

Summary

  • agreed to a $6 billion all-stock merger with fusion firm
  • Deal targets rising power demand from and hyperscalers
  • Trump Media shares jumped 35% following the merger announcement
  • Companies plan to pursue the world’s first utility-scale plant

Dec 18 (Reuters) – U.S. President is getting into the fusion power business through a $6 billion merger of his social media firm and Google-backed TAE Technologies, announced just days after industry leaders met with U.S. Energy Department representatives to urge federal funding.

The all-stock deal announced on Thursday is an ambitious bet on the power boom spurred by data-centers and adds to the Trump family’s growing roster of diverse ventures from cryptocurrency to holdings and mobile services.

After his return to office this year, Trump’s close relatives have pursued ventures leveraging his political power and policy shifts. The Trump family has, for instance, amassed billions in crypto-related wealth as Trump throws his support behind digital financial assets. Greater support from the federal government could potentially boost the value of this investment, as well.

The news put a charge into shares of the money-losing Trump Media on Thursday, sending them up 35%. The stock, popular with retail traders, had lost more than 70% of its value over the last 12 months following a big surge during the 2024 campaign.

“At face value, this is a Barbenheimer mashup. Trump Media gets a dramatic new growth story tied to the AI power crunch and data-center (hyperscaler) electricity demand, while TAE gets a fast lane to being publicly traded via an all stock merger valued above $6 billion,” said Michael Ashley Schulman, partner and chief investment officer at Running Point Capital Advisors.

EFFORTS IN FUSION

The growing electricity needs of the technology industry have in recent months revived interest in nuclear power, including restarting fully shuttered reactors, expanding existing plants and signing contracts for future small modular reactors.

Despite decades of global efforts, , often seen as a cleaner and reliable power source, has yet to produce a commercially viable reactor.

Shareholders of both companies will own about 50% of the combined entity after the deal closes in mid-2026. Trump Media and Technology Group will be the holding company for businesses including Truth Social platform, TAE Power Solutions, and TAE Life Sciences.

Trump has 114 million shares in Trump Media, roughly 40% of the company. In the new merger, his ownership stake would be roughly 20%. The company, which mainly generates revenue from advertising on the Truth Social platform, has consistently clocked losses since its inception, including a loss of $54.8 million in its September-end quarter.

Thursday’s rally was a salve for some retail investors who have watched the stock’s price fizzle for most of 2025. Chad Nedohin, an Edmonton-based pastor and mechanical engineer in the , leads one of the largest Trump Media retail investor groups on Truth Social, which has more than 190,000 followers.

Up until the past year, Nedohin had been one of Truth Social’s most influential hype men – but has been frustrated as the stock slumped all year. “I can’t sit here and just be excited about a stock that’s done nothing but stupid stuff until today,” he said. “But today was awesome, I think it’s a brilliant move.”

WAVE OF THE FUTURE?

Companies and physicists at national laboratories have been trying for decades to foster fusion reactions, in which light atoms are forced together under extreme temperatures to release huge amounts of energy, a process that fuels the sun.

Big hurdles to commercialize fusion include getting more energy out of a reaction than what goes into it and developing plants that can withstand streams of fusion reactions to power the grid.

TAE CEO Michl Binderbauer and other fusion company leaders met with U.S. Energy Department officials this month, weeks after the department formed its first ever fusion office.

Trump Media agreed to provide up to $200 million in cash to TAE at signing and $100 million more upon initial filing of the registration. The deal has been approved by the companies’ boards.

The companies plan to build the world’s first utility-scale fusion power plant beginning next year. Trump Media CEO Devin Nunes said in a brief, eight-minute investor call that the companies plan to “quickly seek approvals” after the deal closes, with siting for the plant expected to begin by 2026 end.

He will be co-CEO of the new company, along with Binderbauer. The two, along with Donald Trump Jr., will sit on the merged company’s board.

(Reporting by Deborah Sophia and Vallari Srivastava in Bengaluru, Timothy Gardner in Washington DC and Michelle Conlin in New York; Editing by Shilpi Majumdar, Arun Koyyur, David Gaffen, Nick Zieminski and Chizu Nomiyama )

 

Another massive data center campus proposed in Prince William

A Warrenton-based lobbying and communications firm has filed an early planning application tied to a massive, proposed data center campus in western to be called the Dulles South Innovation Center.

LSI 360, also known as LSI Communications, hopes to designate 1,930 acres of land in the Gainesville Magisterial District for industrial use to allow for data center, substation and other supporting uses on the property. Currently, most of the land is low-density residential development on land zoned for agricultural use.

The firm on Tuesday filed for a cultural resource assessment, a process many governments require in early planning to identify whether a property eyed for development contains historic, cultural or archaeological resources.

More information on the project, including the Prince William government’s approval process timeline, was not immediately available.

Applicant Kelly Bleichner, representing LSI 360, and attorney Lee Gleason with Cooley, who is also listed in the application, did not immediately return requests for comment.

Numerous media outlets have described LSI Communications as a lobbying firm that advised residents involved with land sales to advance the controversial project, which remains in limbo. The project would have added as many as 23 million square feet of on 2,100 acres near Manassas National Battlefield Park and generated an estimated $500 million in local tax revenue over the next two decades.

In December 2023, county supervisors approved rezonings covering about 1,800 acres, but the decision was challenged in court by 12 Gainesville residents who banded together as the Oak Valley Homeowners Association.

In August, Prince William Circuit Judge Kimberly A. Irving ruled in favor of the homeowners, saying that the 2023 vote was void because the county did not comply with the state and county’s advertising policies, which required sufficient public notice of the rezoning vote.

Booz Allen CFO leaving in February

Booz Allen Hamilton’s chief financial officer is leaving the company for a role at S&P Global.

Matthew Calderone, Booz Allen and executive vice president, notified the -based on Dec. 11 that he would resign Feb. 1, 2026.

Kristine Martin Anderson, chief operating officer and executive vice president at Booz Allen, will assume Calderone’s duties on an interim basis. The company has begun its search for its next permanent CFO, according to a Securities and Exchange Commission filing dated Monday.

S&P Global announced Calderone’s hiring on Tuesday. He will join the company as CFO of its Mobility business by March 1, 2026. The Mobility business is spinning off from S&P Global to be a standalone public company.

Calderone will report to Bill Eager, president of S&P Global Mobility and CEO-designate of the future spinoff.

“I’m thrilled to welcome Matt as our incoming CFO,” Eager said in a statement. “His leadership and public company experience will be essential as we continue building the financial and operational foundation for Mobility as an independent company.”

S&P Global expects to finish separating the Mobility business sometime between April and October.

Calderone has worked for Booz Allen for more than 20 years cumulatively, interrupted by a three-year stint at Boston Consulting Group after seven years at Booz Allen, according to his LinkedIn profile. He was most recently the government contractor’s chief strategy officer, where he developed a growth strategy and built and led the company’s corporate development team.

Virginia casinos post $82.45M in November revenues

SUMMARY:

  • Virginia earned $82.45 million in November, up 29.7% from last year’s $63.67 million
  • Norfolk’s Interim Hall generated $1.42 million in its first month
  • November taxes from casino adjusted gaming revenues totaled about $18.89 million

November gaming revenues at Virginia’s three permanent casinos and Norfolk’s new temporary casino totaled $82.45 million, according to data released Dec. 15.

Norfolk’s temporary , which opened Nov. 7, reported adjusted gaming revenue (wagers minus winnings) of $1.42 million during its first 23 days of business. All of that came from its roughly 132 slots, as the temporary casino doesn’t have table games. A permanent $750 million Norfolk casino, being developed by Boyd Gaming and the Pamunkey Indian Tribe, is anticipated to open in 2027.

Opened in December 2024, Virginia’s newest permanent casino, Caesars Virginia in , reported the largest adjusted gaming revenue for the month: approximately $33.7 million. Of that, $23.69 million came from its 1,478 slots, and the remaining roughly $10.02 million came from its 100 table games.

Rivers Casino , which opened as Virginia’s first permanent casino in January 2023, generated $19.29 million from its 1,409 slots and $6.48 million from its 84 table games, for a total AGR of nearly $25.77 million in November.

Last month, the reported almost $21.56 million in AGR, with roughly $16.83 million of that coming from its 1,370 slots and about $4.73 million coming from its 73 table games. The Bristol casino’s temporary facility opened in July 2022, making it the first operating casino in Virginia. The permanent Hard Rock Bristol opened in November 2024.

November’s total AGR for Virginia casinos is up about 0.39% from October’s AGR of $82.1 million and up 29.7% from November 2024’s $63.57 million.

Virginia assesses a graduated tax on a casino’s adjusted gaming revenue. For the month of November, taxes from casino AGRs totaled almost $18.89 million.

Under Virginia law, 6% of a casino operator’s AGR goes to its host locality until the operator passes $200 million in AGR for the year, at which point the host locality’s tax rate rises to 7%. If an operator passes $400 million in AGR in the calendar year, that rises to 8%.

For November, Danville received 7% of Caesars Virginia’s AGR, amounting to $2.36 million. Portsmouth received 7% of the Rivers Casino Portsmouth‘s AGR, netting $1.8 million. For the Bristol casino, 7% of its adjusted gaming revenue — about $1.5 million last month — goes to the Regional Improvement Commission, which the General Assembly established to distribute Bristol casino tax funds throughout Southwest Virginia.

The Problem Treatment and Support Fund receives 0.8% of total taxes — approximately $151,143 last month. The Family and Children’s Trust Fund, which funds family violence prevention and treatment programs, receives 0.2% of the monthly total, which was approximately $37,786 in November. The Interim Gaming Hall will give $14,126 (1% of the monthly total) to the Virginia Indigenous ‘s Trust Fund, state legislation that directs 1% of gaming proceeds from any tribe-operated casino to be given to a fund to assist the other Virginia tribes that are federally recognized. The remaining $12,932,426 million in taxes goes to the state’s Gaming Proceeds Fund.

The planned Norfolk casino isn’t the only permanent casino on the horizon. In Petersburg, Baltimore-based The Cordish Cos. and Virginia Beach developer Bruce Smith Enterprise broke ground in March on the $1.4 billion Live! Casino & Hotel Virginia, slated to open in 2027. A temporary Petersburg casino is expected to open on Jan. 22 2026.

US consumer prices increase less than expected in November

Summary

  • U.S. consumer prices rose 2.7% year over year in November, below forecasts
  • Core CPI slowed to 2.6%, signaling easing pressures
  • disrupted data collection, adding uncertainty
  • Markets rallied as investors boosted odds of a January Fed rate cut

NEW YORK, Dec 18 (Reuters) – U.S. consumer prices rose less than expected in the year to November, and expectations for a January rate cut from the inched up slightly as the report was impacted by the extended government shutdown.

The Consumer Price Index rose 2.7% year-on-year in November, the Labor Department’s Bureau of Labor Statistics said on Thursday. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast the CPI advancing 3.1%.

The BLS did not publish month-to-month CPI changes after the 43-day shutdown of the government prevented the collection of October data. The October CPI release was canceled because the price data could not be collected retroactively.

Excluding the volatile food and energy components, the so-called core CPI increased 2.6% after rising 3.0% in September.

MARKET REACTION:

STOCKS: S&P E-minis extended gains and were last up 54.75 points, or 0.8%

BONDS: Treasury yields fell, with the yield on the benchmark U.S. 10-year note down 2.2 basis points to 4.13%

FOREX: The dollar index wakened and was last down 0.12% to 98.25

COMMENTS:

BRIAN JACOBSEN, CHIEF ECONOMIST, ANNEX WEALTH MANAGEMENT, MENOMONEE FALLS, WISCONSIN:

“Inflation was quite a bit cooler than expected in November. Shelter inflation, the biggest component of CPI, simmered down nicely. Some will dismiss this report as being more unreliable than usual, but ignore it at your own risk. Other indicators like rent costs and used car prices are consistent with the narrative that the old drivers of inflation aren’t the sources of current inflation.

“The current sources of inflation are very visible, but not a large component of the consumer basket. Commodities, excluding food and energy, make up less than 20% of the CPI basket. Goods price deflation turned to inflation, but even that inflation hasn’t been as bad as feared. The Fed could look at the increase in the unemployment rate and the tame inflation reading as a reason to cut again. They’ll get some confirming or disconfirming evidence with the next releases before their January meeting.”

PETER CARDILLO, CHIEF MARKET ECONOMIST, SPARTAN CAPITAL SECURITIES, NEW YORK:

“These are good numbers, and basically the core rate moving to 2.6% on a year-over-year is really good news, and we saw the top line inflation year-over-year down to 2.7%. So this is good news for the Fed, good news for the markets, and this should begin to perhaps indicate the Fed is likely to be more generous going into the new year. In other words, these numbers, if they stick, will pave the way for not one, but possibly two, sometime in the first quarter of 2026.”

JAN NEVRUZI, US RATES STRATEGIST, TD SECURITIES, NEW YORK;

“It certainly was a lot softer than pretty much any forecast that I’ve seen, including ours.

“If you think of the two camps within the Fed that are looking at inflation versus labor markets, and you have one side that is saying, well, inflation is not really a problem anymore, I’m a lot more concerned about the labor market, and the other more hawkish side that is saying that inflation is still a problem that we should be thinking very carefully about – I’m sure the latter camp will flag that there are some data collection issues and things like that, but the burden of proof falls on seeing further data that shows that that’s not the case.

“What we have in front of us is much softer inflation. We definitely take it with a grain of salt, but the generated data is the data and until something else comes in, like the December data later on to show the alternative, on net it is a pretty dovish release.

“It’s hard to argue that this is anything but supportive of the view that inflation is going away. And again, I completely agree that compared to a normal month this is certainly a less straightforward release to take at face value, but the data is the data.”

KAY HAIGH, GLOBAL CO-HEAD FIXED INCOME AND LIQUIDITY SOLUTIONS, GOLDMAN SACHS ASSET MANAGEMENT, NEW YORK (via email):

“Today’s low inflation reading won’t move the needle for the Fed given how noisy the data is. The canceling of the October report makes month-on-month comparisons impossible, for example, while the truncated information-gathering process given the shutdown could have caused systematic biases in the data. The Fed will instead focus on the December CPI released in mid-January, just two weeks before its next meeting, as a more accurate bellwether for inflation.”

SEEMA SHAH, CHIEF GLOBAL STRATEGIST, PRINCIPAL GLOBAL INVESTORS, LONDON (via email):

“November’s inflation undershoot has armed Fed doves with strong ammunition for a January rate cut. It’s just one month of data, and distortions can’t be ruled out, but the sharp drop in annual inflation leaves the Fed with little excuse not to respond to rising unemployment. There’s more data to come before the January meeting, yet this week’s numbers tilt the balance firmly towards the doves. We still expect two cuts in 2026, but today’s CPI print raises the odds that they’ll land in the first half of the year rather than the second.”

JAMIE COX MANAGING PARTNER, HARRIS FINANCIAL GROUP, RICHMOND, VIRGINIA (via email):

“The inflation bump from tariffs is behind us, so the path is now clear for the Fed to lower rates again in January. There is no longer a case for restrictive monetary policy.”

CHRIS ZACCARELLI, CHIEF INVESTMENT OFFICER, NORTHLIGHT ASSET MANAGEMENT, CHARLOTTE, NC (via email):

“It always sounds smarter to predict trouble ahead, but this morning’s inflation data was much better than expected. Of course, it’s only one month’s data points and they will likely fluctuate in the upcoming months, but the main concern of Fed officials who are reluctant to keep cutting is that inflation is persistently high and won’t come down if they keep lowering , and at this point that doesn’t look like it’s the case.

“Given that inflation is significantly lower month-over-month there is clearly room to keep cutting rates in order to support the labor market and if the doves win out then we are likely to see stock prices supported – and move higher – as the Fed continues to lower interest rates while the economy continues to grow.

“While next year will undoubtedly bring new challenges, heading into the end of the year there should be room for the market to move higher as corporate profits are increasing, the GDP is growing and inflation, for now, remains in check.”

(Compiled by the Global Finance & Markets Breaking News team)

 

GDIT wins $285M state cybersecurity contract

General Dynamics Information Technology, a business unit of Reston-based Fortune 100 aerospace and defense contractor , announced Tuesday that it has been awarded a $285 million contract to strengthen the Virginia government’s infrastructure.

The awarded GDIT the contract in October.

Under the contract, GDIT will provide cybersecurity services to the Virginia Information Technologies Agency (), which provides IT services for 67 state agencies. Contracted work will include vulnerability management, zero trust services and a 24/7 security operations center.

GDIT said it will use to automate security monitoring, integrate advanced cybersecurity tools and deliver enhanced threat detection capabilities. In addition, the company will also help VITA safeguard sensitive data against future quantum computing threats and strengthen encryption protocols.

“From public safety to education, Virginia’s ability to deliver essential services to millions of residents depends on a secure digital infrastructure,” said Scott Mack, GDIT’s vice president and general manager for state and , in a statement.

VITA Chief Information Security Officer Michael Watson said the contract will help the state better prepare for attacks driven by artificial intelligence.

“Cybersecurity is foundational to the commonwealth’s ability to deliver reliable, secure services to Virginians,” said Watson in a statement. “This partnership with GDIT marks a significant advancement in our efforts to modernize defenses against evolving threats.”

The contract has a one-year transition period, a five-year base period and three one-year option periods.

General Dynamics employs more than 110,000 worldwide and reported $47.7 billion in revenue for 2024. It ranked No. 96 on the 2025 Fortune 1000. GDIT reported $8.75 billion in revenue in fiscal 2024 and has about 30,000 employees.

US House Republicans block move for quick vote on health subsidy extension

Summary

  • blocked a last-minute push to extend
  • Subsidies are set to expire Dec. 31, affecting about 24 million Americans
  • protested the vote being closed while members were still voting
  • CBO says GOP healthcare bill would cut coverage but reduce deficits

WASHINGTON, Dec 17 (Reuters) – An expanded U.S. federal healthcare subsidy that grew out of the pandemic looked all but certain to expire on December 31, as Republicans on Wednesday blocked a last-ditch effort by Democrats to maintain it.

By a vote of 204-203, the House voted to stop the last-minute move by Democrats, aided by four Republicans, to force quick votes on a three-year extension of the subsidy. Democrats loudly protested, accusing Republican leadership of gaveling an end to the vote prematurely while some members were still trying to vote.

“That’s outrageous,” Democratic Representative Jim McGovern of Massachusetts yelled at Republican leadership.

Some 24 million Americans who buy their through the ACA program, nicknamed Obamacare, could face sharply higher costs beginning on January 1 without action by .

It was unclear whether Democrats and a small band of cooperative Republicans had any additional maneuvers available to try again to force action on an extension before Congress leaves Washington at the end of this week. House Republican leadership was forging ahead with its own healthcare bill that was due for a vote on passage later on Wednesday.

With a narrow 220-213 majority, House Speaker Mike Johnson has had a challenging time keeping his caucus in line, and has repeatedly seen members use the maneuver Democrats were attempting, known as a “discharge petition” to try to bypass him.

Twenty-six House members had not yet voted – and some were actively trying to do so – when the House Republican leadership gaveled the vote closed on Wednesday. It is rare but not unprecedented for House leadership to cut a contested vote short.

The Senate, also controlled by President ‘s Republicans, last week rejected dueling Republican and Democratic plans to address the subsidies.

SUBSIDIES CAUSE OF RECORD

Tensions are high over the expiring ACA subsidies, which were the cause of the record-breaking government shutdown earlier this fall.

After Wednesday’s vote, Republican leadership corralled the members on the House floor into animated conversations with finger-pointing. House Majority Leader Steve Scalise leaned over Representative Mike Lawler from New York. Johnson tugged on the coat sleeve of Representative Kevin Kiley, a California Republican, to get answers from him as he has been critical of his leadership’s approach to healthcare legislation.

Democratic Representative Rosa DeLauro of Connecticut said Democrats were trying to vote before the vote was closed.

“Listen, it’s playing games when ‘s lives are at stake,” DeLauro said, “They jettisoned it.”

The House Republican bill aims to lower premiums for some people while reducing overall subsidies and raising premiums for others, starting January 2027. It would also expand access to association health plans, which allow small businesses, freelancers, and self-employed individuals to pool resources and purchase group health insurance at potentially lower costs.

The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office on Tuesday said the legislation would decrease the number of people with health insurance by an average of 100,000 per year through 2035. Its money-saving provisions would reduce federal deficits by $35.6 billion, the CBO said.

(Reporting by Richard Cowan and Bo Erickson; editing by Scott Malone, Rod Nickel)