President Donald Trump delivers remarks on the economy at the Mount Airy Casino Resort in Mount Pocono, Penn., on Tuesday, Dec. 9, 2025. The speech was expected to be the first of a series of speeches that the White House hopes will address American concerns about affordability, a problem he dismissed a week ago as “the greatest con job” designed by Democrats. (Doug Mills/The New York Times) By DAVID E. SANGER President Donald Trump on Tuesday night gave the first of a series

Wall Street’s main ‌indexes ​were mixed on Wednesday, ahead of a ‌closely watched Federal Reserve decision widely expected to deliver a rate cut, while investors grew ​uncertain over the extent and pace of rate reductions in 2026. The central bank’s ongoing meeting is likely one of its most divisive in ‍years, as policymakers seek a delicate balance ​between reducing borrowing costs to support the labor market and curbing any reacceleration of inflation. A prolonged absence o

The American Yacht Harbor club on St. Thomas in the U.S. Virgin Islands, Feb. 2, 2020. The American Yacht Harbor sits just a few miles north of the private island in St. Thomas that was the grim epicenter of Jeffrey Epstein’s trafficking operation. (Gabriella N. Baéz/The New York Times) By DEBRA KAMIN Few people wield more power in New York City real estate than Andrew Farkas. In the last few years, Farkas’ company has acquired the Sheraton Times Square, the third-largest hot

Wall Street stocks ended mixed on Tuesday after U.S. consumer price data for January offered little to change expectations about the Federal Reserve’s path forward on interest rate hikes. U.S. consumer prices accelerated as Americans continued to be burdened by higher rental housing costs, suggesting that the Fed will maintain its fight against inflation. “Inflation remains elevated, albeit it appears to be slowing,” said Terry Sandven, chief equity strategist at U.S. Bank We

Jerome Powell, the Federal Reserve chair, delivers remarks after the central bank held interest rates steady for a fifth meeting in a row, in Washington, July 30, 2025. The chair of the central bank is grappling with internal divisions amid a complicated economic backdrop while being besieged by President Trump and front-runners jockeying to replace him. (Caroline Gutman/The New York Times) By COLBY SMITH At a congressional hearing in June, Jerome Powell touched briefly on hi

Global equity funds attracted significant inflows in the week through December 3 as expectations of a potential Federal Reserve rate cut this week boosted risk sentiment. Investors bought global equity funds worth a net $7.93 billion during the week in a reversal from approximately $6.41 billion worth of net sales the prior week, LSEG Lipper data showed. Investors have priced in an 89.6% chance of a 25 basis point Fed rate reduction on Wednesday, the CME Fed Watch tool show

Pictures of upcoming releases on a wall at the Warner Brothers studio lot, in Burbank, Calif. on Friday, Dec. 5, 2025. Netflix insisted on Friday that it would follow the Warner Bros. model and continue to release movies in theaters for exclusive runs. But many people in Hollywood were skeptical. (Aleksey Kondratyev/The New York Times) By BROOKS BARNES and SHAWN HUBLER In October, when Warner Bros. Discovery hung a “For Sale” sign on itself, Hollywood was sad. Megaproducer La

U.S. stocks closed out the trading week with slight gains on Friday as the latest flurry of economic data kept elevated expectations for a Federal Reserve interest rate cut next week intact. In the wake of the 43-day government shutdown, market participants have been digesting delayed economic data as the backlog slowly dwindles, while also looking to secondary indicators to gauge the health of the economy. Delayed data from the Commerce Department showed consumer spending, w

At MIT, a new program called “artificial intelligence and decision-making” is now the second-most-popular undergraduate major. (Rune Fisker/The New York Times) By NATASHA SINGER Artificial intelligence is the hot new college major. This semester, more than 3,000 students enrolled in a new college of artificial intelligence and cybersecurity at the University of South Florida in Tampa. At the University of California, San Diego, 150 first-year students signed up for a new AI m

U.S. stocks held near the unchanged mark on Thursday, as investors digested a batch of economic data, including a report on the labor market, as expectations remained elevated for a Federal Reserve interest-rate cut next week. With the November payrolls report scheduled for after the Fed’s December meeting due to the extended government shutdown, market participants have looked to secondary indicators that have given a mixed view of the labor market. A Labor Department report