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SpaceX launched its massive Starship rocket on Friday, a day after the company scrubbed plans before takeoff. View More

A Tesla Cybertruck drives past SpaceX facilities in Hawthorne, California, US, on Monday, April 13, 2026.Ethan Swope | Bloomberg | Getty Images SpaceX launched its massive Starship rocket on Friday after a first try was scrubbed due to technical issues a day earlier.A 90-minute launch window opened at 6:30 p.m. ET, and the flight took off at that time from SpaceX's facility in Starbase, Texas. The test flight of Starship V3, with all its revised systems, was a key event for SpaceX ahead of a public market debut after the company publicly disclosed its IPO prospectus earlier this week. Elon Musk's aerospace and defense company is expected to raise around $75 billion in an IPO next month, after being valued at $1.25 billion in February, when it merged with xAI, Musk's artificial intelligence startup. NASA administrator Jared Isaacman flew to Starbase before the launch, and appeared in a flight suit with SpaceX employees on a livestream video to tout the achievements.Before leading the space agency, Isaacman paid to lead two private SpaceX flights, in 2021 and 2024, commanding crews on multiday trips around the Earth, forging a close relationship with Musk.During the test flight on Friday, SpaceX successfully deployed dummy satellites into orbit, and beamed live video of its rockets' operations from space. However, the company didn't achieve some of its Starship goals. The company missed propulsion targets it must hit in order to know its revamped rocket and engines are ready to conduct safe flights to orbit and back.The Superheavy first stage that powers the initial ascent of Starship failed immediately after its separation. Anomalies then occurred during an engine relight sequence, destroying a significant part of the Superheavy aft and resulting in a loss of control.After flying at a speed of Mach 7, Starship lit two of its engines before splashing down vertically in the Indian Ocean. It then tipped over and exploded after the nose of the rocket hit the water, an expected outcome.SpaceX said in its IPO filing on Wednesday that Starship "is designed to deliver 100 metric tons to Earth's orbit in a fully reusable configuration while enabling rapid turnaround times akin to commercial aviation." It's the 12th test flight for Starship.The largest rocket ever built or flown, Starship is also key to SpaceX's ability to bolster its Starlink wireless internet service business. The company said it plans to launch more satellites into orbit to add to its constellation, and provide stronger wireless internet to customers even in dense urban areas.Last year, SpaceX launched over 3,000 satellites on 122 Falcon 9 rocket missions. The Starship was designed to carry and release more satellites per trip than the smaller Falcon 9.The system is comprised of the Starship upper stage vehicle, Super Heavy booster and Raptor engines. The upper stage is meant to be fully reusable, and NASA is relying on SpaceX's Starship to land astronauts back on the moon in 2028.Friday's test flight is SpaceX's first for Starship in seven months, following a string of explosions and other setbacks in early 2025 that disrupted air travel due to falling debris. The company carried and successfully deployed mock Starlink satellites during the test flight on Friday, but no people or customer cargo. WATCH: Betting on Musk's space ambitions watch nowVIDEO7:2007:20Betting on Musk's space ambitions: ARK Invest's Brett Winton on SpaceX's valuationSquawk Box Choose CNBC as your preferred source on Google and never miss a moment from the most trusted name in business news.

Gabbard said she is leaving her post to support her husband, who is battling a rare form of bone cancer. View More

Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard speaks during a press briefing at the White House, in Washington, July 23, 2025.Kent Nishimura | Reuters Tulsi Gabbard is resigning as President Donald Trump's director of national intelligence, becoming the latest Cabinet official to leave his administration, she announced Friday.Gabbard, in a resignation letter addressed to Trump, said she has to step down in order to support her husband, Abraham Williams, who has "recently been diagnosed with an extremely rare form of bone cancer." Zoom In IconArrows pointing outwardsA letter from Tulsi Gabbard stating her resignation.Courtesy: The White House "I cannot in good conscience ask him to face this fight alone while I continue in this demanding and time-consuming position," she wrote in the letter, dated Friday.Her resignation is effective June 30, she wrote.Trump confirmed later Friday that Gabbard was "unfortunately" departing, writing in a Truth Social post that she has "done an incredible job, and we will miss her."Principal Deputy Director of National Intelligence Aaron Lukas will take over from Gabbard in an acting capacity, Trump wrote in the post.Fox News first reported Gabbard's resignation.Gabbard, a former Democratic congresswoman from Hawaii who fell out with her party and later joined the Republican Party, was confirmed as national intelligence chief less than a month after Trump's second term began. As DNI, she led the U.S. intelligence community, a sprawling coalition of 18 agencies and organizations.Her tenure was marked by reports of behind-the-scenes clashes with Trump and other administration officials — which sometimes appeared to spill out into the open. Gabbard, a veteran who was deployed to the Middle East, had endorsed Trump in 2024 on anti-interventionist grounds, praising him as a peace-seeker while condemning Democratic former President Joe Biden over the conflicts that began during his term.As Trump pursued striking Iran to cripple its nuclear capabilities last summer, Gabbard released an unusual video warning about "warmongers carelessly fomenting fear and tensions between nuclear powers." The video incensed Trump, Politico reported at the time. Asked later that month about Gabbard's prior Senate testimony that Iran wasn't trying to build a nuclear bomb, Trump replied, "I don't care what she said," and later said, "She's wrong."Gabbard also drew scrutiny for appearing at an FBI raid on a Georgia election office in late January that resulted in the seizure of 2020 election records. Trump for years has falsely asserted that the 2020 race, which he lost to Biden, was rigged against him. Read more CNBC politics coverageTrump’s face doesn’t belong on U.S. passport, senators tell RubioJan. 6 police officers sue Trump to block $1.8B ‘lawfare’ fundBreakthrough agreement in housing bill gives investors winsDemocrats make demands of U.S. trade representative ahead of U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement review Gabbard's resignation announcement expands the list of top Trump administration officials who have left or been fired so far this year.Just over a month earlier, Lori Chavez-DeRemer resigned as Secretary of Labor in order to take an unspecified job in the private sector.Earlier in April, Trump fired Attorney General Pam Bondi, who faced pressure over her handling of matters related to notorious sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. She was replaced in an acting capacity by Todd Blanche, her deputy and Trump's former personal defense attorney. In March, Trump ousted Kristi Noem, who led the Department of Homeland Security, following national controversies related to her handling of aggressive immigration enforcement policies in U.S. cities. Choose CNBC as your preferred source on Google and never miss a moment from the most trusted name in business news.

Donald Trump Jr. was previously married to Vanessa Trump, with whom he has five children. She disclosed this week that she has breast cancer. View More

US President Donald Trump and Donald Trump Jr. walk on the south lawn toward the White House in Washington, DC, on May 3, 2026. Mandel Ngan | AFP | Getty Images President Donald Trump on Friday said he won't attend the wedding this weekend of his eldest son, Donald Trump Jr., to socialite Bettina Anderson.The president had suggested on Thursday that he would not be able to be at the wedding, which reportedly will be held in the Bahamas, because of his focus on the conflict with Iran and other issues."While I very much wanted to be with my son, Don Jr., and the newest member of the Trump Family, his soon to be wife, Bettina, circumstances pertaining to Government, and my love for the United States of America, do not allow me to do so," Trump wrote in a Truth Social post."I feel it is important for me to remain in Washington, D.C., at the White House during this important period of time," Trump wrote. "Congratulations to Don and Bettina. President DONALD J. TRUMP."TMZ reported Friday that Trump Jr. and Anderson had legally married on Thursday in West Palm Beach, Florida, the town where the president's Mar-a-Lago club is located. TMZ cited a marriage certificate, which it posted online. Read more CNBC politics coverageTrump’s face doesn’t belong on U.S. passport, senators tell RubioJan. 6 police officers sue Trump to block $1.8B ‘lawfare’ fundBreakthrough agreement in housing bill gives investors winsDemocrats make demands of U.S. trade representative ahead of U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement review The president told reporters in the Oval Office on Thursday, "He'd like me to go, but it's going to be just a small, little private affair, and I'm going to try and make it.""This is not good timing for me. I have a thing called Iran and other things. That's one I can't win on," Trump said. "If I do attend, I get killed. If I don't attend, I get killed by the fake news.""Hopefully they're going to have a great marriage."Trump Jr., who runs the Trump Organization with his brother Eric, was previously married to Vanessa Trump, with whom he has five children. The 48-year-old was previously engaged to Kimberly Guilfoyle, who is currently serving at the U.S. ambassador to Greece and is the ex-wife of California Gov. Gavin Newsom.Anderson, 39, has worked as a model and is active in charitable activities in Palm Beach, Florida.Vanessa Trump, who is dating famed golfer Tiger Woods, on Wednesday revealed in an Instagram post that she has been diagnosed with breast cancer.Correction: This story has been updated to correct the spelling of California Gov. Gavin Newsom's name. Choose CNBC as your preferred source on Google and never miss a moment from the most trusted name in business news.

President Trump droppped his $10 billion lawsuit against the IRS in exchange for the DOJ creating a $1.8 billion fund to compensate alleged "lawfare" victims. View More

US President Donald Trump speaks during an announcement in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC, US, on Thursday, May 21, 2026. Al Drago | Bloomberg | Getty Images Two new lawsuits challenging the creation of the controversial $1.8 billion 'lawfare" fund by the Department of Justice were filed Friday in federal courts in Washington, D.C. and Virginia.The civil complaints come as several members of Congress have introduced legislation to block the fund, and as President Donald Trump and acting Attorney General Todd Blanche have defended it.The two suits say the so-called Anti-Weaponization Fund, which was set up as part of a settlement of a $10 billion lawsuit by Trump against the Internal Revenue Service, violate the federal Administrative Procedure Act. One also alleges that it violates the U.S. Constitution, while the other says it violates the Freedom of Information Act. Trump got no money in the settlement. But the fund is intended to compensate many of his supporters who allege they were victims of prosecutorial overreach by the DOJ under the Biden administration. And Trump and his family members are getting immunity from IRS enforcement actions related to their tax returns under the settlement."Created following a collusive agreement between the President and his own administration, this Fund has no congressional authorization, no basis in law, and no accountability," the civil complaint filed in U.S. District Court in Alexandria, Virginia alleges.One of the plaintiffs in the case is Andrew Floyd, a former federal prosecutor who has said he was fired last year for his work prosecuting cases against Trump supporters who stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. The other plaintiffs are Jonathan Caravello, a professor at California State University Channel Islands, and the city of New Haven, Conn. Caravello was arrested in 2025 while protesting an immigration raid in California, and subsequently acquitted in April of what he called a baseless charge of felony assault of a federal officer using a deadly or dangerous weapon.New Haven has been sued by the Trump administration for acting as a so-called sanctuary city for immigrants.The other complaint was filed in D.C. federal court by the advocacy group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, known as CREW."The Slush Fund Order's secrecy provisions enable Defendants to circumvent the Judgment Fund statute's public disclosure requirements," that suit says."And they allow Defendants to evade public scorn for awarding taxpayer funds to, for example, a pardoned January 6 insurrectionist later convicted and sentenced to life in prison for child sex abuse crimes, a pardoned insurrectionist and threatened assassin, and numerous other convicted felons pardoned by President Trump who are now clamoring for taxpayer-funded 'restitution' from Defendants' illegal Slush Fund."The suits come two days after two police officers who defended the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, filed a suit in Washington, D.C., federal court to block the fund.Trump said, in a Truth Social post earlier Friday, "I gave up a lot of money in allowing the just announced Anti-Weaponization Fund to go forward.""I could have settled my case, including the illegal release of my Tax Returns and the equally illegal BREAK IN of Mar-a-Lago, for an absolute fortune," Trump said. "Instead, I am helping others, who were so badly abused by an evil, corrupt, and weaponized Biden Administration, receive, at long last, JUSTICE!"I gave up a lot of money" by allowing the fund to be created.Trump's comments on social media came a day after the fund received strong pushback from Senate Republicans, and some lawmakers promoted legislation that would ban taxpayer money from being used for the $1.8 billion payout pool. watch nowVIDEO9:5809:58Rep. Arrington on Trump's $1.8B fund: An appropriate use of tax dollars as long as guardrails existSquawk Box Critics of the fund have called it a "slush fund," and blasted the idea that members of the mob of Trump supporters who stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6, who were prosecuted for their actions, could get payouts from it, even if they had attacked police officers that day.Reps. Brian Fitzpatrick, R-Pa., and Tom Suozzi, D-N.Y., on Thursday introduced a bill that would bar federal money from being used to pay any claims submitted to the DOJ's fund.On Thursday, Blanche met with Republican senators to defend the plan, but a number of them expressed dismay about it. After the meeting, in a sign of discord among the caucus, GOP leadership dropped plans to have a series of votes on a package that would fund immigration enforcement agencies within the Department of Homeland Security. Read more CNBC politics coverageTrump’s face doesn’t belong on U.S. passport, senators tell RubioJan. 6 police officers sue Trump to block $1.8B ‘lawfare’ fundBreakthrough agreement in housing bill gives investors winsDemocrats make demands of U.S. trade representative ahead of U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement review Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., told reporters on Thursday after the sit-down with Blanche that the White House needs "to help with this issue, because we have a lot of members who are concerned."Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, who for years was the leader of the Republican caucus, blasted the fund on Thursday."So the nation's top law enforcement official is asking for a slush fund to pay people who assault cops?" McConnell said in a statement. "Utterly stupid, morally wrong – Take your pick."But earlier Friday, several House Republican lawmakers defended the fund in interviews with CNBC's "Squawk Box."House Budget Committee Chairman Jodey Arrington, R-Texas, when asked about the fund, said that Trump has "been one of the biggest victims of weaponization," and that he considers it "an appropriate approach and use of tax dollars, as long as the guardrails exist."But Arrington also said, "We have to have the accountability measures and the safeguards, so that it is not a quote, slush fund, where you're doling out monies to political allies that don't have legitimate claims.""It needs to be fair and objective ... that's why I think that the Senate's going to find a path forward," he said.Those guardrails could come as part of the next congressional budget reconciliation package, "or they could just have an agreement," Arrington suggested.House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., said of the fund, "I think that there is a need for it."Comer claimed Trump had been the victim of "lawfare."House Majority Whip Tom Emmer, R-Minn., when asked about the case settlement that led to the creation of the fund, said, "I wasn't in the room, so I don't know what the details are.""No one [knows] weaponization of government against him and his family better than Donald Trump," Emmer said. "I suspect that whatever agreement was made, it's fair on both sides."House Minority Whip Katherine Clark, D-Mass., slammed Trump and Republicans over the DOJ fund and other of the president's pet projects, including a new White House ballroom and a new arch near Arlington National Cemetery."You can't have what we saw on display here this week, where we have a Republican Party and president who are proposing a billion dollars for a ballroom, a $2 billion slush fund for the president, and $75 billion to further fund ICE that does not need more funding, and not a dime for the American people," Clark said on "Squawk Box."The Trump administration is "almost showing contempt for them, building ballrooms and arches," Clark said. Choose CNBC as your preferred source on Google and never miss a moment from the most trusted name in business news.

Despite President Donald Trump's demands for lower interest rates, markets are betting the Fed will stay on hold through most, if not all, of 2026. View More

President Donald Trump led a ceremony swearing in Kevin Warsh as chair of the Federal Reserve, putting him in charge of a central bank that must navigate a tumultuous economy and a president with very specific expectations on interest rates.Trump, whose actions toward the Fed have spurred bipartisan alarms about executive influence on the historically independent central bank, said he wanted Warsh to "just do your own thing and do a great job.""I want Kevin to be totally independent," Trump said at the start of the event Friday morning. "Don't look at me, don't look at anybody."But the swearing-in ceremony itself highlighted the the president's unprecedented involvement with the Fed during his second term: Warsh is the first Fed chair to be sworn in at the White House since Alan Greenspan in 1987.Trump made his desires for the Warsh era even clearer later Friday, when he claimed interest rates will be coming down "very quickly.""You watch what's going to happen. I had a rotten head of the Fed, and now I have a great head of the Fed," Trump said at a campaign-style rally in Suffern, N.Y. "Kevin was just sworn in today, he's great, he's going to be great."Trump began to talk about a housing bill in Congress, then digressed. "To be honest with you, housing's all about interest rates ... they can pass all the bills they want, it's about interest rates. You get the interest rates down, everybody's going to be very, very happy," he told the audience at a local community college. watch nowVIDEO25:3425:34President Trump swears in Kevin Warsh as new Fed chair: 'I want Kevin to be totally independent'Squawk on the Street The Warsh ceremony in the East Room was attended by a range of high-profile figures, including Supreme Court Justices Clarence Thomas and Brett Kavanaugh, House Speaker Mike Johnson and many other politicians and Cabinet officials.Thomas delivered the oath to Warsh."Our mandate at the Fed is to promote price stability and maximum employment," Warsh said after being sworn in. "When we pursue those aims with wisdom and clarity, independence and resolve, inflation can be lower, growth stronger, real take home pay higher, and America can be more prosperous, and no less important, America's place in the world more secure," he said. "To fulfill this mission, I will lead a reform-oriented Federal Reserve, learning from past successes and mistakes, both escaping static frameworks and models, and upholding clear standards of integrity and performance," he said. watch nowVIDEO5:3805:38Kevin Warsh sworn in as Fed chair: 'I will lead reform-oriented Federal Reserve'Halftime Report Warsh, 56, is the 11th Fed chair of the modern banking era, succeeding Jerome Powell, who served eight years. Powell, a major target of Trump's ire over his refusal to lower rates as quickly or steeply as the president desired, will continue to serve at the Fed as a governor. He is the first Fed chair to make such a move in nearly 80 years.Friday's swearing-in marks Warsh's second stint at the Fed. He previously served as governor from 2006 to 2011, a time in which the central bank joined forces with Treasury officials to rescue the economy from the global financial crisis. Though Warsh helped the Fed effort, he later grew critical of the central bank for allowing crisis-era policies to remain in place and to overreach its mandate for stable prices and low unemployment. For instance, he has cited prior efforts to address climate change and social inequality as areas of mission creep, and has vowed to trim down the central bank's imprint on markets.Warsh gained the seat following a wide-ranging competition that began in the summer of 2025 and included as many as 11 candidates, ranging from current and former Fed officials to prominent economists and Wall Street strategists.Powell's term was marked by repeated and often personal criticism from Trump. The president demanded more aggressive action from the Fed when it came to cutting rates and accused Powell of having "Trump derangement syndrome," even though the Fed lowered its benchmark borrowing rate by three-quarters of a percentage point and raised by 4.25 points during one stretch of the Joe Biden presidency. Despite Trump's demands for lower rates, markets are betting the Fed will stay on hold through most, if not all, of 2026, and then possibly hiking rates in early 2027.The Powell run also was characterized by inflation running above the Fed's 2% goal for five years running. Warsh has vowed he can both control inflation while lowering benchmark rates.Since leaving the Fed, Warsh has spent time at Stanley Druckenmiller's Duquesne Family Office, and as a lecturer at Stanford University and the Hoover Institution. Warsh was thought to be a leading candidate for Fed chair when Trump made clear he was not going to renominate Janet Yellen, but the president ultimately chose Powell, reportedly at the urging of former Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin. Choose CNBC as your preferred source on Google and never miss a moment from the most trusted name in business news.

Qualcomm is on a big run, powered by investor bullishness that the company will be at the center of a boom in AI devices. View More

In this articleQCOMFollow your favorite stocksCREATE FREE ACCOUNT Qualcomm CEO Cristiano Amon delivers a keynote speech at Computex in Taipei, Taiwan, May 19, 2025.Ann Wang | Reuters Qualcomm shares surged 12% on Friday and are now up 75% in the past month, as the chipmaker's increasingly central position in the physical AI boom becomes more apparent to Wall Street. The stock is trading at a record. Although Qualcomm has fallen behind giants like Nvidia in the race for chips to power AI models and workloads, the company is using its dominance in smartphones to cement its role as a key player in connected devices, whether it's eyeglasses, cars or robots. OpenAI is also reportedly partnering with Qualcomm to develop an AI chip that could power a coming device run by AI agents."This company will be back in its former glory and will lead the connected device revolution," said Ivan Feinseth, an analyst at Tigress Financial Partners who rates Qualcomm a buy. Investors are "waking up to this fact," he said. Regarding Qualcomm's work with OpenAI, Feinseth said he's bullish about the forthcoming device, calling it a "phone that will be an AI-based operating system that will do everything." Stock Chart IconStock chart iconQualcomm vs. the Nasdaq over the past month Qualcomm is core to a plethora of gadgets doing AI at the so-called edge, instead of in the cloud. That includes Microsoft's Surface PCs and smartglasses from Google and Meta. Its Arm-based chips offer an energy-efficient alternative to those made by central processor leaders Intel and Advanced Micro Devices.On Thursday, Qualcomm announced a deal with automaker Stellantis, which said it will use the chipmaker's Snapdragon processors to "support advanced, unified compute power across the entire vehicle, including cockpit, connectivity and advanced driver assist systems."Stellantis owns a broad portfolio of brands, including Alfa Romeo, Chrysler, Dodge, Fiat, Jeep and Maserati."Customers will be able to enjoy a smooth, immersive, and safe auto-drive experience on city and highway roads, with multiple driving modes to choose from," said Ned Curic, Stellantis' head of product development, at the company's investor day on Thursday.Qualcomm has struck similar deals with Bosch, Volkswagen, Hyundai and BMW. In its most recent earnings report, Qualcomm said revenue in its automotive business climbed 38% from a year earlier to $1.3 billion. More than 1 million cars already operate their autonomous systems on Qualcomm processors, according to the company.Friday's stock pop is also tied to investor excitement around an entirely new business segment for Qualcomm: data center chips.Announced last year, Qualcomm's coming AI200 and AI250 are custom AI accelerators — a more programmable type of chip than Nvidia's graphics processing units that have dominated AI workloads thus far. The chips are supposed to go on sale later this year, available in a full rack-scale system similar to Nvidia's Vera Rubin and AMD's coming Helios system.Qualcomm CEO Cristiano Amon said on the company's earnings call in April that it would begin shipping data center chips to "a large hyperscaler" within the calendar year. Investors could hear more when Amon delivers a keynote address at the Computex conference in Taiwan on June 2, and at Qualcomm's investor day on June 24.—CNBC's Kristina Partsinevelos contributed to this reportWATCH: How Qualcomm is betting big on AI and auto to hold onto wireless dominance watch nowVIDEO16:4116:41Qualcomm turns to auto and AI with future Apple business uncertainTech Choose CNBC as your preferred source on Google and never miss a moment from the most trusted name in business news.

It took nearly a year. But it finally happened this quarter. View More

It took nearly a year. But it finally happened this quarter. Home Depot 's comps matched Lowe's , giving investors a reason to keep faith in the troubled stock. For months and months now, Jim Cramer has been frustrated at Home Depot's inability to keep pace with rival Lowe's — both in comparable sales and in stock performance. But this week's fiscal first-quarter earnings reports from each of the home improvement retailers signaled that the playing field is leveling out. Going into Tuesday morning's earnings from Club name Home Depot, Jim was initially worried that it focused too much on the Pro market. "But it's starting to work," he acknowledged after the print. Home Depot shares jumped more than 5% this week after an encouraging quarter. Lowe's dropped 1.5% on rather underwhelming results. Both companies reported fiscal Q1 comps, or same-store sales, growth of 0.6%. This key metric is used to track the performance of the retailers' physical locations and websites over a period of time. According to FactSet, analysts estimate that parity will continue in the upcoming second and third quarters, with growth of 0.9% and 1.5%, respectively, for both companies. Home Depot is then expected to start to pull ahead. "It seems like Home Depot might be back to outcomping Lowe's in the coming quarters," said Mizuho analyst David Bellinger. "You're going to be lapping some of these larger financed projects that just have been pretty dead for a while. And, then you get the [SRS] acquisition layering on top of it — and that gives them a little extra juice versus Lowe's." SRS Distribution is the anchor of Home Depot's Pro business, which accounts for roughly 55% of sales versus 45% from the do-it-yourself (DIY) cohort. Home Depot closed its more than $18 billion acquisition of SRS, which serves roofing, landscaping, and pool contractors, in June 2024. It bought building materials distributor GMS for over $4 billion in September 2025. Last week, Home Depot completed its acquisition of HVAC supplier Mingledorff's. Home Depot was earlier to expand pro, but Lowe's is also now widening its reach. Traditionally skewed more DIY, Lowe's bought Foundation Building Materials in October 2025 for $8.8 billion. According to Bellinger, Lowe's will start seeing FBM factor into comps toward the back half of this year. He said it takes roughly 13 months for the acquisitions to get to show up in the numbers. "Going forward, I like HD's Pro exposure," said Jeff Marks, director of portfolio analysis for the Club. "It will shine more if and when the home improvement cycle turns, but that hasn't happened yet." The home improvement cycle has not turned yet due largely to elevated mortgage rates. Better times for both Home Depot and Lowe's depend on lower rates spurring housing. Lower interest rates, however, might not be in the near-term cards, even with new Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh . While President Donald Trump has made no secret of his desire for rate cuts, Warsh may find it tough to rationalize them because of inflation worries sparked by the Iran war-spike in oil prices. HD LOW 1Y mountain Home Depot vs. Lowe's 1 year Over the past 12 months, neither stock has set the world on fire — Home Depot declined 15% versus a more than 4% drop for Lowe's. The S & P 500 has gained nearly 30% over the past 52 weeks. Lower rates are the key unlock for both their businesses and their stocks. But in the meantime, we are looking for Home Depot's stock to narrow its underperformance gap, just as the company has done on the business side. (Jim Cramer's Charitable Trust is long HD. See here for a full list of the stocks.) As a subscriber to the CNBC Investing Club with Jim Cramer, you will receive a trade alert before Jim makes a trade. Jim waits 45 minutes after sending a trade alert before buying or selling a stock in his charitable trust's portfolio. If Jim has talked about a stock on CNBC TV, he waits 72 hours after issuing the trade alert before executing the trade. THE ABOVE INVESTING CLUB INFORMATION IS SUBJECT TO OUR TERMS AND CONDITIONS AND PRIVACY POLICY , TOGETHER WITH OUR DISCLAIMER . NO FIDUCIARY OBLIGATION OR DUTY EXISTS, OR IS CREATED, BY VIRTUE OF YOUR RECEIPT OF ANY INFORMATION PROVIDED IN CONNECTION WITH THE INVESTING CLUB. NO SPECIFIC OUTCOME OR PROFIT IS GUARANTEED.

Congress is ramping up pressure on prediction markets like Kalshi and Polymarket over concerns of insider trading. View More

watch nowVIDEO10:4010:40Betting markets insider trading probe: Rep. James Comer on launch of investigationSquawk Box Rep. James Comer, R-Ky., chair of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, announced Friday on CNBC's "Squawk Box" that he is seeking information from the CEOs of Kalshi and Polymarket on their efforts to prevent insider trading on their platforms.Comer's probe is the latest in a series of congressional attempts to rein in the platforms."Internal records held by prediction market platforms are the only means by which bad actors can be identified and to determine whether platforms are meeting their legal obligations," Comer wrote in a letter sent Friday to Polymarket CEO Shayne Coplan and seen by CNBC. A similar letter, also seen by CNBC, was sent Friday to Kalshi CEO Tarek Mansour."Therefore, the Committee requests documents and information to better understand how Polymarket implements identity verification for domestic and international account holders, enforces geographic restrictions, and detects anomalous trading activity to prevent insider trading across its global platform," Comer's letter continues.Elisabeth Diana, Kalshi's head of communications, said in a statement that they "look forward to engaging with the Committee and its members about the systems and processes that we have spent years building.""As a US-regulated exchange we are proud of our comprehensive protections against insider trading," Diana said.A spokesperson for Polymarket said in an emailed statement the company "maintains a comprehensive market integrity framework. We look forward to engaging with Chairman Comer and the committee on how our platform is a pioneer in transparency." Representative James Comer, a Republican from Kentucky and chairman of the House Oversight and Accountability Committee, speaks to members of the media prior to a closed-door deposition with Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, not pictured, in Washington, DC, US, on Wednesday, May 6, 2026.Al Drago | Bloomberg | Getty Images Prediction markets like Kalshi and Polymarket have exploded in popularity and drawn increasing scrutiny from federal and state lawmakers and regulators. They allow users to place bets on the outcome of specific events in a variety of areas, including sports games, elections, awards shows and government actions.After a series of highly publicized bets on world and political events, Comer, in his appearance on CNBC, said "there's a concern now that members of Congress, members of the president's administration, any type of government employee, can use basic insider knowledge and make huge profits on anything government related.""So we want to not only launch an investigation to see how widespread this has been thus far, but also to prove a case that we've got to pass some type of legislation," Comer said. "And I think it wouldn't be too much to ask to say members of Congress can't participate in the predictions market, nor can government employees or people in the president's administration." Read more CNBC politics coverageTrump’s face doesn’t belong on U.S. passport, senators tell RubioJan. 6 police officers sue Trump to block $1.8B ‘lawfare’ fundBreakthrough agreement in housing bill gives investors winsDemocrats make demands of U.S. trade representative ahead of U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement review Kalshi is headquartered in New York City and is regulated by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. It does not allow users to place bets anonymously, a contentious feature of some other platforms, including Polymarket, that operate outside the U.S.While Polymarket also has offices in the U.S., it's a blockchain-based platform run by an entity licensed in Panama. It has a limited U.S. product regulated by the CFTC, but its international operations are not overseen by U.S. regulators. Both companies earlier this year announced they were strengthening their own rules on internal insider trading after an array of dubious trades were made public.Last month, a U.S. soldier was arrested for allegedly using inside information to place bets on Polymarket about the ouster of former Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro in January, netting roughly $400,000.And more than 80 Polymarket users have made bets with suspicious characteristics, including trades placed hours before U.S. and Israeli strikes in Iran, according to a recent New York Times investigation."The rapid growth and mainstreaming of this platform, the cryptocurrency infrastructure, and the anonymity it affords users may have created unintended structural conditions that bad actors — especially individuals with national security clearances — can exploit," Comer wrote to Coplan.Kalshi, meanwhile, says it does not allow event contracts related to war or death. But several political candidates have been caught betting on their own races on the platform. In April, Kalshi suspended three congressional candidates who wagered on their own candidacies. Comer cited those bets in his letter to Kalshi as well as the company's expansion into more than 140 countries."The rapid global expansion of Kalshi's platform raises questions about whether internationally placed event contracts are subject to equivalent identity verification and insider trading prohibitions as domestic event contracts," Comer wrote.Bipartisan members of Congress have introduced a flurry of bills this Congress to rein in prediction markets. Several deal specifically with the issue of insider trading, while others are broader and seek to root out other activity on the platform, including sports betting.Comer's probe follows a letter from seven Democratic lawmakers, led by Rep. Chris Pappas of New Hampshire, that called on the Oversight Committee chair to subpoena the platforms. "The American public has a legitimate interest in knowing whether individuals entrusted with classified national security information have used that access for personal financial gain," the Democratic lawmakers wrote on May 11. "A committee investigation, enforced with subpoenas, will include internal records, which are the only means by which the individuals who conducted these trades can be identified and the question of whether these platforms are upholding their responsibilities can be answered."In his letters, Comer requested documents and communications from both CEOs on how each company verifies identities, enforces geographic restrictions and detects unusual trades. Comer asked for all information transmitted by June 5.Disclosure: CNBC and Kalshi have a commercial relationship that includes customer acquisition and a minority investment. 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Warsh could guide to a smaller role in day-to-day markets, while also setting clearer rules for how and when it should intervene. View More

Kevin Warsh, then U.S. President Donald Trump's nominee for Chair of the Federal Reserve, delivers an opening statement during his Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs confirmation hearing in the Dirksen Senate Office Building on April 21, 2026 in Washington, DC.Andrew Harnik | Getty Images Incoming Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh's talk about "regime change" at the central bank has generated speculation about everything from interest rates to major personnel changes to fundamental alterations in the way it operates and communicates.But what that eventually might look like is subtler though perhaps more consequential – a rethink of how the Fed manages the financial plumbing in the U.S. economy and the mammoth balance sheet it has built through some 18 years of crisis fighting.Interviews with former Fed officials and economists, along with a growing library of research, suggest Warsh could guide the Fed to a smaller role in day-to-day financial markets, while also setting clearer rules for how and when it should intervene. Simply stated, the debate centers on whether the Fed should continue using its balance sheet as a regular tool for influencing financial conditions and supporting markets — as it has through much of the post-financial crisis era — or reserve it for periods of market dysfunction and more pernicious economic stress. Rewriting the Fed playbook The debate over the $6.8 trillion balance sheet is technical in nature and tucked away from the more common discussions about Fed policy. But the stakes are substantial. Since the financial crisis that exploded in 2008, the Fed has aggressively used its holdings of Treasurys and mortgage-backed securities to stabilize markets and influence broader financial conditions. Prior to the crisis, the Fed had a minuscule balance sheet relatively speaking – about $800 billion – but expanded it at one point to about $9 trillion. The Fed's asset holdings now equate to about 23% of the U.S. economy, or some seven times where they were pre-financial crisis. (function(){function e(){window.addEventListener(`message`,function(e){if(e.data[`datawrapper-height`]!==void 0){var t=document.querySelectorAll(`iframe`);for(var n in e.data[`datawrapper-height`])for(var r=0,i;i=t[r];r++)if(i.contentWindow===e.source){var a=e.data[`datawrapper-height`][n]+`px`;i.style.height=a}}})}e()})(); Any effort to change the system could have wide ramifications, potentially impacting Treasury yields, mortgage rates and other interest-sensitive areas of the economy, while influencing the way policymakers respond to future crises."It's a debate we're going to be seeing later this year. But one thing that's encouraging about all of this is that nobody, including Kevin Warsh, is arguing that any of this could be done rapidly," said Lou Crandall, chief economist at Wrightson ICAP and a longtime Fed watcher."It's got to be done carefully, and some of the changes … would probably take time to implement," he added. "Everyone's looking at this as a medium-term project rather than part of the day-one agenda."Warsh called the balance sheet, in a Wall Steet Journal op-ed piece last year, "bloated" and said it could be reduced while at the same time allowing the Fed to lower interest rates. What 'regime change' might entail While Warsh has spoken in broad strokes about shrinking the Fed's footprint, Wall Street already is gaming out what a new operating framework could look like.Among the more provocative ideas comes from TS Lombard's chief U.S. economist, Steve Blitz, who argues that a Warsh Fed could place greater weight on the overnight repo market — the short-term funding system that underpins the Treasury's market function — rather than relying solely on the federal funds rate — which banks charge each other for overnight lending — as the key transmission mechanism for policy."The repo rate becomes the policy rate," Blitz said in a client note.In practice, that could create an unusual dynamic: Warsh might be able to satisfy Trump's push for lower interest rates while still maintaining tighter underlying financing conditions as policymakers grapple with persistent inflation pressures. watch nowVIDEO4:3204:32How Jerome Powell reshaped the FedThe Fed However, he's likely to run into quick opposition from his fellow policymakers, some of whom are skeptical of both the Fed's ability to significantly reduce its holdings and the benefits this might provide."I think shrinking the balance sheet is the wrong objective, and many of the proposals to meet this objective would undermine bank resilience, impede money market functioning, and, ultimately, threaten financial stability," Fed Governor Michael Barr said in a speech last week. "Some would actually increase the Fed's footprint in financial markets."Barr's thesis essentially is that looking merely at the size of the balance sheet is too narrow – that other issues, such as how it is comprised with respect to duration and composition also matter. Neglecting those issues, he asserts, could have "perverse" consequences such as increased volatility and even the possibility of more interventions from the Fed. At the same time, he said, lowering reserve requirements for banks could destabilize the system. Understanding how it works The balance sheet mechanics regarding reserves are straightforward.When building the balance sheet, the Fed credits itself with digital cash and uses it to buy assets from banks, creating reserves. That provides the banks liquidity that then theoretically flows through the financial system. Conversely, when the Fed is reducing the balance sheet, it is no longer buying assets while also allowing the proceeds of the bonds it has purchased to roll off, rather than reinvesting them. watch nowVIDEO3:4003:40Kevin Warsh’s legacy will be reforming the Fed, says Mohamed El-ErianSquawk on the Street On the other side of the operation, the Fed is using its trading desk to achieve the interest rate it targets. The central bank also has a slew of other tools, such as the interest it pays on reserves, its discount window rate and, critically, overnight reverse repurchase operations that keep the financial flows moving.The Fed has been operating under a system of "ample" reserves, a nebulous term that essentially means more than typical but not excessive — that would be "abundant." Warsh has implied that the Fed can go back to its precrisis policy of "scarce" reserves, with the option to add when needed."Reasonable people can disagree on this," said Bill English, the Fed's former head of monetary affairs and now a professor at Yale. "The Fed could certainly go back to a system with scarce reserves, it would work perfectly well. Might be a little complicated to get there. You'd want to do it slowly, but I think they could do it."After spending much of the past 18 years depending on the Fed's balance sheet to keep operations running smoothly — and, critics would argue, support the bull run in stocks — markets will be watching closely."I would very much expect the Fed to have an open discussion about establishing a framework for future operations, so the market doesn't just assume that they'll do unlimited amounts," Wrightson economist Crandall said. Doing so "would allow the market to form more sensible expectations about what would happen."As things stand, the Fed has never communicated clear rules about when and how the balance sheet will be used.Markets have adopted terms for the balance sheet operations – quantitative easing, or QE, for expansion and quantitative tightening, or QT, for reduction – but the Fed has never set out clear guidance about when either will be used. That's particularly true when distinguishing between addressing financial market functioning and supporting its dual inflation and employment goals."They've never really set up a framework for when to use quantitative easing," said former Cleveland Fed President Loretta Mester. "The Fed hasn't done a very good job, I think, over time of distinguishing and explaining when it's using asset purchases for a monetary policy reason." Changing the message This is where Warsh especially can come in.Setting the tone for policy guidance is right within the chair's wheelhouse, and Warsh could try to diminish market expectations that the Fed is going to crank up asset purchases when Wall Street starts to get the jitters.In addition, he has spoken in favor of efforts that Michelle Bowman, the Fed's vice chair for bank supervision, has undertaken to ease some banking regulations. Part of that would alter what kinds of assets banks could claim as reserves and use in times of crisis, an effort that Dallas Fed President Lorie Logan cited in a recent speech, saying she looks forward "to seeing how that work progresses."Logan has firsthand experience with the dynamics that go into balance sheet management. Prior to her current position, she ran the trading desk at the New York Fed, which is charged with executing the central bank's open market strategy.Logan also noted, in the speech delivered April 2, that the Fed has other tools at its disposal to help the flow of liquidity — essentially using components from both the Warsh and Barr sides of the argument.Like others, she spoke in favor of moving slowly to address the issue."I'd emphasize that any changes in the balance sheet should be gradual and planned carefully," Logan said. The work has begun Internally, Fed officials are girding for debate.Central bank researchers have released several papers on the issue, including one titled "A User's Guide to Reducing the Federal Reserve's Balance Sheet." The paper concluded, without an endorsement in either direction, that up to $2.1 trillion in reductions could be achieved through the current policy framework, with further cuts possible should the Fed change direction into a scarce reserves approach to banking. The paper also contends it would take "at least a year and quite possibly several" before the process could even begin.All of these proposals are likely to be on the table after Warsh takes over Friday. He inherits a Fed facing not only economic challenges but also high political expectations from a president who regularly attacked outgoing Chair Jerome Powell, nicknaming him "Too Late" as he repeatedly threatened to fire him for not carrying out Trump's desire for lower rates.For all the discussion about "regime change," former officials caution against expecting a dramatic overnight overhaul, with Warsh's lofty goals about to meet central bank reality.Warsh will inherit a Federal Open Market Committee built on consensus, where even major policy shifts typically move deliberately and only after lengthy internal debate. Political considerations, these officials say, are left outside the central bank's walls."I was going to FOMC meetings when [Alan] Greenspan was chair, so that's a long time. Politics never enters that room," said Mester, the former Cleveland Fed president. "Political considerations never enter the discussion." watch nowVIDEO4:0004:00Fed Chair Kevin Warsh will have a hard time navigating the political minefieldSquawk Box Asia Choose CNBC as your preferred source on Google and never miss a moment from the most trusted name in business news.

Tax liability of individuals is influenced more by residential status than citizenship under Indian tax law. NRIs and foreign citizens may be taxed based on their days in India and income nature. Here's what you need to know. View More