Bloomberg News Now
Homebuilder Antitrust Probe, Racist Post Removed from Trump Account, More
06 Feb 2026
Chapter 1: What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
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News when you want it with Bloomberg News Now. I'm Amy Morris. Trump administration officials are exploring opening an antitrust investigation into U.S. homebuilders to tackle the country's housing affordability crisis.
Bloomberg real estate reporter Pat Clark says the administration's interest in homebuilders comes as the cost of buying a home is at its most expensive in decades, with the industry facing high levels of unsold homes. All this goes back to October when the president put out on a
social media posts that homebuilders are, I mean, he likened them to OPEC and complained that builders are sitting on more lots than ever. Bloomberg real estate reporter Pat Clark tells Bloomberg Businessweek Daily the Department of Justice could open the probe in the coming weeks. Homebuilders' shares are about one percent lower.
And The Wall Street Journal reports the Justice Department is investigating whether Netflix has engaged in anti-competitive tactics as it probes the streaming giant's proposed acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery Studios and HBO Max streaming service.
A racist post on President Trump's social media account depicting former President Obama and his wife Michelle Obama as primates in a jungle has been taken down. The White House initially defended the post, accusing critics of false outrage, but that post was deleted after widespread backlash. Black and white Republicans joined civil rights advocates in criticizing the post as racist.
The Dow has surged 1,100 points, topping 50,000 for the first time as the stock market stormed back to recover much of its losses from earlier this week. We do check markets for you all day long here at Bloomberg. The S&P 500 up 1.8%. NASDAQ up 1.9%. The Dow up 2.25%. The 10-year Treasury yield at 4.2 percent, the two-year yield at 3.49 percent.
Bitcoin more than 12 percent higher, reclaiming almost all of yesterday's losses, now up to $70,000. Amazon shares down more than 7 percent after its much higher-than-expected $200 billion annual capital spending forecast underlined concerns on how much big tech companies are spending on AI-related investments.
BlackRock CIO of Global Fixed Income, Rick Reeder, says AI is having an impact on markets and is the way for companies to protect themselves. You hear the discussion about CapEx and the CapEx was too high. And, you know, I would argue there's some other things at play there. CapEx is your moat. CapEx and R&D spend are the way companies can build their moat.
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Chapter 2: What antitrust investigation is the Trump administration exploring for homebuilders?
And it's actually data utilization. And the companies that are exploiting data effectively that are building bigger moats, that is at the core of what is happening. Reader was on Bloomberg Open Interest. JPMorgan Chase, Goldman Sachs, and Bank of America, all boosting their bonus pools for bankers and traders by at least 10%.
The payouts reflect a strong year for the nation's largest banks, collectively posting their largest annual profit since 2021. Consumer sentiment in the U.S. has improved to its highest level in six months. The University of Michigan survey shows a bump to 57.3. That's up from 56.4. Survey director Joanne Shue tells Bloomberg that's
Chapter 3: How is the housing affordability crisis impacting homebuilders?
really not a lot. So this improvement is very, very small. It's less than one index point. It's not, it's well within the margin of error. This should be interpreted as a no change. Concerns persist about the job market and the impact of inflation on personal finances. Atlanta Fed President Rafael Bostic says it's important to keep interest rates at a level that returns inflation to 2%.
Once inflation gets entrenched in people's minds, it changes how the economy evolves. And it's one of the reasons why I think that we need to keep our policy in a restrictive posture so that we get inflation back to 2 percent. That's paramount. Bostic, who is to step down from his role at the end of this month, spoke to Bloomberg TV's Mike McKee in an exclusive interview.
Federal Reserve Vice Chair Philip Jefferson says he's cautiously optimistic about the outlook for the economy. I expect the disinflationary process to resume this year once increased tariffs pass through more fully to prices. In addition, projected strong productivity growth may be a source of further help in bringing inflation down to our 2% target.
Jefferson told an event in Washington that with the Fed strongly committed to returning inflation to its target, the risk of a one-time shift leading to sustained inflation is low. President Trump is reportedly expected to sign an executive order today that will quadruple the amount of Argentine beef purchased by the U.S.
CBS quotes an unnamed senior administration official who says the plan will lower beef costs for consumers. The deal would allow Argentina to export 100,000 tons of beef to the U.S. Iran says it has agreed with the U.S. to continue indirect talks to de-escalate tensions. Iran's foreign minister says discussions were limited to nuclear issues. U.S.
officials say they should include Iran's missiles into Iran's support for regional militias. Tehran described the first day of those talks as positive. Attorney General Pam Bondi says a suspect in the September 2012 terrorist attack on U.S. diplomatic facilities in Benghazi, Libya, has been arrested and is now in U.S. custody. FBI Director Kash Patel.
Our Special Flight Operations Unit and countless others, along with the agents in the New York field office who never forgot Benghazi and never let the world forget it, endured over a decade to bring yet another terrorist who killed four Americans, to justice. Patel says foreign partners aided in the arrest, but he did not give any more details.
Savannah Guthrie's brother has renewed the family's plea for their mother's kidnapper to contact them, saying that they want to hear from her and they need proof she's alive. Authorities have not identified any suspects or persons of interest in the kidnapping of 84-year-old Nancy Guthrie. The FBI is offering up to $50,000 for information. That's news when you want it with Bloomberg News Now.
I'm Amy Morris and this is Bloomberg. As a place to do business, the UK stands apart. Not because of a single advantage, but a uniquely powerful combination of many. As one of the world's leading financial centres, the UK puts over Ā£10 trillion to work every day, fuelling innovation across every sector.
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