By Kanishka Singh

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration asked U.S. federal agencies on Friday to terminate roles and offices related to diversity, equity and inclusion programs, a memo circulated by the Office of Personnel Management showed.

WHY IT’S IMPORTANT

Trump, a Republican, has issued a series of executive orders seeking to dismantle DEI programs since he took office on Monday.

DEI programs seek to promote opportunities for women, ethnic minorities, LGBT people and other traditionally underrepresented groups. Civil rights advocates argue such programs, generally backed by Democrats, are needed to address longstanding inequities and structural racism.

Trump and his allies say DEI programs unfairly discriminate against other Americans and weaken the importance of candidates’ merit in job hiring or promotion.

KEY QUOTE

“In accordance with that order, each agency, department, or commission head shall take action to terminate, to the maximum extent allowed by law, all DEI, DEIA, and ‘environmental justice’ offices and positions within sixty days,” the memo said.

CONTEXT

Trump has also pressured the private sector to join his attack on DEI. Civil rights advocates say his push marks a significant setback to decades-long efforts to ensure equality in federal hiring and contracts.

It was not immediately clear from the memo how many DEI staffers each federal agency has.

By Jody Godoy

(Reuters) – The chairman of the Federal Trade Commission on Friday acknowledged staff anxiety over returning to full-time in the office at an agency where around 80% work from home most of the week, but said the COVID pandemic is long over and workers need to be at their desks.

In one of his earliest executive orders, President Donald Trump ordered federal workers back to the office. FTC chairman Andrew Ferguson, who noted that Trump was fulfilling a campaign promise with the order, expects staff to revert to full-time in office by March 3, according to an internal memo seen by Reuters.

The aggregate effect of return to office orders and other changes is expected to drive frustrated government employees out of their jobs, a goal the Trump team is explicitly gunning for to help streamline government by cutting staffing, rolling back regulations and slashing budgets.

Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) CEO Elon Musk – who chairs Trump’s government efficiency initiative – predicted that revoking “the COVID-era privilege” of telework would trigger “a wave of voluntary terminations that we welcome.”

Musk, a top Trump donor, ordered Tesla employees in 2022 to be in the office 40 hours a week or leave the company. Other U.S. industries, including banks on Wall Street, have taken a similar return-to-office approach.

Aside from noting the pandemic was over, Ferguson said telework had “undermined the rich and unique culture that long made the FTC one of the best places to work in the federal government.

“I can say from experience that it is very difficult for a new employee to learn the ropes when most of his or her interactions are with faces on computer screens, rather than in-person conversations with veterans and mentors,” he added.

But 79% of FTC staff worked from home three or four days a week in 2023, compared with 47% at medium sized agencies across the government, and 23% government-wide, suggesting it could lose a greater number of staff if they decide to quit over the mandate.

The consumer protection and competition enforcement agency has a heavy workload in the years ahead with a full slate of litigation against large companies including Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN), Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META), and PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP).

At the same time, when Trump chose him to lead the agency, Ferguson vowed to “end Big Tech’s vendetta against competition and free speech.”

If staff were to leave while cases are ongoing and Ferguson is ramping up his agenda, it will significantly impact the agency’s ability to function, said former FTC attorney David Schwartz, now a partner at Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner.

“The chair’s priorities are going to be the ones that suffer. Those are the ones that take the most work, because you are starting from the beginning,” he said.

Ferguson’s memo said the agency would abide by reasonable accommodations previously granted to employees as well collective bargaining obligations to staff who voted to unionize in September. He acknowledged that staff with remote work arrangements may “confront unique difficulties.”

“We are working hard to determine how we can best address those difficulties while still achieving full compliance with the PM (Presidential Memorandum). Finally, we are developing a procedure by which the agency will consider requests for exemptions from the PM in exceptional circumstances,” he said.

By Sarah N. Lynch

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration has halted all pending environmental litigation and reassigned four career Justice Department attorneys focused on environmental issues, according to three sources familiar with the matter and a pair of memos seen by Reuters on Friday.

The memos order the division not to file any new lawsuits or other legal briefs and to halt all pending settlements and consent decrees to give the new Republican administration time to reconsider previously agreed deals.

The change, one of the memos said, is meant to ensure the federal government “speaks with one voice in its view of the law and to ensure the president’s appointees or designees have the opportunity to decide whether to initiate any new cases.”

The decision to move the four officials, who are not political appointees, from overseeing the natural resources, environmental enforcement, appellate and environmental crimes sections is the latest in a string of similar actions as Trump shakes up the federal government’s 2.2 million-strong workforce.

The department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division is responsible for bringing criminal and civil cases related to air and water pollution, animal welfare and public safety, as well as defending in court government agencies such as the Department of the Interior and the Department of Energy.

The four section chiefs were told in an email late Thursday they have 15 days to accept the new assignment to a newly created Sanctuary City Working Group or face adverse consequences, the sources told Reuters.

A Justice Department spokesperson declined to comment.

The sources were granted anonymity because they are not authorized to speak to the media. The sources said the reassigned officials have not been provided further details about their new assignments.

Trump has long dismissed climate change as a “hoax,” vowed to cut regulation and on his first day in office withdrew the U.S. from the Paris climate treaty.

Four other Justice Department employees who worked on environmental justice issues were also placed on paid administrative leave this week, four sources familiar with the matter said.

The four officials placed on leave include Cynthia Ferguson, who led the environmental justice office, and Lana Pettus, a prosecutor who worked on some high-profile cases such as the 2015 criminal Clean Water Act case against Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK).

The Trump administration this week ordered anyone in the federal government on diversity, equity and inclusion issues to be placed on leave, and also called for the elimination of any office or position involving environmental justice.

Ferguson and Pettus could not be immediately reached for comment.

The order to freeze all pending environmental regulation was issued to employees on Thursday morning, the sources said.

It is similar to another memo issued earlier in the week to the Civil Rights Division which also halted all litigation, including efforts to finalize court-approved settlements with Minneapolis and Louisville to address civil rights abuses by the police.

By Tim McLaughlin and Laila Kearney

(Reuters) – President Donald Trump’s oversight of an increasingly unreliable U.S. power grid requires swift action, he said this week, but there is no easy fix for one of the grid’s most complex and troubled areas: long-distance transmission lines.

Trump’s National Energy Emergency declaration and executive orders detail a long list of interconnected problems dogging an electric grid vulnerable to fuel shortages, soaring demand, and an increasing number of wild weather events.

“There’s clearly a recognition of the need to increase energy production broadly in the United States and do it with whatever resources necessary,” said Spencer Pederson, a top executive at the National Electrical Manufacturers Association.

Trump’s initial moves could help to some degree: The emergency declaration directs agencies to scour their books for laws and regulations that could be used to speed approval and permitting for projects like transmission, and overcome regulatory obstacles that have long hampered big projects.

The executive orders, part of a slew of actions Trump signed his first day in office to accelerate broader energy production, seek to streamline permitting procedures that historically have taken years or even decades.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS), in a note this week to investors, said Trump’s actions “could improve the speed of transmission infrastructure permitting and environmental reviews.”

Big obstacles remain. Pederson noted a shortage of large electrical transformers and skilled workers, and added that the U.S. grid’s overseas supply chain is still adjusting to being reoriented away from China, a move that began during the first Trump administration.

Also, some doubt that Trump’s executive actions can penetrate an entrenched web of local, state and regional regulators who have strong political incentives to hold down spending for electric customers, said Kent Chandler, a former chairman of Kentucky’s Public Service Commission who teaches a class on public utility regulation at Yale Law School.

Power lines spanning multiple states have been repeatedly blocked due to broad local resistance to what some view as unsightly or environmentally worrisome infrastructure projects.

Shon Hiatt, Director of USC Marshall’s Business of Energy Transition initiative, said Trump’s emergency declaration could prove useful for speeding up transmission projects on public lands, but that overcoming local and state actors could require an Act of Congress.

“It’s not like there’s public lands going across the entire country where this needs to happen,” Hiatt said.

DATACENTER BOOM

The grid’s vulnerability has intensified since Trump’s first term, with booming power demand from datacenters for artificial intelligence and cryptocurrency along with manufacturing and EV adoption, utility executives, regulators and trade groups say.

The grid’s capacity of long-distance transmission lines would need to quintuple over the next decade to handle that big surge in power demand outlined in the U.S. Energy Department’s latest state of the grid report.

“The clear message from (Trump) is that it’s time to really put a heavier foot on the gas pedal and get things moving,” said Larry Gasteiger, executive director of WIRES, a trade association for transmission line companies.

Making that happen would be good news not just for fossil fuel-fired power, but also for hundreds of renewable energy projects – like solar and wind farms – that have struggled for access to the grid.

Christina Hayes, executive director of Americans for a Clean Energy Grid, said one of the most promising parts of Trump’s executive order, titled Unleashing American Energy, is a directive to develop recommendations for Congress for interstate energy infrastructure.

She said that “could potentially lead to meaningful reforms in siting and permitting procedures.”

“Western states are likely to see the most immediate impact from these changes, given the concentration of federal lands in the region,” Hayes said.

Catie Hausman, a University of Michigan economics professor, has studied how some public utilities have blocked transmission buildout for renewables to protect the economic viability of their incumbent gas and coal power plants. She does not expect Trump’s executive actions to make those turf battles disappear.

“There have been so many impediments to building long-distance transmission lines,” Hausman said. “It’s hard to even know where to start.”

By Dietrich Knauth

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Purdue Pharma said on Friday it needs more time to build support for a new $7.4 billion settlement that could complete the company’s years-long effort to resolve thousands of lawsuits over its addictive pain medication OxyContin.

The company still needs to hammer out remaining details and seek buy-in from states, local governments, and other creditors that have sued the company and its Sackler family owners over their roles in the deadly U.S. opioid epidemic.

Purdue attorney Benjamin Kaminetsky said at a court hearing in White Plains, New York that the company is “almost there” on a deal that was announced on Thursday by several states’ attorneys general and would propose a formal bankruptcy plan before the end of February.

U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Sean Lane, who is overseeing Purdue’s Chapter 11 proceedings, said the company is making concrete progress toward a deal and approved its request to pause all opioid lawsuits against the Sacklers at least until the end of February.

The bankruptcy case has stopped litigation from proceeding against the Sacklers and Purdue, since the company entered Chapter 11 in 2019, and Lane has granted several short-term extensions of the litigation ceasefire in recent months.

“We’ve been doing this for some time now, and the hope is that we’re getting toward the end,” Lane said on Friday.

Purdue filed for bankruptcy in 2019 in the face of thousands of lawsuits accusing it and Sackler family members of fueling the epidemic through deceptive marketing of OxyContin. Drug manufacturers, distributors, pharmacy operators and others have collectively agreed to pay about $50 billion to resolve similar lawsuits and investigations related to the U.S. opioid crisis.

The new deal, supported by 15 states, offers the company a fresh chance to conclude its long-running bankruptcy after the U.S. Supreme Court scuttled its previous opioid settlement. But it faces a long and uncertain road before the settlement is approved and funds can begin flowing to states, communities and individuals that were harmed by the crisis.

The deal has not yet been reviewed by most of Purdue’s creditors, including the states, local governments, and individuals that have legal claims against the Sacklers.

Key terms of the settlement will be published next week, said David Nachman, an attorney representing New York state. The states that negotiated the deal, including New York, California, Texas and West Virginia, are circulating it to other states to encourage them to support the deal.

“We have work to do to build that consensus, and we are confident that we will be able to do so,” Nachman said.

The new settlement comes seven months after the Supreme Court ruled that the Sacklers, who did not file for bankruptcy themselves, were not entitled to sweeping legal protections meant to give bankrupt debtors a fresh start.

The settlement does not fully shut off lawsuits from states, local governments, or others who would prefer to opt out of the deal and instead sue the Sacklers, who have said they would vigorously defend themselves in court.

The deal is not yet binding even for the 15 states that negotiated it. West Virginia currently supports the deal, but it retains the ability to opt out and litigate separately, according to a spokesman for attorney general John McCuskey.

Lane said creditors, including individuals who were personally harmed by the opioid crisis, will need to be patient as the settlement develops.

“People need to know what benefits the bankruptcy case can bring them before they decide whether other options are the best way to proceed,” Lane said.

By Jessica DiNapoli and Jonathan Stempel

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Ben & Jerry’s on Friday ratcheted up its censorship lawsuit against Unilever (LON:ULVR), accusing its parent company of suppressing a social policy statement the U.S. ice cream maker wanted to release because it mentioned President Donald Trump.

The allegation came in an amended complaint filed in Manhattan federal court, where Ben & Jerry’s in November accused Unilever of silencing its attempts to express support for Palestinian refugees and end military aid to Israel, and threatening to dismantle its independent board.

Ben & Jerry’s wants a court order freeing the board to continue oversight of its social mission, and requiring Unilever to honor its commitment to make $25 million of payments to groups chosen by the ice cream company.

Unilever did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Both companies have been publicly at odds since 2021 when Ben & Jerry’s decided to stop selling Cherry Garcia, Chubby Hubby and other ice cream flavors in the Israeli-occupied West Bank because it was inconsistent with the company’s values.

That led some investors to divest Unilever shares, and Ben & Jerry’s to sue its parent for selling its Israeli business to a local licensee.

A settlement in 2022 required Unilever to respect Ben & Jerry’s independent board and social mission, as well as make the $25 million of payments.

DONALD TRUMP, NELSON PELTZ AND ELON MUSK

In the amended complaint, Ben & Jerry’s said its management and board, with input from Unilever’s global head of litigation, worked after Trump’s election on a post to be released on Inauguration Day, discussing hot-button issues such as abortion, climate change, minimum wages and universal healthcare.

But on Jan. 18, two days before Trump’s inauguration, Unilever ice cream chief Peter ter Kulve “unilaterally barred Ben & Jerry’s from issuing the post because it specifically mentioned ‘Donald Trump,’” the complaint said.

Ben & Jerry’s said ter Kulve appeared to base his decision on intuition, while ignoring the company’s history of challenging the Trump administration.

It also said ter Kulve soon held a town hall meeting where he touted how Unilever board member and activist investor Nelson Peltz, a Trump supporter, had introduced the president to Elon Musk, the Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) founder and close Trump adviser.

The complaint said that according to ter Kulve, “despite four decades of progressive social activism–and years of challenging the Trump administration’s policies specifically–criticizing Trump was now too taboo for the brand synonymous with ‘Peace, Love, and Ice Cream.’”

Many companies in retail, banking and other sectors have curtailed support this month for programs whose perceived social impact has drawn opposition from Trump and his supporters.

RESISTANCE TO PAYMENTS

Ben & Jerry’s was founded by Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield in a renovated gas station in 1978, and kept its socially-conscious mission after Unilever bought it in 2000.

According to the amended complaint, Ben & Jerry’s planned to direct $5 million from Unilever to human rights groups, and $20 million over 10 years to support Palestinian almond farmers and a fair trade almond supplier it had long used.

It said Unilever opposed the $5 million of payments because it believed they would support “Palestinian human rights,” and has not made the second $2.5 million installment.

Ben & Jerry’s also said ter Kulve resisted the $20 million payment because he disliked the 2022 settlement and had not heard of the almond supplier.

Unilever plans to spin out its ice cream business this year to simplify its product portfolio and cut costs.

Its dozens of other products include Dove soap, Hellmann’s mayonnaise, Knorr bouillon cubes, Surf detergent and Vaseline petroleum jelly.

By Jonathan Stempel

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) will pay $59.7 million to resolve charges that a company it acquired defrauded Medicare and other healthcare programs by paying kickbacks so doctors would prescribe the migraine drug Nurtec ODT, the U.S. Department of Justice said on Friday.

The Justice Department said that from March 1, 2020, to Sept. 30, 2022, Biohaven Pharmaceuticals violated the federal False Claims Act by providing speaker honoraria and meals at high-end restaurants to doctors, to induce them to prescribe Nurtec more often.

According to the government, some speaker programs were attended multiple times by the same doctors, resulting in no educational benefit, or attended by doctors’ spouses, family members and colleagues who had no educational need to be there.

Pfizer ended the Nurtec speaker programs after paying $11.5 billion to buy Biohaven in October 2022.

“Patients deserve to know that their doctor is prescribing medications based on their doctor’s medical judgment, and not as a result of financial incentives from pharmaceutical companies,” said Trini Ross, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of New York.

Pfizer did not admit wrongdoing in agreeing to settle.

“We are pleased to put this legacy matter behind us, so that we can continue to focus on the needs of patients,” the New York-based drugmaker said in a statement.

The settlement resolves an August 2021 lawsuit filed in the Rochester, New York federal court by Patricia Frattasio, a former Biohaven neuroscience sales specialist.

She will receive about $8.4 million from the settlement. About $41.8 million will go to the federal government and $9.5 million will go to state Medicaid programs.

The False Claims Act lets whistleblowers sue on behalf of the government, and share in recoveries.

Investing.com – The S&P 500 notched a two-week winning streak despite closing lower Friday after giving up gains following a fresh intraday record high as investors digested more corporate earnings and economic data.

At 4:00 p.m. ET (21:00 GMT), the S&P 500 index fell 0.3% but had earlier hit a fresh record high of 6,128.18. The NASDAQ Composite fell 0.5%, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 140 points, or 0.3%, while 

All three major averages are on track to post their second positive week, with the S&P 500 posting a record high, after President Donald Trump said he would “demand that interest rates drop immediately” as he addressed world leaders in Davos, Switzerland. 

Quarterly corporate results continue

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) stock rose nearly 1% after the telecom major reported its best quarterly wireless subscriber growth in five years.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) stock fell 1.4% despite the financial giant reporting a 12% jump in fourth-quarter profit, as more consumers swiped cards during the holiday season for travel and online shopping.

Boeing (NYSE:BA) stock fell 1.4% after the aircraft manufacturer said it will post a bigger-than-anticipated loss of around $4 billion in its most recent quarter, as it grappled with a prolonged strike, charges related to US government projects and expenses linked to a slew of job cuts.

Texas Instruments (NASDAQ:TXN) stock dropped 7.5% after the analog chipmaker forecast first-quarter profit below estimates, as it grapples with an inventory buildup in its key automotive and industrial markets.

Twilio (NYSE:TWLO) stock soared 20% after the cloud communications software maker announced that it expects adjusted earnings to come in at the top range of guidance for the fourth quarter and unveiled positive guidance for the next couple of years through 2027.

Meta (NASDAQ:META) hits record high on AI optimism, intuitive Machines wins $2.5M Nasa contract

Meta Platforms Inc (NASDAQ:META) hit a record intraday high on Friday after unveiling spending plans to invest about $60 billion to $65 billion in capital expenditure this year as it builds out its AI infrastructure. 

Intuitive Machines Inc (NASDAQ:LUNR), meanwhile, won a $2.5M contract from Nasa to advance lunar logistics handling and offloading, and surface cargo as well as mobility solutions.

University of Mich. consumer sentiment falls; Fed meeting next week

The Michigan Consumer Sentiment Index, fell to 71.1 in January, down from 74.0 a month earlier, marking the decline in six months.

The data comes ahead of next week’s Federal Reserve policy-setting meeting, and the future path of interest rates.

The US central bank is widely expected to hold interest rates unchanged on Wednesday, with Fed officials expected to largely disregard any inflationary effects stemming from tariffs under Donald Trump’s administration, as such impacts are viewed as one-time price level increases rather than persistent inflationary pressures, Goldman Sachs analysts said in a research note.

Earlier Friday, the Bank of Japan raised interest rates by 25 basis points, marking the third hike by the central bank since it began scaling back its ultra-loose monetary policy in early-2024.

(Peter Nurse, Ayushman Ojha contributed to this article.)

Investing.com – Brazil stocks were lower after the close on Friday, as losses in the Financials, Electric Power and Consumption sectors led shares lower.

At the close in Sao Paulo, the Bovespa declined 0.03%.

The best performers of the session on the Bovespa were Companhia Siderurgica Nacional (BVMF:CSNA3), which rose 5.09% or 0.40 points to trade at 8.26 at the close. Meanwhile, Cogna Educacao SA (BVMF:COGN3) added 3.79% or 0.05 points to end at 1.37 and Usinas Siderurgicas de Minas Gerais SA USIMINAS Pref (BVMF:USIM5) was up 1.55% or 0.08 points to 5.23 in late trade.

The worst performers of the session were Automob Participações SA (BVMF:AMOB3), which unchanged 0.00% or 0.00 points to trade at 0.31 at the close. Cvc Brasil ON (BVMF:CVCB3) declined 2.73% or 0.05 points to end at 1.78 and LWSA SA (BVMF:LWSA3) was down 2.73% or 0.09 points to 3.21.

Rising stocks outnumbered declining ones on the B3 Stock Exchange by 475 to 453 and 64 ended unchanged.

Shares in Automob Participações SA (BVMF:AMOB3) unchanged to all time lows; unchanged 0.00% or 0.00 to 0.31.

The CBOE Brazil Etf Volatility, which measures the implied volatility of Bovespa options, was up 4.30% to 28.63.

Gold Futures for February delivery was up 0.46% or 12.81 to $2,777.81 a troy ounce. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Crude oil for delivery in March fell 0.05% or 0.04 to hit $74.58 a barrel, while the March US coffee C contract rose 0.83% or 2.85 to trade at $346.80 .

USD/BRL was down 0.18% to 5.91, while EUR/BRL rose 0.50% to 6.20.

The US Dollar Index Futures was down 0.56% at 107.26.

Investing.com – Canada stocks were higher after the close on Friday, as gains in the Clean Technology, Materials and Consumer Discretionary sectors led shares higher.

At the close in Toronto, the S&P/TSX Composite added 0.14% to hit a new 1-month high.

The best performers of the session on the S&P/TSX Composite were Bird Construction Inc . (TSX:BDT), which rose 5.32% or 1.32 points to trade at 26.13 at the close. Meanwhile, Torex Gold Resources Inc (TSX:TXG) added 4.59% or 1.33 points to end at 30.32 and IAMGold Corporation (TSX:IMG) was up 4.20% or 0.35 points to 8.68 in late trade.

The worst performers of the session were NovaGold Resources Inc (TSX:NG), which fell 4.43% or 0.20 points to trade at 4.31 at the close. Richelieu Hardware Ltd. (TSX:RCH) declined 3.17% or 1.36 points to end at 41.57 and Energy Fuels Inc. (TSX:EFR) was down 2.84% or 0.24 points to 8.20.

Rising stocks outnumbered declining ones on the Toronto Stock Exchange by 492 to 412 and 121 ended unchanged.

Shares in IAMGold Corporation (TSX:IMG) rose to 5-year highs; gaining 4.20% or 0.35 to 8.68.

The S&P/TSX 60 VIX, which measures the implied volatility of S&P/TSX Composite options, was down 2.99% to 12.99.

Gold Futures for February delivery was up 0.46% or 12.69 to $2,777.69 a troy ounce. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Crude oil for delivery in March fell 0.05% or 0.04 to hit $74.58 a barrel, while the March Brent oil contract rose 0.22% or 0.17 to trade at $78.46 a barrel.

CAD/USD was unchanged 0.27% to 0.70, while CAD/EUR unchanged 0.48% to 0.66.

The US Dollar Index Futures was down 0.55% at 107.27.