DOJ Releases First Batch of Jeffrey Epstein Files

Jessica Mendoza (0:00)

Hey, this is Jessica Mendoza, host of The Journal Podcast, our show about money, business, and power. If you're looking for more deeply reported stories like we share every day, consider becoming a subscriber to The Wall Street Journal. Visit subscribe.wsj.com/thejournal, all lowercase, to subscribe now.

Sabrina Siddiqui (0:23)

US home sales hit their highest level in months, and how the art market is adapting to a new demographic of bidders.

Kelly Crow (0:32)

You do get the feeling that they're still just sort of testing the field of what do the younger buyers want and how kooky do they want to be.

Sabrina Siddiqui (0:39)

Plus, a media deal that went for peanuts. It's Friday, December 19th. I'm Sabrina Siddiqui for The Wall Street Journal, sitting in for Alex Osala. This is the PM Edition of What's News, the top headlines and business stories that move the world today.

Kicking things off with some breaking news. The Justice Department has released a batch of files related to the government's investigation of Jeffrey Epstein, marking a milestone in a long-running fight over the sex offender's case. The move comes after Congress voted overwhelmingly last month to mandate the disclosure of records into Epstein and his associate, Ghislaine Maxwell. The first batch came today, and additional releases are expected in the coming weeks. For more details, visit wsj.com. New data shows that US home sales rose last month to their highest level since February. Sales of existing homes increased half a percent from October to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.13 million, according to the National Association of Realtors. Nicole Friedman covers the US housing market for us, and she says lower borrowing costs have injected some momentum into what's otherwise been a slow market.

Nicole Friedman (1:58)

So existing home sales have risen for three straight months, which is the longest streak of gains since late 2024 And so that shows a little bit of momentum here at the end of the year, driven by slightly lower mortgage rates. So mortgage rates in recent months have been lower than they were earlier in the year, and that is bringing some buyers into the market. It's a slightly more affordable time to buy a home. And so there is some optimism that if rates continue to decline, that that could lead to an increase in home buying activity in 2026 But overall, home sales are still really low.

This year is still likely to be at or near the lowest level since the mid-90s for existing home sales. So even with this slight uptick in momentum, it's from a really low base, and we're not seeing any huge increase in home buying activity just yet.

Sabrina Siddiqui (3:00)

In other economic data out today, consumer sentiment improved a bit in December, but people remain largely pessimistic as households continue to grapple with high prices and a challenging job market. That's according to the University of Michigan's monthly survey, which found that inflation is still weighing on consumers, and more than 60% expect joblessness to keep rising over the next year. Many economists project a stronger US economic outlook in 2026, as uncertainty over US trade policy fades and business-friendly tax changes kick in. US stocks rallied today to close out the week near fresh records. Tech shares continued their rebound, with the NASDAQ posting a 1.3% jump. The S&P 500 rose 0.9% and the Dow climbed 0.4%. Both are now about 1% away from their all-time highs.

Nine pharmaceutical companies, including Bristol-Meyers Squibb, GSK and Merck, have agreed to lower drug prices for certain federal programs and patients in exchange for reprieves on tariffs. President Trump announced the deals at the White House today.

SPEAKER_2 (4:12)

They've agreed to offer many of their flagship drugs, really all of their flagship drugs, at heavily discounted, most favored nations' prices. In other words, whatever the drug sells for over the world, in the world, whatever the lowest number is, if it's Germany, if it's in UK, anywhere, we will match that price.

Sabrina Siddiqui (4:37)

The announcement follows similar drug pricing agreements between the administration and other drug makers. Tesla has won its fight over a record-breaking 2018 pay package for CEO Elon Musk. The Delaware Supreme Court issued an opinion today reversing an earlier decision that rescinded Musk's pay package. The decision ends a years-long legal battle over compensation that grew in value to total more than $126 billion. Coming up, what's driving a $13.2 billion comeback for the art market? Plus, a new home for Snoopy. That's after the break.

Gunjan Banerjee (5:17)

Hi, this is Gunjan Banerjee.

Telus Demos (5:19)

And this is Telus Demos. We are reporters at The Wall Street Journal and the hosts of WSJ's Take On The Week.