Bank of America has agreed to pay victims of notorious sex offender Jeffrey Epstein $72.5 million to settle a class action lawsuit alleging that the bank facilitated his sex trafficking operation, a New York federal court filing showed Friday evening.

The settlement, in which BoA did not admit wrongdoing, is the fourth settlement by a major bank of legal claims by Epstein victims or a government entity alleging they effectively abetted his trafficking while he was a customer. The settlement with BoA has to be approved by a judge in U.S. District Court in Manhattan, where the suit was filed.

“While we stand by our prior ​statements made in the filings in this case, including that Bank of America did not facilitate ⁠sex trafficking crimes, this resolution allows us to put this matter behind us and provides further closure for the plaintiffs,” ​a spokesperson for Bank of America said in a statement sent to CNBC.

The settlement would pay “all women who were sexually abused or trafficked by Jeffrey Epstein, or by any person who is connected to or otherwise associated with Jeffrey Epstein or any Jeffrey Epstein sex-trafficking venture, between June 30, 2008 and July 6, 2019, inclusive,” according to the filing on Friday.

The filing said that lawyers in the case are “aware that there are at least 60 women who were victimized by Epstein between” the dates covered by the settlement.

CNBC has requested comment from the two law firms that represented the victims in the case, Boies Schiller Flexner and Edwards Henderson.

The SAVE America Act is a top priority for President Donald Trump that he has been mentioning at every opportunity — in appearances before reporters in the Oval Office, at campaign-style rallies in rooms full of supporters and in musings on his Truth Social platform.

The Senate this week is expected to begin marathon debate on the elections bill that would require proof of U.S. citizenship to register to vote and photo identification to cast a ballot.

Trump, GOP hardliners and conservative influencers like Elon Musk say the Senate must pass the bill, which the House advanced in February. Democrats strongly oppose the legislation, and voting rights groups warn it could disenfranchise millions.

Here is a breakdown of what is in the bill, who it could affect and why it has been the subject of so much controversy:

Most Democrats and voting rights groups have warned the legislation could disenfranchise millions of voters by imposing citizenship and photographic identification requirements. 

Around 21 million Americans do not have documents proving their citizenship readily available and 2.6 million Americans lack government-issued photo ID of any kind, according to the Brennan Center for Justice and the University of Maryland’s Center for Democracy and Civic Engagement. Low-income and minority voters are more likely to lack the documents required in the SAVE America Act, and people who have changed their last names — primarily married women —would also face additional barriers to registering.

Democrats have also warned the SAVE America Act is part of a broader attempt by Trump to alter the outcome of the 2026 midterm elections, which will decide control of the House and Senate and set the tone for Trump’s final two years in office.

Trump for years has warned about the threats of noncitizen voting and claimed — without evidence — that U.S. elections are not secure. He has doubled down on these claims in recent months ahead of the 2026 midterm elections, warning he will be impeached for a third time if Democrats take back the House and Senate. Trump in recent months has called to nationalize elections and threatened to impose voter-ID laws and ban mail-in voting by executive order.

“The Save America Act is one of the most IMPORTANT & CONSEQUENTIAL pieces of legislation in the history of Congress, and America itself. NO MORE RIGGED ELECTIONS! Voter I.D., Proof of Citizenship, No Rigged Mail-In Voting (We are the only Country in the World that allows this!),” the president wrote in a Truth Social post on Tuesday.

The Senate on Tuesday afternoon voted to kick off what could be a dayslong debate over the SAVE America Act, the controversial voter-ID bill backed by President Donald Trump.

“We’re not going to let it pass. We’re going to fight it tooth and nail,” Sen. Alex Padilla, D-Calif., said on Tuesday morning ahead of the vote. “We’re prepared to stay here all day and all night, or multiple days and multiple nights and even multiple weeks , if necessary, to make sure the SAVE Act suffers the death that it deserves.”

The legislation, which advanced out of the House in February, would require proof of citizenship to register and photo ID to cast a ballot in elections. Those provisions would take effect immediately upon passage, potentially upending the 2026 midterm elections which will decide who controls the House and Senate.

Tuesday’s 51-48 vote cleared the way for debate in the chamber and required only a simple majority. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, was the lone Republican to join all Democrats in voting against the measure. Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., who had voiced concerns about wasting time that could be used for other legislating, did not vote.

Padilla and other Senate Democrats have vowed to block the bill, which will need 60 votes to overcome a filibuster and secure final passage in the chamber. With a 53-47 majority, Republicans do not have the votes to pass the legislation, but hardliners and allies of Trump have promised to grind the Senate to a halt and put their Democratic colleagues on record on an issue that they believe is popular with voters.

“It’s just common sense. And polls show that the American people agree,” said Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., from the Senate floor on Tuesday.

As Senate Republicans prepare to vote on the SAVE America Act this week, Democrats remain opposed to the voter-ID legislation strongly backed by President Donald Trump.

While House Republicans in February passed one version of the bill, mostly along party lines, they still need 60 votes in the Senate to bypass the filibuster. With only a 53-47 majority, Senate Republicans can’t advance the legislation without upper chamber Democratic support, unless lawmakers change the filibuster rule.

Meanwhile, Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., on Thursday said he would bring the legislation to the floor for a vote this week to “put Democrats on the record.”

With multiple versions of the legislation circulating, it’s unclear which one Thune may bring to the Senate floor for a vote next week.

“We don’t yet know what Thune is doing … but we’re prepared for every possible scenario,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York told reporters Sunday afternoon during a press call.

“My caucus really feels strongly that this would be a horror … one of the worst things that’s happened in the history of this country in terms of allowing people to vote,” he said. 

The recent House-passed bill would require Americans to show proof of citizenship, such as a certified birth certificate or passport, to register to vote for federal elections. The bill would also mandate photo identification rules to cast a ballot in person or by mail.

If enacted, the legislation could cause a “large scale voter suppression” for those unable to comply, according to Marc Elias, founder of voter rights organization Democracy Docket, who also spoke to reporters during the Sunday call.

“Most people don’t have a passport, and frankly, most people don’t have ready access to an original or a certified copy of a birth certificate,” he said.

Some 21 million Americans don’t have easily accessibly documents to prove their citizenship, and 2.6 million Americans lack government-issued photo ID, according to the Brennan Center for Justice and the University of Maryland’s Center for Democracy and Civic Engagement.

During fiscal year 2025, the U.S. Department of the State issued roughly 27.3 million passports, which included about 4.5 million passport cards, according to the latest data.

The bill passed in February would also require each state to regularly send a list of eligible voters to the Department of Homeland Security to identify non-citizens and remove them from the voter rolls.

“It’s just appalling…

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., on Thursday said he would bring the SAVE America Act to the Senate floor next week.

The voter-ID bill backed by President Donald Trump would require proof of citizenship to register to vote and photo ID to cast a ballot.

For months Trump, GOP hardliners and online influencers like Elon Musk have railed against opponents of the bill and called repeatedly for a change to the Senate filibuster rule to ensure passage in the upper chamber. Thune supports the legislation but has rejected those calls, saying changing Senate procedure could have unintended consequences. Speaking from the Senate floor Thursday, he made no mention of changing the chamber’s rules, all but assuring the proposal will not pass.

“I can’t guarantee an outcome on this legislation, but I can guarantee that we are going to put Democrats on the record,” Thune said.

The House last month advanced the SAVE America Act on a mostly party-line vote. Rep. Henry Cuellar of Texas was the lone Democrat to support the measure.

Most Democrats and voting rights activists argue the SAVE America Act would disenfranchise millions of voters and make it harder for women, minorities and young people to cast a ballot. Republicans, meanwhile, point to public polling that shows voter ID and barring noncitizens from voting — which is already a illegal in federal elections and happens rarely — are popular proposals.

“It is a package of common sense policies, the kind of common sense policies that should get an automatic yes vote from literally every member of this body,” Thune said on Thursday.

Anticipating the bill’s failure in the Senate, Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, who introduced the legislation, and other proponents have engaged in a pressure campaign to revert back to a “standing filibuster,” which requires dissenting members to actively hold the Senate floor to block legislation and could, in theory, allow for the passage of the bill with a simple 50-vote majority.

Republicans hold a 53-47 majority in the Senate, and Democrats have vowed to oppose the bill.

Others, like Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fla., have suggested the only way to passage is to tack the legislation to some other must-pass bill, like the reauthorization of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, which Congress is expected to take up next month.

Trump, meanwhile, has been laser-focused on elections ahead of the 2026 midterm elections that will shape the final two years of his presidency. He suggested earlier this year that Republicans should “nationalize” elections, threatened to impose voter-ID requirements by executive order and, on Sunday, said he would not sign any bills that reach his desk until the SAVE America…

President Donald Trump threatened to withhold his signature from any bill that reaches his desk until Congress passes a controversial election measure known as the SAVE America Act, which would make it much harder for many Americans to vote.

“It must be done immediately. It supersedes everything else. MUST GO TO THE FRONT OF THE LINE,” Trump said in a Truth Social post on Sunday. “I, as President, will not sign other Bills until this is passed.”

The SAVE America Act would require proof of citizenship and photo ID to vote. The measure has been the subject of an immense pressure campaign from right-wing commentators and congressional Republicans.

The House passed the bill last month, but it is short of the 60-vote filibuster-proof majority in the Senate. Republicans hold a 53-47 vote majority in the upper chamber, and Democrats have vowed to oppose it. That has led some Republicans to call for subverting the filibuster, which Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D, has so far resisted.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said the threat of gridlock does not change Democrats’ stance.

“If Trump is saying he won’t sign any bills until the SAVE Act is passed, then so be it: there will be total gridlock in the Senate,” he said on X. “Senate Democrats will not help pass the SAVE Act under any circumstances.”

Trump has also called for Congress to deliver him an enhanced version of the bill, “NOT THE WATERED DOWN VERSION,” he wrote.

“GO FOR THE GOLD: MUST SHOW VOTER I.D. & PROOF OF CITIZENSHIP: NO MAIL-IN BALLOTS EXCEPT FOR MILITARY – ILLNESS, DISABILITY, TRAVEL: NO MEN IN WOMEN’S SPORTS: NO TRANSGENDER MUTILIZATION FOR CHILDREN! DO NOT FAIL!!!” Trump added.

Trump’s demands would require the House to pass another iteration of the SAVE America Act — it has already passed two versions of the measure during this Congress. That’s anything but assured when Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., only has what is effectively a one-vote majority in the House.

Trump’s threatened signature blockade also imperils other must-pass legislation, like a bill to fund the Department of Homeland Security for the remainder of the fiscal year. The department is currently shut down after funding lapsed last month. Democrats are demanding new restrictions on Trump’s deportation efforts after two American citizens were shot and killed by federal immigration agents.

A signature blockade may have mixed results. Trump can veto any bills sent to him and send them back to Congress, which can override his veto with a two-thirds majority in each chamber. If Congress adjourns, the president also can let the bill sit for 10 days, and it will not become law — a procedure known as a “pocket veto.”

But an unsigned bill that sits for 10 days while Congress is in session automatically becomes law,…

Amid recent debate over the so-called “Sell America” trade and capital rotating out of U.S. markets, foreign stocks have received most of the attention. But international bonds, especially emerging market bonds, have also been riding high.

“The best performing area in fixed income year to date, and also last year, was emerging markets,” said Joanna Gallegos, co-founder of fixed-income ETF company BondBloxx on this week’s CNBC “ETF Edge.”

As an example, the iShares JPMorgan USD Emerging Markets Bond ETF (EMB) generated over a 13% return in 2025. BondBloxx’s JP Morgan USD Emerging Markets 1-10 Year Bond ETF (XEMD) had a similar 2025.

Weakness in the U.S. dollar, concerns about the fiscal health of the U.S. at a time of high spending and deficits, and the investing impact of President Trump’s foreign policy, plus the recent performance trends, are all contributing to more interest from investors to diversify internationally.

But for Gallegos, it start with the currency and performance chasing rather than a view that the U.S. is losing favor as a market. “The dollar pressure is putting more of a view on non-U.S. assets,” Gallegos said. “I think people are just seeing the returns from last year and looking for a way to take advantage of those opportunities more so than anything else,” she said. “The U.S. trade is not going away,” she added.

Morningstar data for the month of January backs up the view that U.S. investors are not abandoning the domestic market, whether it is stocks or bonds being debated and even as more assets move overseas.

U.S. market ETFs brought in an estimated $156 billion of net inflows in January, which was the best January ever, according to Morningstar. But investors also added $51 billion in net positive flows to international equity ETFs, which was a monthly record for that category. And taxable bond ETFs popped, with $46 billion from investors in net inflows for the month, led by Vanguard Total Bond Market ETF (BND) and the Vanguard Intermediate-Term Corporate Bond ETF (VCIT).

Despite fears about a private credit bubble, the U.S. continues to offer “the strongest fixed income market,” according to Gallegos, and “the biggest opportunity set for the world to continue to invest in it.”

Investors are expanding their portfolios and adding new sources of return while keeping U.S. assets at the core. “I think we still see resilient economy,” Gallegos said, pointing to steady earnings and a strong corporate balance sheet. In the bond market, specifically, she said, “the yield curve looks like it’s steepening, behaving appropriately, with rates on the long end being higher than the rates on the shorter end.”

Todd Sohn, technical strategist at Strategas Securities, said on “ETF Edge” that the scale of potential change on the fixed-income side of the portfolio is…

The U.S. is looking increasingly isolated when it comes to its global geopolitical and trade relationships as allies reassess their ties to the world’s largest economy and consider going it alone.

The new year has seen a number of nations and power blocs forging ahead with relationship resets, closer commercial ties and trade partnerships, sidelining a more hostile and volatile U.S. They include China’s “preliminary agreement” with Canada and rapprochement with the U.K., as well as the European Union’s agreements with India and South American countries.

Those deals and negotiations come after a year of U.S. President Donald Trump’s “America First” trade and foreign policy in his second term in office, which has seen the White House hit friends and foes alike with punitive trade tariffs, and even territorial threats, as it asserts its economic and geopolitical dominance.

But that strategy could be backfiring, particularly as the U.S.’ friends and partners look to diversify their trade policies, in no small part to protect themselves from Trump’s unpredictability.

“Given what’s happening with the U.S. and its foreign policy, which was articulated in the recently released National Security Strategy … the ‘middle powers‘ need to find their own agency and figure out different approaches,” Damian Ma, director of Carnegie China, an East Asia-based research center, told CNBC on Thursday.

“Countries are going to align based on particular, specific à la carte interests, rather than a comprehensive values-based alignment,” he said, noting that while this was not a return to a divided Cold War mentality of opposing power blocs, it was more a “recalibration” of national interests.

“Where that recalibration and that new equilibrium ends is anyone’s guess, but you’re seeing countries starting to make moves finally. The U.K. and Canada are not going to be the only ones,” he said, predicting a “flood of countries recalibrating their approach” to superpowers like China and the U.S.

China and Canada agreed to…

Bank of America on Wednesday posted fourth-quarter earnings that topped analysts’ expectations on gains from net interest income and equities trading.

Here’s what the company reported:

• Earnings: 98 cents per share vs. 96 cents expected, according to LSEG
• Revenue: $28.53 billion vs. $27.94 billion expected

The company said profit rose 12% from a year earlier to $7.6 billion, or 98 cents per share. Revenue rose 7.1% to $28.53 billion, thanks to rising net interest income, asset management fees and trading revenue.

Shares of the bank climbed about 1% in premarket trading.

“With consumers and businesses proving resilient, as well as the regulatory environment and tax and trade policies coming into sharper focus, we expect further economic growth in the year ahead,” CEO Brian Moynihan said in the release. “While any number of risks continue, we are bullish on the U.S. economy in 2026.”

Net interest income, which is the difference in what a bank earns on loans and securities and what it pays depositors for their savings, rose 9.7% to $15.92 billion in the quarter. That is roughly $240 million more than what analysts had expected, per StreetAccount.

Equities trading revenue rose 23% to $2.02 billion, or about $160 million more than expected. Fixed income trading revenue edged up by 1.5% to $2.52 billion, or about $120 million below what analysts had forecasted for the quarter.

Fees generated by the firm’s investment bankers were roughly flat from a year ago at $1.67 billion, nearly matching the StreetAccount estimate.

The lender got a boost from a smaller-than-expected provision for loan losses in the quarter of $1.31 billion, about $190 million lower than analysts had forecast.

Bank of America, the second-largest U.S. bank by assets after JPMorgan Chase, has been a beneficiary of the industry’s recent tailwinds. Falling interest rates, rising Wall Street trading and advisory fees, stable consumer credit and deregulation have all helped the lender, whose shares rose 24% last year.

Analysts will want to hear more from Moynihan as to whether momentum will carry into 2026.

On Tuesday, JPMorgan posted results that exceeded expectations on better-than-expected trading revenue. Citigroup and Wells Fargo also report results Wednesday, while Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley will release results Thursday.

This story is developing. Please check back for updates.