*By Michael Teich* President Trump's tough talk on trade at the start of the Group of Seven summit was not enough to dampen markets, said Daniel Ives, the chief strategy officer and head of technology research at GBH Insights. Major stock indexes closed on a high note Friday, locking in gains for the week. Equities edged up despite trade tensions stoked by Trump's comments before arriving in Quebec for the G-7 that he would "deal with the unfair trade practices." "Tariffs have been a black cloud, but it's becoming background noise," Ives said Friday in an interview with Cheddar. He said he sees potential for mergers and acquisitions in the big data and consumer industries after Microsoft's $7.5 billion purchase of GitHub, which he described as a "no-brainer." Microsoft, Netflix, and Google are all in positions of strength to make acquisitions, Ives said.

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Trump Administration Shutters Consumer Protection Agency
The Trump administration has ordered the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to stop nearly all its work, effectively shutting down the agency that was created to protect consumers after the 2008 financial crisis and subprime mortgage-lending scandal. Russell Vought is the newly installed director of the Office of Management and Budget. Vought directed the CFPB in a Saturday night email to stop work on proposed rules, to suspend the effective dates on any rules that were finalized but not yet effective, and to stop investigative work and not begin any new investigations. The agency has been a target of conservatives since President Barack Obama created it following the 2007-2008 financial crisis.
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