Wall Street Breakfast Podcast: DHS Calls Out Hilton Over ICE

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Hilton (HLT) faces DHS ire after ICE agents were denied rooms at Minneapolis hotel. (00:26) Hawaiian Electric (HE) reaches $47.75M shareholder settlement over wildfires. (02:02) Clarivate (CLVT) unveils 2026 Drugs to Watch highlighting 11 promising therapies. (02:48)

This is an abridged transcript.

The Department of Homeland Security on Monday slammed Hilton Hotels (HLT) for allegedly canceling reservations of Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers at a hotel in Minneapolis.

“Hilton Hotels has launched a coordinated campaign in Minneapolis to REFUSE service to DHS law enforcement,” the agency posted on X. “When officers attempted to book rooms using official government emails and rates, Hilton Hotels maliciously CANCELLED their reservations.”

The DHS also shared screenshots of what appeared to be two emails from a Hilton.com address regarding the reservation at a Hampton Inn Lakeville property.

“We have noticed an influx of GOV reservations made today that have been for DHS, and we are not allowing any ICE or immigration agents to stay at our property,” the email read. “If you are with DHS or immigration, let us know as we will have to cancel your reservation.”

Shares of Hilton (HLT) ended nearly 2.5% lower on Monday.

“This hotel is independently owned and operated, and these actions were not reflective of Hilton values,” a spokesperson for the hotel chain said. “We have been in direct contact with the hotel, and they have apologized for the actions of their team, which was not in keeping with their policies.”

“They have taken immediate action to resolve this matter and are contacting impacted guests to ensure they are accommodated. Hilton’s position is clear: Our properties are open to everyone and we do not tolerate any form of discrimination,” the spokesperson added.

“We do not discriminate against any individuals or agencies and apologize to those impacted,” Everpeak Hospitality, which operates the hotel, said in a statement. “We are committed to welcoming all guests and operating in accordance with brand standards, applicable laws, and our role as a professional hospitality provider.”

Hawaiian Electric Industries (HE) reached a $47.75 million settlement with shareholders who accused the company of misleading them about its wildfire prevention and safety protocols before the 2023 Maui wildfires, Reuters reported Monday.

Shareholders said Hawaiian Electric (HE) falsely claimed it was taking appropriate action to reduce the risk that its utility poles could trigger wildfires; the company denied wrongdoing in agreeing to settle, and said it set aside funds for the settlement in last year’s Q3.

More than 100 people died in wind-driven wildfires in August 2023 in Hawaii, mostly on Maui island, and destroyed much of the resort town of Lahaina.

The preliminary settlement filed with the U.S. District Court in San Francisco will require a judge’s approval.

Clarivate (CLVT) on Tuesday released its 2026 Drugs to Watch report, highlighting 11 therapies expected to deliver meaningful clinical benefits and strong commercial potential in the year ahead.

The annual report highlights therapies likely to change treatment for metabolic, cancer, immune, rare, and neurological diseases, with potential for major impact within five years.

“The pharmaceutical landscape in 2026 will be defined by both unprecedented innovation and increasing complexity. From metabolic disease to rare conditions and precision therapies, the ability to anticipate emerging drug trends and understand shifting patient and market dynamics will be critical,” Henry Levy, President, Life Sciences & Healthcare, Clarivate, said.

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Catalyst watch:

• Costco Wholesale (COST) is expected to release its monthly sales report.

• Seeking Alpha will hold its Top Stock 2026 event at noon eastern time. Steven Cress will walk through how last year’s Top 10 Stocks performed and then unveil 10 fresh stock picks for 2026 using the Quant system’s most powerful signals.

• JPMorgan will hold a CES fireside chat with Marvell (MRVL) CEO Matt Murphy.

• Lenovo (LNVGY) CEO Yuanqing Yang will deliver a speech at CES.

Dow, S&P and Nasdaq futures are in mixed territory. Crude oil is up 0.2% at $58/barrel. Bitcoin is down 0.3% at $93,000. Gold is little changed at $4,448.

The FTSE 100 is up 0.4% and the DAX is up 0.3%.

The biggest movers for the day premarket: Zeta Global (ZETA) +10% – Shares surged after the company announced a strategic collaboration with OpenAI to power the conversational intelligence and agentic applications behind Athena by Zeta, its superintelligent agent built for enterprise marketing.

On today’s economic calendar: