The federal government has squashed merger activity this year

Corporate deals are falling apart left and right, and a huge culprit appears to be the federal government.
The rate of merger and acquisition activity was halved in the first quarter of 2016 compared to the average over the previous seven quarters, according to strategist David Bianco at Deutsche Bank.
Both the number of deals and the value of deals completed fell off the table to start the year, and a big cause of that decline might have been the influence of lawmakers.
"Several big deals