Deals in october hit record volumes

US companies are cutting merger deals at a record pace even though antitrust regulators have moved to oppose several recent high-profile combinations. So far this month, companies have agreed to mergers and acquisitions valued at more than $251 billion, financial-information provider Dealogic said.

That surpasses the previous record of $240 billion in July 2015.

Last week alone the merger mania racked up about $177 billion, a new mark for a single week.

The hottest sector has been technology - accounting for more than one-fourth of all U.S.-targeted deals and 19 percent by deal value, according to Dealogic. Health care ranks second by deal value.

The biggest of the October deals so far is AT&T Inc.'s agreement to buy Time Warner Inc. for $85 billion.

Among the most recent is Qualcomm Inc.'s announcement that it will buy NXP Semiconductors NV for $39 billion.