How to get rid of the loop?

I want to get rid of the loop with out editing it through the admin panel. is it possible to edit just this code below to make it show only the latest post?
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<?php if (have_posts()) : while (have_posts()) : the_post();?>

<span class=”newsBIG”>” title=”Permalink” class=”newsBIG”><?php the_title(); ?></span> <span class=”copy”><font color=”#BAB9B9″><?php the_time(‘F jS, Y’) ?></font></span>

<?php ($post->post_excerpt != “”)? the_excerpt() : the_excerpt(); ?>

<?php endwhile; endif; ?>