Top stories today:

1. Netflix-Warner deal may pose antitrust “problem”, Trump warns
2. Elon’s X EU penalty sparks U.S. backlash
3. SpaceX said to eye $800B valuation ahead of potential 2026 IPO
4. Apple chip chief Johny Srouji said to consider exit
5. IBM said to near ~$11B Confluent deal
6. China’s trade surplus +21.7% YTD to $1.08T as U.S. exports drop

0. Data and calendar

Listen to our AI-generated podcast summarizing today’s newsletter (beware of hallucinations):

1. Netflix-Warner deal may pose antitrust “problem”, Trump warns

Markets are placing 21% odds that Netflix will close the deal by end-2026, down from 59% pre-Trump remarks:

• “Well, that’s got to go through a process, and we’ll see what happens,” Trump said about the deal on Sun.

• Mid-Nov.: Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos met with Trump at the White House to discuss the potential Warner Bros. Discovery deal.

• WBD should sell to the highest bidder, Trump reportedly told Sarandos.

• The acquisition wouldn’t create a monopoly, Sarandos argued.

• Fri.: Netflix agreed to pay $82.7B for WBD, outbidding Paramount and Comcast.

• Netflix secured $59B in bank financing, including an unsecured bridge loan, to support the WBD acquisition.

Netflix will top all streamers in revenue if the deal goes through

2. Elon’s X penalty sparks U.S. backlash over EU’s “suffocating regulations”

• U.S. State Secretary Marco Rubio and the FCC blasted EU regulators for fining X.

• Fri.: the EU issued a €120M ($140M) penalty over “deceptive” blue-tick badges.

• “This deception exposes users to scams, including impersonation frauds,” the EU said.

• Elon Musk reposted Rubio’s criticism on X.

• FCC chair Brendan Carr accused EU of targeting X “because it’s a successful U.S. tech company.”

X has terminated the European Commission’s ad account following the fine

4. SpaceX said to eye $800B valuation ahead of potential 2026 IPO