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Top stories today:
- Netflix-Warner deal may pose antitrust “problem”, Trump warns
- Elon’s X EU penalty sparks U.S. backlash
- SpaceX said to eye $800B valuation ahead of potential 2026 IPO
- Apple chip chief Johny Srouji said to consider exit
- IBM said to near ~$11B Confluent deal
- China’s trade surplus +21.7% YTD to $1.08T as U.S. exports drop
0. Data and calendar
All values as of 6 AM ET / 3 AM PT, other than S&P500 and NASDAQ close (4 PM ET / 1 PM PT).
All times are ET.
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”
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
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4. SpaceX said to eye $800B valuation ahead of potential 2026 IPO
