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A drone view shows a sign for Paramount in front of the Hollywood sign in Los Angeles, California, December 8, 2025.
Daniel Cole | Reuters
Paramount Skydance on Monday announced a hostile takeover bid for Warner Bros. Discovery, stepping in after Netflix revealed a deal to acquire the HBO owner. The new proposal offers $30 per share in cash, outbidding Netflix’s $27.75 per‑share cash‑and‑stock mix for WBD’s streaming and studio assets.
“We’re here to finish what we started,” said Paramount CEO David Ellison, underscoring the strategic intent to combine Paramount’s film library with Warner’s premium content and distribution channels. The bid raises questions about scale, cost synergies, and the ability to compete in a fragmented streaming market that now features at least eight major players in the U.S. alone.
Investors responded positively: Paramount’s stock rose 9 % while Warner Bros. Discovery shares climbed 4.4 % on the news.
In a separate development, former President Donald Trump announced that Nvidia will be allowed to export its latest H200 artificial‑intelligence accelerator chips to “approved customers” in China and other jurisdictions, provided that a portion of the revenue is repatriated to the United States. Nvidia’s shares gained roughly 2 % in after‑hours trading.
While these corporate moves captured headlines, broader market sentiment remained cautious ahead of the Federal Reserve’s final policy meeting of the year on Wednesday. The CME FedWatch tool indicates a near‑90 % probability of a 25‑basis‑point rate cut, a scenario that has already been priced into equity valuations.
“The market action you’ve seen the last one or two weeks is essentially baking in a very high likelihood of a 0.25 % cut,” said Stephen Kolano, chief investment officer at Integrated Partners. “If the Fed surprises to the upside and holds rates steady, we could see a 2 %–3 % correction across the major indices.”
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U.S. equities slipped on Monday despite solid performances from several technology names, including Broadcom, Confluent and Oracle. The pan‑European Stoxx 600 finished flat, while defense stocks posted modest gains.
Paramount’s $30‑per‑share, all‑cash tender offer intensifies the battle for WBD. Analysts see three possible outcomes: (1) a bidding war that could push the valuation above $150 billion; (2) a negotiated settlement that splits assets between Paramount and Netflix; or (3) a regulatory hurdle that forces a breakup of the combined entity.
Nvidia’s cleared export of the H200 chip could revive its growth trajectory in China, a market that accounts for roughly 15 % of the company’s AI‑related revenue. However, the requirement to funnel a portion of earnings back to the U.S. introduces compliance risk and may limit the scale of future shipments.
Berkshire Hathaway announced a leadership shuffle: investment manager Todd Combs will depart for JPMorgan Chase, while the conglomerate will add a general counsel and a president to oversee its expanding consumer, services and retail divisions. The changes signal a gradual transition from the Warren Buffett era to a more diversified management structure.
Bridgewater Associates founder Ray Dalio reiterated his confidence in artificial intelligence, but cautioned that investors should “bet on the technology, not the hype,” emphasizing the importance of capital allocation to firms with defensible AI moats.
And finally…
A cargo ship loaded with containers departs from Qingdao Port in Shandong Province, China, on December 4, 2025.
Costfoto | Nurphoto | Getty Images
China’s trade surplus topped $1 trillion in November, the first time the milestone has been reached despite ongoing trade tensions with the United States. Export growth of 5.4 % year‑to‑date, coupled with a 0.6 % decline in imports, suggests the economy is still on track to meet its “around 5 %” growth target for the year, according to Zhiwei Zhang, president and chief economist at Pinpoint Asset Management.
Analysts note that the surplus reflects a pivot to higher‑value manufactured goods and a strengthening services export sector, but also raises concerns about the sustainability of demand in key overseas markets. Any further escalation in tariff policy could erode the momentum gained over the past quarter.
— Anniek Bao and Jeff Cox
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