Hey there weekday warrior,
Here’s what’s on tap today… Paramount went all “here’s your bill,” Treasury yields haven’t been this high since… the bad times, and Donny is going after Oman next.
Now, enjoy the next 3 minutes and 13 seconds of blue-chip news and commentary.
Keep on snapping necks and cashing checks,
PS… thanks in advance for doing your part in helping keep TWC like the Fed (think: free and independent) by checking out today’s advertising partner.
No u
Blue state AGs: *sue Paramount to block Warner Bros. acquisition*
Dave Ellison:
Nepo Davey’s lawyers are earning their fees…
Yesterday, Paramount $PSKY ( ▲ 1.38% ) aka Paramount Skydance (except, who cares about Skydance) filed a motion asking the courts to make those dirty dozen states post a yuge bond (think: $1.88B).
“But why?” - you, confused
Well, friendly reminder: Paramount bought Warner Bros. $WBD ( ▼ 0.21% ) fair and square (suck it, Netflix $NFLX ( ▼ 2.74% )) forever ago. And since then, they’ve been sitting in limbo trying to get the deal over the proverbial finish line.
The DOJ cleared the deal, but California AG Rob Bonta and 11 other state AGs sued to block the merger of equals.
Thing is, starting September 30, baby Davey has to pony up roughly $650M per quarter in straight cash, homie, until the deal closes. These “ticking fees” are built in to make sure the deal gets done in a timely fashion.
Which means, quick math, Larry’s son may have to pay upwards of $1.3B before the trial ends.
Fun fact: the states are citing the Clayton Antitrust Act as grounds for the suit. Turns out the Clayton Antitrust Act requires plaintiffs “to post a bond covering the potential harm from halting a transaction to litigate.”
Live look at this sh*tshow…
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+ This is fine...
Rare headline day for Treasury yields yesterday.
The 30-year yield hit 5.29% yesterday, which, *checks notes* is the highest since 2007. Oh, and ICYMI, the 10-year just hit its highest point since *double checks notes* yeah, 2007 also…
Hey Siri, did any significant economic events kick off in 2007?
Help us K-Woww, you’re our only hope.
+ O-man down
Yesterday marked the official end of the 60-day ceasefire with Iran (lol, as if). And now Donny Diplomacy is ready to stick a boot in the ass of the next nation that talks back to the USA.
Which looks like Oman.
Friendly reminder: Oman’s been leading talks with the big brains in Tehran over reopening the Strait, but they’re not moving fast enough for #47.
Per The Don, “If Oman gets in the way, we’ll bomb the s--- out of them.”
*cue “America f*ck yeah” song*
Anyway, oil prices did that thing where they moon, obviously.
+ So Ohio…
Nvidia $NVDA ( ▼ 0.07% ) is gearing up to yeet up to $105B in financing to build a new data center in Ohio for, drumroll, Scam Altman.
Friendly reminder: that’s actually down from the $250B Jensen had anticipated.
The best thing to happen to Ohio since Tommy saved Callahan Auto Parts will support 4.25 gigawatts of computing capacity (whatever the h*ll that means), with Nvidia providing the compute.
Funny thing is, SB Energy (read: SoftBank $SFTBY ( ▲ 1.23% )) will be the ones building and managing the center.
And OpenAI was an early investor in SB Energy, so I’m sorry to do this yet again, but…
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> Hollywood cuts first-ever AI copyright deal with TikTok’s ByteDance // On this episode of deals that will last for 48 hours before AI evolves again...
> Meta faces ‘astronomical’ consequences as legal fight reaches critical moment in California // Zuck be like: “Let’s settle this in the octagon like real men.”
> Alibaba answers Meta’s AI challenge with new laptop-ready model // Your move, Zuck.
> (Friday) Better.com’s new CEO vacations in south of France as ousted founder plots boardroom coup: sources // It’s giving Succession.
> (Friday) SpaceX Completes $60 Billion Cursor Acquisition to Expand AI Coding Tools // Vibe coders in space.
> (Friday) Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway boosts stake in Google parent Alphabet // Really? Have you actually used Gemini lately? Because…
On Friday, I asked, “Where was vacation this summer? (you better drop details in the comments)”
22% of you said, “Driving distance.” It’s ok, we can all be white trash together…
Here’s what some of you guys had to say (and my response in italics)…
Driving distance: “Door County sucks, please tell all the TWC readers not to go.” PSA.
Flew somewhere in the States: “Disney…how else was Bob going to be able to afford the Lakers?” TYFYS.
Driving distance: “16 hour drive from Denver to Tahoe with 2 kids under 5. The iPad was the real MVP.” How did our parents do it?
Flew somewhere in the States: “Summer vacation was 4 friggin weddings in Sarasota, Buffalo, Austin, and Detroit. Not ideal.” You know those RSVPs come with a ‘No’ option, right?
Does DMT in my basement count as trip?: “Didn’t think of this yet. Might try on the weekend.” I do not condone illicit drug use.
Here’s today’s question(s)…
Could you beat Zuck in a fight? (Explain your creds)
+ US stocks slid Friday (S&P 500: -0.2%) after a record-setting session but still booked a third straight weekly gain, then fell again Monday (S&P 500: -0.5%) as oil climbed on US-Iran tensions and the 30-year yield hit its highest in decades. Fun while it lasted tho.
+ The 10-year yield rose Friday on a retail sales miss and word the US blockade of Iran could run “indefinitely,” then climbed again Monday to 4.728% as traders eyed this week’s FOMC minutes.
+ Oil climbed more than $1 Friday on tanker attacks and that same “indefinite” blockade threat, then settled up more than $2 Monday to $84.50 WTI as US-Iran diplomacy went nowhere. Ah sh*t here we go again keep going.
+ The “smart” money (prediction markets) thinks there’s only a 27% chance that Jack Lowden is the next Bond. (Polymarket)
Oh, and one more thing….
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