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Paramount Meets Regulatory Clearances for Warner Bros. Acquisition
"Now Streaming" is The Fly's weekly recap of the stories surrounding the biggest content streamers.PLAYING THIS WEEKEND:This weekend's most notable streaming content is the fifth and final season of Netflixmystery teen drama "Outer Banks." Meanwhile, Hulusubscribers can catch the first episode of the new season of comedy series "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia," while HBO Maxusers can stream psychological drama film "Mother Mary," starring Anne Hathaway and Michaela Coel.PARAMOUNT/WARNER BROS.:Last Friday, Paramount Skydancesaid it has satisfied all regulatory clearances required under the merger agreement to close its proposed acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery. The company said, "The eight-month review process has spanned 68 countries worldwide, including the European Union, UK, Australia, Canada, Brazil, China, COMESA, the U.S. Department of Justice and, most recently, Mexico, which announced its clearance today. These independent regulators from across the globe applied the law and market definitions that reflect how audiences consume entertainment and how media companies compete today - and have consistently found no basis to prevent the transaction from moving forward. Paramount and WBD could and would close today and begin delivering the benefits recognized by regulators around the world, theater owners and others across the industry but for the actions of just 12 state attorneys general." Paramount urges the 12 state attorney generals who brough litigation to "engage with us in good faith, as we have repeatedly sought to do, to resolve this litigation and clear the way to bring these two companies together."Meanwhile, Reuters' David Shepardson reported this week that Paramount has asked a U.S. judge to require states challenging the acquisition of Warner Bros. to post a $1.88B bond to address the costs caused by the delays. The company must pay $7M a day if the $110B merger does not close by September 30. Paramount noted trials with the states is scheduled for March and final legal briefs are in April, which would result in Paramount Skydance paying Warner Bros $1.3B in "ticking fees."Additionally, while a dozen state attorneys general argue the takeover of Warner Bros. Discovery would hurt movie theaters, chains controlling 60% of the U.S. market now argue the opposite, Brooks Barnes of The New York Times reported. Cinemarkis the latest movie theater owner to support CEO David Ellison's deal, pointing to Ellison's "firm" commitment for at least 30 movies in theaters each year, waiting at least 45 days before making them available on streaming, and 90 days before being put on subscription streaming services. AMC Entertainmentendorsed the transaction in April after similar assurances from Ellison. Regal similarly followed suit this month.PEACOCK PRICE:Effective August 18, the prices of Peacocksubscription plans have changed. A Peacock Select monthly subscription is now $8.99/month up from $7.99. A Peacock Premium monthly subscription is now $12.99/month up from $10.99. A Peacock Premium Plus monthly subscription is now $19.99/month up from $16.99. A Peacock Select annual subscription is now $89.99/year up from $79.99. A Peacock Premium annual subscription is now $129.99/year up from $109.99. A Peacock Premium Plus annual subscription is now $199.99/year up from $169.99. The company said, "These price changes allow Peacock to continue to create the best experience for its viewers, remain competitive in the marketplace, and deliver unique content across all genres. Current annual subscribers, or any users on active promotional offers, will continue at their current prices until those plans or offers expire. Subscriptions will then renew at the new price."DISNEY/FCC:Disney's ABC is suing the FCC, arguing that its efforts to challenge ABC's broadcast licenses and regulate The View are unconstitutional attempts to suppress speech, The Wall Street Journal's Joe Flint reported. ABC's current fight with the FCC stems from a broader dispute that began with Brendan Carr's investigation into Disney's DEI practices, while ABC executives viewed the probe as connected to criticism from programs including Jimmy Kimmel Live! and The View, Flint said. The FCC maintains the DEI review is focused on potential discrimination violations and is separate from programming, while ABC argues the investigations have become a means of pressuring the network over its speech.YOUTUBE/NETFLIX:YouTubeis offering millions of dollars to popular channels on its platform if they upload videos exclusively to the site for a period of time, Lucas Shaw of Bloomberg reported, citing people familiar with the matter. YouTube is hoping to halve Netflix's pursuit of its top stars. The company has not yet finalized any deals with creators but is close to an agreement with several partners, the sources added.STOCK PLAYS:Other publicly traded companies in the streaming space include Apple, Roku, Fox, Amazon, AMC Global Media, and Fubo.
Major Averages Broadly Lower Near Noon
The major averages were broadly lower near noon as investors continue to balance easing inflation pressures and strong corporate earnings against renewed geopolitical risks.The inflation backdrop remains supportive for equities. July CPI and PPI both came in softer than expected, reducing concerns that the Federal Reserve will need to raise interest rates at its September meeting. PPI was unchanged in July after declining 0.1% in June, while the latest CPI data showed inflation continuing to moderate. The market is increasingly focused on whether the combination of cooling inflation and a weakening labor market will give the Fed room to ease policy later this year.Get caught up quickly on the top news and calls moving stocks with these five Top Five lists.1. STOCK NEWS:Applied Materialsreportedand provided upbeat Q4 earnings guidanceU.S. President Donald Trumpand their parts and componentsRedditwasAvalonBayin the S&P 500 at the August 18 openTeslaredesigned Roadster may have flying capabilities,OpenAI is on pace to generate annualized revenue of over $40B based on its present performance,2. WALL STREET CALLS:New StreetMicronto Buy, sees multi-trillion market cap by 2030SanDiskwith a raised Overweight rating at JPMorganCiscoto Hold at HSBCWayfairto Outperform at BernsteinFox Corp.to Overweight at Wells Fargo and JPMorgan3. AROUND THE WEB:Nokiais closing its research and development unit in Hangzhou, China, and cutting 1,600 jobs, Helsingin saysCharter Communicationsreceived final approval from California regulators to buy Cox Communications for $21.9B, WSJ reportsGoldman Sachsis courting investors to participate in Nvidia's$500B AI infrastructure financing initiative, leveraging its longstanding Nvidia relationship to secure a key role in mobilizing capital for the AI buildout, Reuters saysBPand UAE-based XRG have secured an exploration and production license for Venezuela's Loran offshore gas field, which holds an estimated 4 trillion cubic feet of recoverable gas and straddles the Venezuela-Trinidad and Tobago maritime boundary, WSJ reportsApplehas trained a large language model in partnership with Alibabafor China's market, Reuters reports4. MOVERS:Capricor Therapeuticsgains afterand announcing the FDA is "willing" to review the company's BLA amendment for its HOPE-3 studyValnevaincreases in New York after announcing with Pfizerthat the EMA has validated theIntermexhigher after providing an update on itsfor Western Union'spending acquisition of the companyKinderCarefalls afterand cutting its guidance for FY26Merlinand York Space Systemslower in New York after5. EARNINGS/GUIDANCE:Heartflowand raised its outlook for FY26Midera Food, with CEO Mark Salman commenting, "We saw continued momentum in the second quarter, with orders up 16% and the backlog reaching $446 million"Teamsharesand backed its outlook for FY26DLocal, with CEO Pedro Arnt commenting, "TPV growth has remained above 50% year-over-year for seven consecutive quarters, with the last three quarters at or above 70%"FocalThericsand backed its outlook for FY26INDEXES:Near midday, the Dow was down 0.19%, or 103.36, to 53,736.63, the Nasdaq was down 0.48%, or 128.01, to 26,675.02, and the S&P 500 was down 0.21%, or 16.73, to 7,782.26.
Stock Futures Steady as S&P 500 Hits Record High
Stock futures are mostly flat after the S&P 500 closed at a record high Thursday, as investors balance easing inflation pressures and strong corporate earnings against renewed geopolitical risks.The inflation backdrop remains supportive for equities. July CPI and PPI both came in softer than expected, reducing concerns that the Federal Reserve will need to raise interest rates at its September meeting. PPI was unchanged in July after declining 0.1% in June, while the latest CPI data showed inflation continuing to moderate. The market is increasingly focused on whether the combination of cooling inflation and a weakening labor market will give the Fed room to ease policy later this year.AI and semiconductor stocks remain a major source of strength. Applied Materials is falling in premarket trading despite reporting strong results and raising its outlook. Meanwhile, memory and storage stocks including SanDisk, Seagate Technology and Micron have been strong following upbeat industry forecasts.Brent crude is approaching $90 a barrel after the U.S. threatened an indefinite naval blockade of Iran as efforts to reach a ceasefire remain stalled. Higher oil prices could complicate the Fed's inflation outlook if they persist, particularly with gasoline prices already above $4 a gallon.In pre-market trading, S&P 500 futures rose 0.08%, Nasdaq futures rose 0.26% and Dow futures fell 0.16%.Check out this morning's top movers from around Wall Street, compiled by The Fly.HIGHER -Redditup 11% after being chosen for admission into the S&P 500 indexSanDiskup 6% after JPMorgan initiated coverage of the stock with an Overweight rating and $2,250 price target following the company's investor day meetingWayfairup 5% after Bernstein upgraded shares to Outperform with a price target of $125, up from $100Fox Corp.up 3% after Wells Fargo upgraded the stock to Overweight with a price target of $80, up from $65UP AFTER EARNINGS -Eton Pharmaceuticalsup 27%DOWN AFTER EARNINGS -ARS Pharmaceuticalsdown 15%Quince Therapeuticsdown 9%Applied Materialsdown 6%Outlook Therapeuticsdown 4%Sigma Lithiumdown 2%
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