bringing a swift end to a dramatic bidding process that saw Paramount, Skydance, and Comcast also vying for the legacy assets. The blockbuster deal brings together the streaming giant Netflix, which has upended the media industry in recent years, and the storied Warner Bros. film studio, known for its library, including "The Wizard of Oz," the Harry Potter franchise, and the DC comics universe. It will also include the content of HBO Max, including "The Sopranos" and "Game of Thrones." (NFLX) tanked on the news.

Elon Musk’s X social network was slapped with a lower-than-expected €120 million ($140 million) fine for violating the European Union’s controversial content-moderation law, in a move still set to raise tensions with the White House over free speech and tech regulation.

The University of Michigan's Surveys of Consumers said its Consumer Sentiment Index increased to 53.3 this month from a final reading of 51.0 in November. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast the index rising to 52.

discounting record borrowings next year by the federal government and AI companies. Ten-year US Treasury yields hit 4.14%. The real estate recovery is forestalled once again.

The Fed's preferred inflation gauge slowed down on an annual basis for the first time since April, BEA data for September showed. Core PCE inflation, which excludes food and energy, ran at a 2.8% annual pace in September, a deceleration from August's 2.9% rate. Monthly core inflation came in at 0.2%, in line with August’s numbers.