P.M. Edition for Dec. 9. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman declared a “code red” last week to prioritize the company’s ChatGPT chatbot after a competitive threat from Google. WSJ reporter Sam Schechner explains what drove that decision and the implications it could have for ChatGPT, the world’s dominant chatbot. Plus, what investors expect as the Federal Reserve kicks off its last meeting of the year ahead of tomorrow’s rate decision. And why is it so hard to get a clear picture of the economic health of U.S. consumers? WSJ’s Telis Demos says one reason is the rise of a lending alternative: private credit. Alex Ossola hosts.
$70 billion can get a lot… but in the case of Netflix, it can’t buy anything better than Warner Bros Discovery. Host Emily Flippen is joined by Jason Hall and Dan Caplinger to break down what it means for investors, streamers, and how to evaluate mega-mergers to determine when they’re accretive or dilutive.
They cover:
- What Netflix is actually buying - and why Warner Bros said “yes” to Netflix over Paramount and Comcast.
- Whether or not this smart capital allocation or peak hubris on the part of Netflix
- A framework for judging mega-mergers in your own portfolio and how to evaluate when they do (or don’t!) make sense
Companies discussed: WBD, NFLX, DIS, PARA, CMCSA
Host: Emily Flippen, Dan Caplinger, Jason Hall
Producer: Anand Chokkavelu
Engineer: Dan Boyd
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Some Chicago alders balked at Mayor Brandon Johnson’s inclusion of a corporate head tax in his 2026 budget proposal. In response, a group of moderate and conservative city councilors put forth a list of alternative proposals that does not include the tax on businesses; instead they rely on raising taxes on garbage collection and liquor sales, as well as budget cuts, which the mayor rejected in turn.
Yesterday, we heard from alders about why they’re championing their alternative proposal.
Today, In the Loop hears from Julie Dworkin with the Institute for the Public Good and Asha Ransby Sporn with the Black Voter Project for their takes on the alders’ plans.
For a full archive of In the Loop interviews, head over to wbez.org/intheloop.
The mayor of a city in the state of Michoacan, Mexico launched a full-frontal assault on organized crime in his community. Last month he was assassinated by a lone gunman. His death has lead to a protests across Mexico and calls for more to be done to combat drug cartels and corruption.
Heaping scorn and disdain on Europe, Trump called its countries decaying and its leaders weak, but the U.S. likely needs Europe more than they need us. And while POTUS is whining that Zelensky won't consider his rigged deal with Putin, the corruption of Trump's negotiating team is off the charts, with Witkoff and Kushner trying to work a land deal rather than a peace treaty. Meanwhile, the boat bombings seem to be about performative politics, Hegseth is pushing out another high-ranking black officer—for voicing concerns about the strikes on alleged drug-runners in the Caribbean—and where is the video of that Sept 2 restrike that killed two survivors?
How can a star disappear? As Ben, Matt and Noel learn in this evening's Classic episode, there's more than a bit of weirdness involved: a few years back, an enterprising group of astronomers and astrophysicists found themselves transformed into full-on space detectives when a cursory observation of a luminous blue variable star located in the Kinman Dwarf galaxy revealed the star had simply... vanished. This is, according to what our species understands, impossible. Something this big should leave some sort of trace. So what happened? Join Ben, Matt and Noel as they explore the ongoing cosmic conundrum, exploring the story of this galactic noir mystery -- and, ultimately, attempting to learn what led to its untimely disappearance.
