A (3:13)

And so at this point, where does this leave deal talks for Warner Brothers?

C (3:17)

Well, we expect a deal with Netflix that could be announced very soon. We understand that Netflix is offering around $28 per share. There's a lot of stuff that will have to happen because Warner is still going to spin off the parts of the business that Netflix won't be buying. And that will happen first, but then this process will go go forward. And we don't know if Paramount is going to try to make another run. Initially, they'd indicated that perhaps if they couldn't get it through friendly terms, they might try unfriendly terms. So we'll have to see what happens there if they do pursue some other manner to go after the company or take their ball and go home, as you will.

A (4:00)

Joe, we've seen a lot of mergers and acquisitions in recent years. How big is this deal for the US Entertainment industry?

C (4:06)

I think it's very significant, and it's going to be very interesting to see how it plays out, not only in Washington, but in Hollywood. There's a lot of people concerned about consolidation in the entertainment industry, and I think they would have been concerned with no matter who ended up doing this deal, but the Netflix part of it really has. And I'm a little surprised. I probably shouldn't be. You know, Netflix has become this huge force out here, but even after, you know, they're nearly 30 years old, they're still viewed in many ways as an outsider and not always embraced. And the fact that they don't love the theatrical movie business, that's going to be an issue. There's going to be a lot of distrust among the writers, producers, directors, and that community. And, you know, Netflix will have some goodwill to build. And at the same time, and this would have happened no matter who bought it, we're going to see two more companies merge, and that's going to be layoffs. So I don't think anyone in the creative industry is embracing any more mergers. I think Wall street doesn't totally love the idea of a Netflix deal yet, if you look at what their stock's been doing as of late. So it's going to be a bit of a slog, and it may take a long time for this deal to get through Washington and then close. You know, you might be looking at two years or something.

A (5:26)

We'll see Journal Entertainment reporter Joe Flint for us in Los Angeles. Joe, thank you for this.

C (5:31)

Thank you for having me.

A (5:36)

Meta shares have jumped more than 3% in off hours trading on News Mark Zuckerberg plans to cut spending on the metaverse back in 2021. Zuckerberg staked Meta's future on his vision for an immersive online world when he changed the company name from Facebook. But now Journal tech reporter Georgia Wells says Meta plans to shift spending to AI wearables during 20.

D (5:59)

Users just aren't as interested in this Metaverse as the company hoped they would be. And in the meantime, AI has totally emerged as the primary focus on where the tech industry sees the future. Basically, Meta believes Mark bet on the wrong horse with the Metaverse, and they're working to reallocate this spending to AI where they're seeing traction with their AI glasses. This leaves us wondering if Meta would change their name since the Metaverse is increasingly less of a North Star for the company. Though at this time we have no evidence that a name change is in the works.

A (6:34)

In other market news, investors will be watching a batch of key economic data out today, including a September reading of the Federal Reserve's preferred inflation gauge, which was delayed because of the government shutdown. Economics reporter Matt Grossman says the Fed would prefer to have data through at least November going into next week's meeting, but is still expected to cut rates.

E (6:56)

So the first number that we're going to get is the September reading from the Personal Consumption Expenditures Price Index, which is the number that the Fed uses to measure inflation. Economists are expecting that to hold steady at 2.9% over the 12 months through September. That's higher than the Fed wants to see it at. But in the meantime, at least it's not getting worse. And that's one data point that a lot of investors have looked at when they are thinking about the Fed's meeting on Wednesday and now penciling in a high probability that the Fed's going to cut rates again for the third straight meeting.

A (7:33)

And Matt says investors will also get more insight into how consumers feel about the economy later in the morning.

E (7:40)

We're going to get the initial reading from the University of Michigan's Consumer Sentiment Survey. This is a number that reflects how people feel about the economy, not necessarily what's actually happening, but it's been very low recently. People have not been feeling very positive about the direction of the economy. It's hovering at of the lowest levels in the survey's history. Economists are expecting things to improve a little bit in that index, but it still seems to be a pretty bleak time for consumers, even though there aren't necessarily signs from the hard economic data that things are all that bad.

A (8:16)

The PCE personal income and spending data is due out at 10am Eastern. Check out our coverage on WSJ.com throughout the day for all the analysis. Coming up, the supreme court boosts the GOP's chances of keeping control of the House in next year's midterms. Plus, we look at why bets on assets linked to the president are tanking. Those stories after the break.

F (8:43)

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A (9:01)

The Supreme Court has cleared the way for Texas to use a controversial new congressional map in a ruling that could add up to five Republican seats ahead of next year's midterm elections that could boost the GOP's chances of retaining control of the House. In a 6 to 3 decision, the court set aside a lower court ruling that had blocked the map as a likely unconstitutional racial gerrymander. Navy Admiral Frank Mitch Bradley has defended the alleged drug boat strike in September that killed two survivors, telling lawmakers in a closed door meeting that the men were viable targets because they were attempting to continue their drug run. But a video shown to lawmakers has intensified criticism. Key Democrats condemned the use of force, arguing the video shows shipwrecked individuals who posed no immediate threat. The controversy comes as US Southern Command yesterday released footage of a new US Attack on an alleged drug boat in the eastern Pacific that it said killed four people. And a grand jury has refused to approve a new indictment against New York Attorney General Letitia James, dealing a major blow to the Justice Department's efforts to prosecute the prominent Trump critic. The refusal follows a judge's dismissal of original charges against James and former FBI Director James Comey, which were invalidated due to an unlawfully appointed prosecutor.

A (10:28)

And with almost a year gone since Donald Trump took office, again, we've taken stock of some of the assets linked to the president. With investors taking a harder look at the priciest and most risky corners of the market this year, some of Trump's biggest fans have been hit with steep losses. Shares of Trump Media and Technology Group, which has the ticker DJT and operates the president's true social platform, have tumbled roughly 70% since Trump's inauguration.

B (10:56)

People who are fans of the president, people who are stock speculators just trying to make money, many of them have piled into that stock.

A (11:03)

That's Journal Markets reporter Jack Pitcher.

B (11:06)

Some people have kind of called it a meme stock based on how it trades at a very high multibillion dollar valuation compared to its really small revenues. Some people made a lot of money betting on that stock. It went up a lot late last year as people were betting on Trump's reelection. But recent weeks, recent months, it is really in the tank. I think what we're seeing happen here is it's getting lumped into a group of a lot of other speculative assets, stuff like cryptocurrencies, meme stocks, tech companies that don't make any money. And investors have been a lot more cautious on that stuff recently.

A (11:43)

Other assets have also tumbled, including digital meme coins named for the president and first lady Melania Trump, and one of the Trump family's crypto ventures, a token called World Liberty Financial. And that's it for what's news for this Friday morning. Today's show was produced by Hattie Moyer and Kaitlyn McCabe. Our supervising producer is Sandra Kilhoff, and I'm Daniel Bach for the Wall Street Journal. We'll be back tonight with a new show. Until then, have a great weekend and thanks for listening.

G (12:23)

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D (12:52)

Com.