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- Warner Bros. says Ellisons ‘misled’ shareholders in takeover bid
Warner Bros. says Ellisons ‘misled’ shareholders in takeover bid
Plus: West Wing whiplash as Wiles’ rare candor rocks the White House
Matt Davis
December 18, 2025
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Greetings N2K reader!
This week’s world famous news haiku competition™ is about how cannabis stocks surged on Friday after reports that President Trump plans to ease federal restrictions by reclassifying marijuana from Schedule I to Schedule III. Send me your entry — to our spiffy new email address, haiku at cheddar dot com — by noon ET today for consideration by your Cheddar peers!
And now for something completely different!
—Matt Davis, Need2Know Chedditor
News You Need2Know
What’s the stock market up to, eh?
Companies mentioned in today’s newsletter
$WBD ( ▼ 2.23% ) $PSKY ( 0.0% ) $NFLX ( ▼ 0.67% ) $NVDA ( ▲ 2.41% ) $BRCM ( 0.0% ) $ORCL ( ▲ 0.39% ) $CRWV ( ▲ 6.0% ) $COP ( ▼ 2.77% ) $DVN ( ▼ 2.56% )
Warner Bros. says Ellisons ‘misled’ shareholders in takeover bid
Warner Bros. Discovery $WBD ( ▼ 2.23% ) has urged shareholders to reject a hostile bid by Paramount $PSKY ( 0.0% ) , saying the CEO David Ellison and his billionaire father Larry Ellison have “consistently misled” them.
Paramount, led by CEO David Ellison and backed by his billionaire father Larry Ellison, made an all-cash bid of $108 billion, claiming it offers “superior value and a faster, more certain path to completion.” But Paramount’s financing strategy raised alarms at Warner Bros. Discovery, which questioned the reliability of a trust backing the bid. “A revocable trust is no replacement for a secured commitment by a controlling stockholder,” Warner Bros. wrote to shareholders.
Meanwhile, Warner Bros. Discovery has agreed to sell a portion of its business to Netflix $NFLX ( ▼ 0.67% ) in an $83 billion cash-and-stock deal. Netflix’s co-CEOs Ted Sarandos and Greg Peters described their offer as “the right deal, with the right partner, at the right time,” citing its “superior financing certainty.”
As Paramount considers raising its bid, analysts predict the outcome could hinge on regulatory approval, a process potentially influenced by politics. President Donald Trump has indicated support for the Ellisons’ bid and said he’ll play an active role in the decision.
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West Wing whiplash: Wiles’ rare candor rocks the White House
Susie Wiles: I would kill for hair like hers.
President Trump stood by White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles following a controversial Vanity Fair profile, in which Wiles described the president as having an “alcoholic’s personality.” Despite the phrase sparking headlines, Trump brushed it off, telling The New York Post, “No, she meant that I’m — you see, I don’t drink alcohol. I’ve often said that if I did, I’d have a very good chance of being an alcoholic. I have a very possessive and addictive type personality. I’ve said it many times about myself.”
Anyone else wondering what else Ms. Wiles must have in her back pocket to have prompted such a remarkably protective response? On Elon Musk: “He’s an avowed ketamine [user]. And he sleeps in a sleeping bag in the EOB [Executive Office Building] in the daytime. And he’s an odd, odd duck, as I think geniuses are. You know, it’s not helpful, but he is his own person,”
Wiles' candid comments initially surprised many in Washington, but Trump emphasized his confidence in her leadership, calling her “fantastic” and saying, “she’s done a fantastic job.” Known for her ability to resolve conflicts within the administration, Wiles said her role is ensuring the president receives “unvarnished information and complete truth.”
The Vanity Fair piece also delved into challenges within Trump’s administration, but officials rallied to Wiles’ defense. White House Budget Director Russell Vought — whom Wiles called a “a right-wing absolute zealot” in the piece — dismissed the article as “a hit piece” and praised Wiles as “an exceptional chief of staff.”
Wiles responded to the controversy on X, declaring the profile “a disingenuously framed hit piece … to paint an overwhelmingly chaotic and negative narrative.”
Quote of the Day
“Venezuela is completely surrounded by the largest Armada ever assembled in the History of South America.”
How a war with Venezuela might help your stocks
President Donald Trump announced a “total and complete blockade” of sanctioned oil tankers traveling to and from Venezuela. “Venezuela is completely surrounded by the largest Armada ever assembled in the History of South America,” Trump declared on Truth Social, emphasizing that the blockade would continue “until such time as they return to the United States of America all of the Oil, Land, and other Assets that they previously stole from us.”
The move intensifies economic pressure on Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro’s embattled regime, targeting the country’s critical oil industry. Venezuela's government lashed out in response, calling the action “a reckless and serious threat” aimed at “stealing the riches that belong to our Homeland.” In a statement, the government reaffirmed Venezuela’s sovereignty and declared plans to denounce the blockade as a “grave violation of International Law” at the United Nations.
Trump has made clear that Venezuela’s vast oil reserves remain central to U.S. interests, accusing the Maduro regime of using stolen oil revenue to fund “drug terrorism, human trafficking, murder, and kidnapping.” Meanwhile, Maduro praised the nation’s resilience on state TV, saying “We have taken the oath to defend our homeland, and that, on this soil, peace and shared happiness triumph.”
Meanwhile I assume you want me to tell you how the news has helped your stocks over the last 48 hours, and I am so here for that, because “ESG” now stands for “Explosives, Shrapnel, & Gung-ho’ness”:
Ticker | Company | Price (Dec 17) | 48-Hour Trend | Driver |
RTX Corp | $182.52 | +2.1% | Tomahawk missile replenishment & naval radar contracts | |
Lockheed Martin | $548.15 | +1.8% | Deployment of F-35s and Aegis missile systems to the region | |
General Dynamics | $312.40 | +1.5% | Active maintenance/deployment of the Atlantic surface fleet | |
Northrop Grumman | $521.10 | +2.3% | High demand for Global Hawk surveillance over the Caribbean | |
iShares Defense ETF | $208.17 | +1.2% | Broad-based capital inflow into the defense sector |
Should you check your 401(k) today?
👎️
No. AI stocks continue to fall in value, dragging stocks with them. Although if you’ve got a bunch of “defense” stocks, you know…check those.
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AI stocks tumble as Wall Street loses four days in a row
Wall Street saw another drop yesterday with AI stocks taking a significant hit. The S&P 500 fell 0.9% in afternoon trading, pulling Wall Street toward its fourth consecutive loss. Despite the downturn, the index remains close to its all-time high set last week.
AI stocks were at the center of the decline. Nvidia $NVDA ( ▲ 2.41% ) slid 3.7%, becoming the biggest drag on the S&P 500. Similarly, Broadcom $BRCM ( 0.0% ) fell 5.1%, Oracle $ORCL ( ▲ 0.39% ) dropped 5.2%, and CoreWeave $CRWV ( ▲ 6.0% ) sank 5.8% as questions arose about the sustainability of AI’s dominance in the market. According to UBS analysts, only 17% of large businesses reported scaling AI projects in production in response to a recent survey it put out. “This may be a reminder for tech investors to remain sober about the likely 2026 revenue growth uplift from AI products,” the analysts cautioned.
On the bright side, there might be a war soon rising oil prices helped energy stocks rally. After President Trump ordered a blockade of sanctioned Venezuelan oil tankers, crude prices jumped, boosting companies like ConocoPhillips $COP ( ▼ 2.77% ) and Devon Energy $DVN ( ▼ 2.56% ) .
Poll of the day: What is it good for?
Poll of the day: You’re getting enough sleep!
We asked: Are you pleased with the amount of sleep you're getting?
You answered:
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 Yes. (181)
⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ I blinked for four seconds at a stoplight today. I’m fully recharged. (18)
🟨⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ No, but I’ve successfully replaced my blood with espresso. (47)
🟨⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ I’ll sleep when I’m dead (which feels like it might be soon). (32)
🟨⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ Yes, if you count staring at the ceiling as REM cycles. (39)
⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ I get a solid 8 hours. Total. For the whole week. (26)
🟨⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ My Fitbit says I'm sleeping, but I'm pretty sure I just died for a few hours. (38)
🟨⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ I slept like a baby. (I woke up screaming every two hours). (41)
🟨🟨⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ No, I’m powered exclusively by anxiety and spite. (70) (My people!)
🟨🟨🟨⬜️⬜️⬜️ Why sleep when I can replay an awkward conversation from 2009 instead? (91)
583 Votes via @beehiiv polls
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