Jennifer Saba

TKO, the mixed-martial-arts league’s owner, is joining President ​Trump to put on ​a spectacle to celebrate America’s ⁠250th anniversary. With broadcast ​rights locked in and chunky ​margins, its valuation is far richer than even Disney’s. Political ties ​add another boon, for ​now.

The media mogul scion is stepping out of ‌his father's shadow with the empire's largest-ever deal, paying $22 bln for the TV streamer. It's growing fast, but the ​implied return on investment amounts to a ​measly 5%. Being a bold buyer will be ⁠much harder than a cunning seller.

California ​expanded tax breaks for ⁠the movie ​business, which contributes more ​than $100 bln to the local economy. The ​storied industry ​also provides valuable soft power. ‌Even ⁠with federal handouts now being sought, however, it's ​doomed ​to ⁠go the way of Motown ​and Madison ​Avenue.

Six years after the pandemic the US carmakers are still hiking prices and ​rolling out gas-guzzlers. They expect ​up to $27 bln of operating ⁠profit in 2026, up 36% despite ​tariffs, rising fuel costs and ​grumpy consumers. As challenges keep increasing, so too do risks of a spin-out.

The HBO owner is ‌in a regulatory nightmare as states sue to block its $110 bln Paramount tie-up. A similar legal ​bind threatened its sale to AT&T. ​Back then, a brave investor could have ⁠made a 43% rate of return ​trading on fears of a bust. The ​second time tempts yet more gains.

Meta's boss set out his vision for the next frontier, ​touting personalized agents and ​an entrepreneurial boom. He also ⁠champions open models while more ​advanced rivals such as Anthropic ​keep their blueprints to themselves, however. It makes a lofty manifesto come ​off as puffery.

Elon Musk's fast-growing Starlink satellite service ‌has started to spook AT&T, Verizon and T-Mobile. The $760 bln market is a tempting target, but building ​a full-fledged fourth US network would be ​costly. Either way, incumbents will probably face ⁠a profit-eroding price war.

Boss David ‌Ellison is settling with a California-led group that sued to stop its $110 bln deal ​for Warner Bros, despite federal assent. ​It took only minor concessions. Tinseltown’s ⁠favorite founding father pushed strong national ​government. In deal policing, he’s gotten his ​way.

A day after mogul Barry Diller dropped his bid for the casino ​operator, the target may have ​turned the tables. Buying the ⁠magazine publisher to get back ​its $2 billion stake has a bit ​of strategic logic though the rump isn't worth much. It's a tortured path ​to get value.

The search giant is part-owner, supplier and rival to Anthropic; the ​Redmond complex allies with OpenAI. ​As partners they reap rich rewards, ⁠growing quarterly sales in their ​server divisions to $64 bln combined. Yet the ​tension between collaboration and competition is growing.