Good evening, this is Markets Desk with your closing brief.
The media landscape just shifted in a significant way. Paramount Skydance CEO David Ellison confirmed to staff that two outstanding lawsuits blocking the company's proposed acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery have been settled, clearing the path entirely for what would be one of the largest media consolidations in recent memory. Ellison told employees the merger can now move toward completion.
Shifting to trade and commodities, President Trump announced the United States is working on what he called a massive fertilizer deal with Belarus, a close ally of Russia. Trump argued that Belarusian potash, a key ingredient in agricultural fertilizer, would come in substantially cheaper than the Canadian supply American farmers currently depend on. The move raises immediate questions about agricultural supply chains and diplomatic optics given Belarus's alignment with Moscow.
And on the technology front, Trump weighed in on artificial intelligence regulation, suggesting existing enforcement mechanisms, including the Department of Justice, could be used to rein in AI companies if necessary. The comments come as the administration has consistently favored a light regulatory touch on the sector, but the framing hints at a harder line if industry behavior demands it.
That's the tape. Markets Desk, signing off the floor.
