Good evening, this is Markets Desk with your closing look at the stories shaping the session.
The media landscape got more complicated today as multiple state attorneys general are expected to file suit challenging the proposed merger between Paramount Skydance and Warner Bros. Discovery. That kind of multistate legal pressure signals regulators aren't done scrutinizing consolidation in legacy media, and it puts a real cloud over deal certainty for both companies.
Shifting to energy and infrastructure, Virginia has become the first state in the nation to impose a dedicated power tax on data centers, driven by public concern that the AI buildout is pushing household electricity bills higher. It's a significant policy moment — states are no longer just courting this infrastructure, some are now actively pricing its costs back onto the industry.
And on the geopolitical front, President Trump is calling for the United States to be reimbursed for its role in guarding the Strait of Hormuz, as tensions with Iran continue to simmer. That waterway handles a substantial share of global oil flows, and any shift in how Washington frames that security commitment has real implications for energy markets and allied relationships in the region.
That's the tape. Markets Desk, signing off the floor.
