Uploaded November 2025 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
In this week's episode of WSJ’s Take On the Week, co-host Telis Demos and guest host Miriam Gottfried discuss the Supreme Court case challenging President Trump's reciprocal tariffs and how that’s playing out in the markets. Next, they look at affordability as the winning message from recent elections, such as Zohran Mamdani’s successful campaign to be the next mayor of New York City. Plus, they explore the recent drama in the private credit market after executives at Blackstone downplayed the “cockroach” fears sparked by JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon.
After the break, Miriam is joined by Michael Nathanson and Robert Fishman, senior media analysts at MoffettNathanson, to break down the potential Paramount Skydance and Warner Discovery merger. First, the analysts explain why global scale is a necessity for traditional media companies to compete with Disney, and big tech giants like Netflix, Amazon and Google’s YouTube. Later, the analysts discuss whether a merger will follow historical examples and fail to generate value for shareholders or whether this time truly is different.
Chapters:
00:00 Media competition!
00:39 Hot topics: Trump tariffs, elections, and private credit
01:03 Trump v. The Supreme Court: The 'Ieepa' tariffs case
02:10 Will the government have to pay back tariff money?
02:45 Tariffs wouldn't go away, just 'come back in another form'
03:21 'More uncertainty for corporate America'
04:25 Recent election results: 'Affordability' as a winning message
06:03 Market reaction to NYC rent-regulated bank stocks
06:41 Drama in private credit: Blackstone earnings
07:55 Jamie Dimon's 'cockroaches' comment
08:44 Are stocks too high? The Shiller PE ratio
10:55 Paramount-Skydance offer for Warner explained
12:13 The strategic need for global scale in streaming
13:34 Competing with big tech's 'enormous balance sheets'
14:45 Media's key assets: Sports rights and IP libraries
16:50 What investors want from Paramount's earnings report
18:15 The UFC deal: A signal of a new investment approach?
19:25 A history of failed media mega-mergers
20:40 Is this time different because of streaming?
22:07 What is big tech's real goal in media?
24:48 Why Comcast could be a better fit for Warner's assets
26:19 What a megamerger means for competitors like Disney
27:43 What consolidation means for consumers
This is WSJ’s Take On the Week where co-hosts Gunjan Banerji, lead writer for Live Markets, and Telis Demos, Heard on the Street’s banking and money columnist, cut through the noise and dive into markets, the economy and finance—the big trades, key players and business news ahead.
Have an idea for a future guest or episode? How can we better help you take on the week? We’d love to hear from you. Email the show at takeontheweek@wsj.com.
#WSJ #Media #Tariffs
In this week's episode of WSJ’s Take On the Week, co-host Telis Demos and guest host Miriam Gottfried discuss the Supreme Court case challenging President Trump's reciprocal tariffs and how that’s playing out in the markets. Next, they look at affordability as the winning message from recent elections, such as Zohran Mamdani’s successful campaign to be the next mayor of New York City. Plus, they explore the recent drama in the private credit market after executives at Blackstone downplayed the “cockroach” fears sparked by JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon.
After the break, Miriam is joined by Michael Nathanson and Robert Fishman, senior media analysts at MoffettNathanson, to break down the potential Paramount Skydance and Warner Discovery merger. First, the analysts explain why global scale is a necessity for traditional media companies to compete with Disney, and big tech giants like Netflix, Amazon and Google’s YouTube. Later, the analysts discuss whether a merger will follow historical examples and fail to generate value for shareholders or whether this time truly is different.
Chapters:
00:00 Media competition!
00:39 Hot topics: Trump tariffs, elections, and private credit
01:03 Trump v. The Supreme Court: The 'Ieepa' tariffs case
02:10 Will the government have to pay back tariff money?
02:45 Tariffs wouldn't go away, just 'come back in another form'
03:21 'More uncertainty for corporate America'
04:25 Recent election results: 'Affordability' as a winning message
06:03 Market reaction to NYC rent-regulated bank stocks
06:41 Drama in private credit: Blackstone earnings
07:55 Jamie Dimon's 'cockroaches' comment
08:44 Are stocks too high? The Shiller PE ratio
10:55 Paramount-Skydance offer for Warner explained
12:13 The strategic need for global scale in streaming
13:34 Competing with big tech's 'enormous balance sheets'
14:45 Media's key assets: Sports rights and IP libraries
16:50 What investors want from Paramount's earnings report
18:15 The UFC deal: A signal of a new investment approach?
19:25 A history of failed media mega-mergers
20:40 Is this time different because of streaming?
22:07 What is big tech's real goal in media?
24:48 Why Comcast could be a better fit for Warner's assets
26:19 What a megamerger means for competitors like Disney
27:43 What consolidation means for consumers
This is WSJ’s Take On the Week where co-hosts Gunjan Banerji, lead writer for Live Markets, and Telis Demos, Heard on the Street’s banking and money columnist, cut through the noise and dive into markets, the economy and finance—the big trades, key players and business news ahead.
Have an idea for a future guest or episode? How can we better help you take on the week? We’d love to hear from you. Email the show at takeontheweek@wsj.com.
#WSJ #Media #Tariffs
