Markets are riding a four-day win streak as the S&P 500 sits just 0.7% from record highs, with traders pricing in a 90% chance of Fed rate cuts this week. But the real action is happening in corporate boardrooms, from Berkshire Hathaway's leadership shuffle to Netflix's regulatory battles.
The S&P 500 is having its moment. After four straight winning days, the benchmark index sits just 0.7% below its all-time high, riding momentum from better-than-expected inflation data that's got traders betting heavily on Fed action this week.
The September core PCE reading came in lighter than economists anticipated, giving markets the green light to pile into risk assets. According to CME's FedWatch tool, traders are pricing in a 90% probability that the Federal Reserve will cut rates again when they announce their decision Wednesday.
But while markets celebrate, corporate America is dealing with some serious reshuffling. Berkshire Hathaway just lost one of Warren Buffett's key lieutenants as Todd Combs, the investment officer who also ran Geico, jumps ship to JPMorgan Chase. Combs will head up JPMorgan's new Security and Resiliency Initiative, leaving behind a Geico operation that Buffett praised for its expanded horizons under his leadership.
The move comes as Berkshire prepares for more transitions - CEO Marc Hamburg is set to retire in June 2027, with Berkshire Hathaway Energy CFO Charles Chang lined up as his replacement. It's another sign of the generational shift happening at the Omaha-based conglomerate as Buffett himself prepares to step down at year's end.
Meanwhile, the Netflix-Warner Bros. Discovery mega-deal is hitting immediate regulatory headwinds. A senior Trump administration official told CNBC the deal faces "heavy skepticism," while Senator Elizabeth Warren is already calling it an "anti-monopoly nightmare" and demanding an antitrust review.
The pushback has Paramount sensing opportunity. Sources say the company is weighing a direct bid to Warner Bros. Discovery shareholders, believing it has better regulatory odds than Netflix. Movie theater operators, meanwhile, are wondering if they can survive Netflix owning a major film studio.
In the antitrust space, Google caught something of a break. U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta laid out the search giant's penalties for losing its monopoly case, but they're lighter than the Justice Department wanted. Google can't make exclusive search deals longer than a year (goodbye, Apple partnership as we know it), and has to share data with competitors through a committee structure. But the DOJ's dream of forcing a Chrome browser sale? Off the table.
