💰 5 Fact Friday: The Money Printer Is Back

OUR PARTNER: GLADLY

Your competitors are already automating. Here's the data.

Retail and ecommerce teams using AI for customer service are resolving 40-60% more tickets without more staff, cutting cost-per-ticket by 30%+, and handling seasonal spikes 3x faster.

But here's what separates winners from everyone else: they started with the data, not the hype.

Gladly handles the predictable volume, FAQs, routing, returns, order status, while your team focuses on customers who need a human touch. The result? Better experiences. Lower costs. Real competitive advantage. Ready to see what's possible for your business?

See it in action

STOCKS
1. The Warner Bros Madness Explained 🎬

The wildest corporate soap opera of the year now has two competing endings — and both could reshape Hollywood and the media landscape for a decade.

First, the Timeline

1. June 2025: Warner Bros Discovery struggles with debt, streaming losses, and cord-cutting. CEO Zaslav prepares to split the company into two pieces.

2. October: Paramount submits several unsolicited bids to buy the company. WBD rejects them all and announces a formal auction instead.

3. November: Netflix, Paramount, and Comcast all make credible offers.

4. December 5: Netflix wins the auction and signs a friendly deal to buy the crown-jewel assets for $82.7 billion.

5. December 8: Paramount comes back with a “hostile” all-cash offer to buy the entire company for $108.4 billion.

What Netflix Is Trying to Buy

Only the high-growth pieces:

• HBO + Max (Succession, Game of Thrones, The Last of Us)

• Warner Bros. film & TV (Barbie, Harry Potter, DC)

• The entire Warner media library

CNN, TNT Sports, Discovery, HGTV, and the other traditional TV networks would be spun out into a separate debt-laden company called Discovery Global.

Netflix would become the undisputed king of premium content with control of ~30% of the streaming market. With that much market dominance, Trump said the deal “could be a problem.”

What Paramount Is Trying to Do

Paramount wants everything. No spin-offs and no leftovers. The plan is to merge all of WBD’s IP and studios with Paramount’s networks and Paramount Plus.

Why it’s messy: Paramount’s bid is partly financed by sovereign wealth funds from Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the UAE. This pulls national security concerns into the picture, especially since CNN is involved.

Why It’s a Hostile Bid

A friendly deal needs Board approval, which Netflix already got. Paramount is now appealing directly to shareholders with a higher all-cash offer, saying:

If enough shareholders accept, the Board loses control, and Paramount’s deal moves forward.

What Happens Next

Both paths face heavy scrutiny, but for different reasons:

• Netflix must clear antitrust regulators who hate letting giants get bigger.

• Paramount must survive political scrutiny over foreign financing and news influence.

This deal won’t wrap up quietly. Expect lawsuits, regulatory reviews, shareholder votes, and televised drama. The financial plot twists here might be better than anything on HBO.

ECONOMY
2. The Fed Turns The Money Printer Back On 👀

The Fed delivered its widely expected 0.25% interest rate cut this week.

The move itself wasn’t the surprise. The real story came from the new projections, especially what policymakers expect in 2026.

The tone was cautiously optimistic. Here is what stood out:

• GDP growth for next year is now expected to hit 2.3%, up from 1.8%

• Unemployment is projected to hold steady at around 4.4%

• Core PCE inflation is expected to land at 2.5%

• The median view for 2026 interest rates is a 3.4% federal funds rate (down from ~3.6% today)

In other words, the Fed sees growth picking up, inflation cooling but not conquered, and the labor market holding steady.

Then came the twist: The Fed will start buying about $40 billion in Treasury bills each month.

Officials swear this is not quantitative easing and is not intended to prop up markets. They frame it as a plumbing fix. They’re simply adding back liquidity after removing too much, and making sure short-term markets don’t seize up.

But some market participants disagree.

On paper, this behaves a lot like a softer version of QE. The Fed creates new reserves, scoops up short-term government debt, and hands the banking system more cash to play with.

Call it maintenance, call it technical, call it whatever you want. Historically, when new liquidity appears, it often finds its way into stocks, crypto, and the further edges of the risk curve.

Zooming out, the message is clear.

The Fed is cutting to protect the labor market, trying to keep inflation from waking back up, and quietly adding liquidity around the edges. It’s a more bullish stance than we’ve seen in years.

FAST FACTS
3. Markets, Markups, And Musk’s Moves 🚀

🌍 International stocks regain momentum: Non-US markets beat the S&P 500 in 2025 and still trade at steep discounts. Fidelity managers see improving fundamentals and attractive opportunities heading into 2026. [Read]

🍪 Instacart’s invisible markups: Consumer Reports found the app shows shoppers up to five different prices for identical items. Some households could unknowingly pay 23% more per grocery trip. [Read]

🚀 SpaceX eyes a 2026 IPO: Elon Musk confirmed reports that SpaceX is preparing to go public, eyeing a $1T valuation and a $30B raise. Starlink, not NASA, now drives most of its revenue. [Read]

🚜 Farmers get a $12B cushion: The Trump administration approved “bridge payments” for U.S. farmers facing pressure from ongoing trade conflicts, especially reduced Chinese demand for American crops. [Read]

💻 CHIPS Act money goes VC-mode: The U.S. will invest $150M in xLight, expanding its semiconductor push. The deal continues the White House trend of taking equity stakes in private tech companies. [Read]

🤖 Nvidia gets partial China greenlight: Trump approved H200 chip sales to select Chinese buyers, with the U.S. government taking a 25% revenue share. The same model may apply to AMD and Intel next. [Read]

⚽ World Cup odds tighten: Spain remains the 2026 favorite (17%), followed closely by England, and then France. Brazil and Argentina sit just behind at 10%. [Read]

OUR PARTNER: ROKU

Shoppers are adding to cart for the holidays

Peak streaming time continues after Black Friday on Roku, with the weekend after Thanksgiving and the weeks leading up to Christmas seeing record hours of viewing. Roku Ads Manager makes it simple to launch last-minute campaigns targeting viewers who are ready to shop during the holidays. Use first-party audience insights, segment by demographics, and advertise next to the premium ad-supported content your customers are streaming this holiday season.

Read the guide to get your CTV campaign live in time for the holiday rush.

Learn more.

TAX
4. Your New 401(k) Limits Are In 📊

The IRS just released the new 401(k) contribution limits for 2026, and the big picture is simple: you can save a little more, but the age rules matter more than ever.

Employee Contribution Cap

2025: $23,500
2026: $24,500

These totals apply across all your 401(k)s. Two jobs ≠ double the limit.

Total Contribution Cap (You + Employer)

2025: $70,000
2026: $72,000

If you hit the max you can contribute as an employee, you may be able to make after-tax contributions up to this full cap. But not all plans allow it, so check with your plan administrator.

Catch-Up Contributions

If you're 50 or older, you get extra wiggle room beyond the caps above:

2025:

• Ages 50-59 or 64+ → +$7,500

• Ages 60-63 → +$11,250 (if your plan allows)

2026:

• Ages 50-59 or 64+ → +$8,000

• Ages 60-63 → +$11,250 (if your plan allows)

This quirky 60-63 “super catch-up” rule could let some savers contribute over $35K in a single year.

Avoiding Mistakes

• Contribute at least enough to get your full employer match (free money is undefeated).

• If you switch jobs midyear, track your totals — excess contributions get taxed twice if not fixed by April 15.

• Roth and traditional 401(k)s share the same limits. The IRS doesn’t let you double-dip.

Your retirement accounts just got a little more headroom! Now it’s on you to fill it.

TRIVIA
5. What Income Cracks The Top 10%? 💵

Household incomes vary widely across the country, but one thing’s clear: reaching the top 10% takes a lot more than it used to.

How much does a U.S. household need to earn to break into the top 10% of incomes?

Take your guess:

 A. $130,000
 B. $200,000
 C. $265,000
 D. $375,000

👉 Tap to Reveal the Answer → 

Thanks For Reading!

Spread The Wealth 💸

Like what you read? Do me a favor and don’t keep it a secret! Send this newsletter to a friend and help them level up their financial game—one fact at a time.

Click the button above -or- copy and paste this link: https://read.themoneymaniac.com/subscribe?ref=PLACEHOLDER