The 5 stories of the week

Trying to Circumvent the Chinese

Emmanuel Macron this week undertook a three-day visit to China, his fourth state visit since 2017. In Beijing, then Chengdu, the French president tried once again to move his counterpart. Without obtaining concrete progress, neither on China's stance on the war in Ukraine, nor on rebalancing economic relations. The Chinese remain steadfast. His only small victory, he managed to sidestep Chinese security services to mingle with the crowd.

Epilogue for Warner Bros

It will ultimately be Netflix that takes Warner Bros, thereby snubbing Paramount and Comcast. Warner Bros will thus split its studios and its HBO Max streaming business, acquired by Netflix for $72bn, from its cable networks. An expensive acquisition that seems to worry the market, given the negative reaction to the stock. Indeed, Netflix is expected to borrow $59bn to finance the deal. Additionally, regulators still must approve the acquisition, and Netflix would have to pay Warner $5.8bn if the transaction fails.

It Takes Two to Tango

The Americans continue their discussions with the Russians and the Ukrainians. On Tuesday, Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner met Vladimir Putin in Moscow. Then, they hosted the principal Ukrainian negotiator, Rustem Umerov, in Florida on Thursday. For now, there appears to be little concrete progress. As Donald Trump sums up, "it takes two to tango."

The Bank of Japan Will Act

According to Reuters, the Bank of Japan (BoJ) is expected to raise interest rates in December, the government being ready to tolerate such a decision. On Monday, Governor Ueda had already opened the door by explaining that the BoJ was weighing "the advantages and the disadvantages" of a rate rise. A prospect that helps push up long-term rates. The 10-year Japanese yield this week reached its highest level since 2007.

Reality Check for the Metaverse

According to Bloomberg, Meta is considering reducing the budget allocated to the metaverse by up to 30%. A move greeted by the market as Mark Zuckerberg's group spends tens of billions on AI.

Best of the Rest

Elected triumphantly a year ago, after an incredible comeback, Donald Trump had almost made us forget that he is the oldest elected president of the United States. But this reality is catching up with him.

Kevin Hassett appears to be in pole position to succeed Jerome Powell. Donald Trump said this week that he would announce his choice at the beginning of next year. A nomination that will also be important for the Treasury Secretary, Scott Bessent, under pressure.