Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange. (Photo by Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)
(NEW YORK) — Stocks tumbled on Monday as oil prices climbed in response to the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 460 points, or 0.9%, while the S&P 500 dropped 0.5%. The tech-heavy Nasdaq inched down 0.2%.
The major indexes recovered some of their earlier losses on Monday, however, after oil price hikes cooled. Oil markets settled amid a meeting among Group of Seven (G7) finance ministers about a possible coordinated release from their respective strategic petroleum reserves.
The G7 announced on Monday its decision to forego a release of reserve oil at this time, but markets appeared to view the group as willing to take such action.
The Dow fell as much as 750 points on Monday morning, before paring some of its losses in the afternoon.
Indexes fell worldwide on Monday as the spike in oil prices rippled through global markets. Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 index plunged 5.2%, while pan-European STOXX 600 index slipped 0.6%.
Oil prices climbed as traders feared a prolonged blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, a trading route that facilitates the transport of about one-fifth of the global oil supply.
U.S. crude oil prices hovered at about $95 per barrel on Monday afternoon, which marked a nearly 5% hike. Since a month ago, oil prices have soared a staggering 50%.
Oil prices climbed as high as nearly $120 per barrel overnight, but retreated after the Financial Times reported G7 finance ministers would meet to discuss a possible coordinated release from their respective strategic petroleum reserves.
After the meeting, oil prices fell further but remained higher than where they stood a day prior.
The average price of a gallon of gasoline in the U.S. soared to $3.47 on Monday from $2.99 a week earlier, AAA said.
In a social media post on Sunday night, President Donald Trump downplayed the rise in oil prices.
“Short term oil prices, which will drop rapidly when the destruction of the Iran nuclear threat is over, is a very small price to pay for U.S.A., and World, Safety and Peace. ONLY FOOLS WOULD THINK DIFFERENTLY!” Trump said.
Soon after the war with Iran began on Feb. 28, U.S.-Israeli forces killed Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in Tehran. His son Mojtaba Khamenei was chosen on Sunday to succeed him.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
David Ellison, chairman and chief executive officer of Paramount Skydance Corp., center, outside the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York, US, on Monday, Dec. 8, 2025. (Michael Nagle/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
(NEW YORK) — Paramount launched a hostile bid for Warner Bros. Discovery this week, just days after Netflix struck a deal to acquire the legacy media company.
The rival multi-billion dollar efforts to purchase streaming platform HBO Max and movie studio Warner Bros., among other assets, could upend the media industry and shape content viewed by hundreds of millions of people.
For now, the outcome remains highly uncertain. Any acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery would likely be reviewed by the Trump administration, which could move to block a proposed merger over anti-monopoly concerns, according to antitrust experts from Vanderbilt University, the University of Tennessee and the Cardozo Law School.
The government approval process could take anywhere from several months to more than a year, the experts said.
The Department of Justice did not immediately respond to ABC News’ request for comment.
Here’s what to know about the government hurdles faced by a potential blockbuster deal to acquire Warner Bros:
What government hurdles await a bid from Netflix or Paramount?
Streaming giant Netflix appeared to win the bidding war for Warner Bros. Discovery last week, when the two firms announced a merger. Within days, however, Paramount launched a hostile bid for Warner Bros. Discovery, meaning Paramount plans to appeal to shareholders in an effort to overcome the wishes of management.
The $108 billion bid from Paramount encompasses the HBO Max streaming service, the Warner Bros. film production company and cable channels such as CNN. Netflix established its agreement with Warner Bros. Discovery at a lower price of $83 billion, though the Netflix offer excluded the cable channels.
Ultimately, the prevailing bid for Warner Bros. Discovery — whether from Paramount or Netflix — will likely face scrutiny from the Trump administration that could doom the proposal if agency officials consider the newly created company in violation of anti-monopoly law, experts said.
An antitrust review of the merger would draw on a standard established in the Clayton Antitrust Act of 1914, some experts said. The law prohibits mergers in which “the effect of such acquisition may be substantially to lessen competition, or to tend to create a monopoly.”
As part of its assessment, Trump officials would examine the market share of the newly created company, especially with regard to whether it could result in higher prices for consumers or reduced fees for creators selling content to media companies, Maurice Stucke, a law professor at the University of Tennessee, told ABC News.
An antitrust review could also focus on the potential impact on content distributors, such as movie theaters, Stucke noted.
“It’s not just a question of higher prices,” Stucke said. “It could be less content, less choice, less innovation and a decrease in quality — all of those could be a concern.”
If the Trump administration considers a potential merger illegal, a federal agency could seek a settlement under terms that would assuage government concerns.
Typically, the Federal Trade Commission or the Department of Justice (DOJ) are tasked with settlement negotiations or legal action tied to antitrust concerns.
In June, for instance, the DOJ announced a settlement agreement that permitted Hewlett Packard Enterprise’s (HPE) $14 billion purchase of Juniper Networks, a digital infrastructure firm. The settlement requires HPE to divest a part of its business and license Juniper Network’s critical software to competitors, the DOJ said.
If a settlement between the government and the firm cannot be reached, the Trump administration may move to sue the company in an effort to block the merger. A lawsuit would present a task for the Trump administration, Stucke said: “How do you prove this in court?”
The potential merger could also receive scrutiny from state-level regulators or the European Union.
How may regulators weigh a bid from Netflix or Paramount?
Proposals from Netflix or Paramount could each raise antitrust concerns, but for slightly different reasons, some experts said.
Netflix is the most popular streaming service, boasting 300 million subscribers worldwide as of late 2024, the most recent time for which data is available. The company accounts for 46% of mobile app monthly active users in global streaming, according to a CNBC analysis of data from intelligence firm Sensor Tower. After acquiring HBO Max, that share of app users would rise to 60%, CNBC said.
“Netflix has studios and a big chunk of streaming,” Sam Weinstein, a professor at the Cardozo School of Law who focuses on antitrust, told ABC News. “If you think that’s a market, they might have a big enough chunk that they can raise prices to impact streamers.”
“On the other hand, they’re a big buyer of projects. Creators might think, ‘Well now there’s one less studio to bid on my work,” he added.
Netflix may seek a broad definition of the market that includes consumers of online video, such as YouTube and short-form social media content, rather than merely traditional streaming, according to Weinstein.
“In that larger market, Netflix has a much smaller share,” Weinstein said.
Speaking to reporters on an earrings call on Friday, Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos voiced confidence about government approval of the merger.
“This deal is pro-consumer, pro-innovation, pro-worker, it’s pro-creator, it’s pro-growth,” Sarandos said, adding that the firm would “work really closely with all the appropriate governments and regulators.”
Paramount+ counts a smaller streaming audience than Netflix, recording about 79.1 million subscribers in September 2025, or less than a third of the audience of Netflix. The comparatively small market share for streaming could lessen concern among regulators about the potential to push up prices for consumers, some experts said.
Still, Paramount boasts a movie studio of its own, Paramount Pictures, presenting a risk of decreased competition for content production in the event of a potential merger, Rebecca Allensworth, a law professor at Vanderbilt University, told ABC News. In turn, TV shows or movies could command lower prices for creators, while actors or other workers could lose out on pay, she noted.
“At this moment, you can approach either Warner or Paramount as competitive studios,” Allensworth said. “This will take away one of those options.”
Speaking to CNBC on Monday, Paramount Skydance CEO David Ellison addressed antitrust concerns, saying the offer from Paramount compares favorably to the one from Netflix when considered through the lens of preserving a competitive industry.
“What we’re creating by putting these two companies together is a real competitor to Netflix, a real competitor to Amazon, a real competitor to Disney — not something that is so anti-competitive,” Ellison said.
Could the Trump administration take into account issues unrelated to competition?
The Trump administration may retain leeway to consider issues unrelated to competition, including potential agreements surrounding coverage at new outlets such as Warner Bros. Discovery-owned CNN, some experts said, noting the murky nature of antitrust law.
“A speeding violation or murder is fairly clear cut,” Stucke said. “With bringing an antitrust claim, there’s a lot of discretion.”
Trump, a frequent critic of major news outlets including CNN, told reporters on Sunday that he would “be involved” in the decision on a potential Warner Bros. Discovery merger. Trump’s willingness to take a direct role in deal evaluation departs from standard practice in which the president has sought to distance himself from antitrust reviews, Weinstein noted.
“The norm is that the White House wouldn’t get involved — that definitely isn’t happening here,” he said.
Speaking on the red carpet at the Kennedy Center honors on Sunday, Trump raised antitrust concerns about a potential Netflix acquisition, saying the deal “could be a problem” due to the market share of the new firm.
The circumstances afford the Trump administration leverage to extract potential concessions from a buyer like Netflix or Paramount, since in each case the purchase presents legitimate antitrust issues, granting Trump an opportunity to exercise robust oversight of the merger while seeking a favorable settlement, Allensworth said.
“Because antitrust law would likely find at least serious problems with the merger, Trump can make that all go away on terms that he agrees to,” Allensworth added.
Weinstein agreed, suggesting that their may be a court-enforceable agreement.
“It’s entirely possible you might have a consent decree with conditions that are non-competitive,” Weinstein said.
As part of a process seeking Federal Communications Commission approval for its $8 billion acquisition of Paramount earlier this year, Skydance agreed to a series of concessions that appeared to align with the views of the Trump administration, including agreements to forego implementation of diversity, equity or inclusion programs and appoint an ombudsman.
In a statement when the acquisition was approved in July, FCC Chairman Brendan Carr said the changes aimed to improve public trust in mainstream news outlets like CBS.
“Americans no longer trust the legacy national news media to report fully, accurately, and fairly. It is time for a change,” Carr said. “That is why I welcome Skydance’s commitment to make significant changes at the once storied CBS broadcast network.”
Experts underscored the uncertainty surrounding the outcome of a potential review of the Warner Bros. Discovery merger.
“If it’s a straight-up merger under antitrust guidelines, that’s one thing,” Weinstein said. “If you can win favor of the administration by making promises, that makes the deal unpredictable.”
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell speaks during a press conference following the Federal Open Markets Committee meeting at the Federal Reserve on January 28, 2026 in Washington, DC. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
(NEW YORK) — A jobs report to be released on Wednesday will provide a key barometer of the U.S. economy as policymakers grapple with a combination of elevated inflation and sluggish hiring.
The labor market slowed sharply last year, prompting interest rate cuts at the Federal Reserve and concern among some observers about the nation’s economic prospects.
The U.S. added an average of 49,000 jobs each month in 2025, which marked a staggering decline from 168,000 monthly jobs added over the prior year.
Economists expect employers to have hired 55,000 workers in January, amounting to a slight uptick from 50,000 hires in December. Still, the anticipated performance would barely register above the lackluster hiring of a typical month last year.
In a bright spot, however, the unemployment rate remains low by historical standards. Unemployment stood at 4.4% in December, and economists expect that level to have been left unchanged in January.
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics delayed the release of the January data due to a partial government shutdown last week, which helps explain why the jobs report is set to be issued on a Wednesday in the middle of the month, rather than its customary release on the month’s first Friday.
The jobs report will arrive weeks after a series of job cuts that slashed tens of thousands of workers combined at a handful of name-brand companies.
Amazon said last month it planned to cut about 16,000 employees as it seeks to “strengthen” its business by reducing “layers” and “bureaucracy” within its workforce.
A day earlier, UPS announced it plans to cut as many as 30,000 employees this year. Pinterest also unveiled an effort to slash 15% of its staff, according to a securities filing. The company boasts about 4,500 employees worldwide, a securities filing shows.
So far, the cooling labor market has avoided widespread job losses, making the recent flurry of layoffs an outlier, analysts previously told ABC News. The high-profile cuts reflect trends in tech and some other sectors, however, where companies have reversed a pandemic-era hiring blitz and pivoted in response to artificial intelligence.
The Fed slashed interest rates three consecutive times last year in an effort to boost the flagging labor market. In January, the Fed opted to hold interest rates steady, taking a cautious approach due in part to elevated inflation.
The benchmark rate stands at a level between 3.5% and 3.75%. That figure marks a significant drop from a recent peak attained in 2023, but borrowing costs remain well above a 0% rate established at the outset of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Still, Fed Chair Jerome Powell appeared to view the economy in a favorable light, saying it is expanding at a “solid pace” during a Jan. 28 press conference.
“While job gains have remained low, the unemployment rate has shown some signs of stabilization,” Powell added.
Futures markets expect two quarter-point interest rate cuts this year, forecasting the first in June and a second in the fall, according to CME FedWatch Tool, a measure of market sentiment.
U.S. President Donald Trump gives a speech at the World Economic Forum (WEF) on January 21, 2026, in Davos, Switzerland. The annual meeting of political and business leaders comes amid rising tensions between the United States and Europe over a range of issues, including Trump’s vow to acquire Greenland, a semi-autonomous Danish territory. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
(NEW YORK) — Stocks closed markedly higher on Wednesday after President Donald Trump backed off of tariff threats over Greenland. The major indexes recovered most of the losses they suffered the day before amid trade tensions centered on the Danish territory.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 588 points, or 1.2%, while the S&P 500 jumped 1.1%. The tech-heavy Nasdaq increased 1.1%.
U.S. stocks surged on Wednesday afternoon after Trump said he would retract his proposed tariff, which had been set to hit products from seven European Union members, plus the U.K., on Feb. 1.
Earlier in the day, stocks ticked up but remained relatively muted after Trump ruled out use of the military in his push for Greenland during a speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.
Minutes after the speech, European lawmakers suspended a trade agreement with the United States over Trump’s then-ongoing tariff threats.
The EU and U.S. struck the trade agreement in July, moving to decrease tariffs on European goods and restore stability to the commercial relationship. At the time, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the agreement “creates certainty in uncertain times.”
European officials described Trump’s new round of levies as a threat to Greenland, a self-governing territory of EU-member Denmark.
Under Trump’s plan, eight European nations – including Denmark, France, Germany and the United Kingdom – were set to be slapped with 10% tariffs beginning on Feb. 1. Those levies are set to escalate to 25% on June 1.
Trump issued a social media post around 2:30 p.m. ET in which he announced he was rolling back the tariff threat on account of a “framework” deal with NATO on Greenland.
“This solution, if consummated, will be a great one for the United States of America, and all NATO Nations,” Trump said, adding that further negotiations would be overseen by Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, among others. The president provided no details about the framework deal he announced.
Stocks climbed within minutes of the social media post. Meanwhile, U.S. Treasury yields fell, reversing an uptick a day earlier.
