The market reaction to Netflix walking away from Warner Brothers indicates all sides have done well, suggests Matt Britzman, senior equity analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown,With Netflix and Paramount’s shares both up almost 9% in pre-market trading, Britzman says:double quotation markThe streaming takeover saga took a dramatic turn after Warner Bros,Discovery formally recognised Paramount Skydance’s offer as the superior bid, prompting Netflix to walk away almost immediately,After weeks of drama, meetings and speculation, Netflix’s decision to step aside brought an abrupt end to what had been one of the market’s most closely watched corporate chess matches,In the end, it underlined just how fast things can move when big money, regulators and strategic pride collide.

For Netflix investors, the reaction has been positive with shares 8.5% higher in after-hours trading.While there was clearly scope for Netflix to push higher, management chose discipline over empire‑building, removing a major acquisition overhang that had been weighing on the shares.The bid always looked like a mix of offence and defence – shoring up content and scale, while keeping competition from gaining any edge, but at a very high price – and with that risk now off the table, investors are free to refocus on Netflix’s core strengths: pricing power, margins and execution.For now, at least, the market seems to be pricing this as a win for everyone.

[Whether the Ellison family’s growing control of the media world is a ‘win for everyone’ is less clear….]And finally….the UK stock market has ended the week at a new closing high.The FTSE 100 share index has closed up 64 points, or 0.6%, at 10,910 points, having earlier hit a fresh record high of 10,934 points.

It’s the Footsie’s first foray over 10,900 points.Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell, says:double quotation mark“Two months in, it looks like 2026 could be a second bumper year in a row for investors putting their faith in UK stocks if current performance trends continue.”That’s all for another week – here’s today’s stories so far:Amazon shoppers are reporting issues completing purchases on its website and app.Reports of disruption at the retailer started at around 11am this morning on the website Downdetector, which monitors internet outages.By 4pm, more than 1,900 customers had logged an issue with the online retailer.

Shoppers complained of receiving an error message when they attempted to check out.It read:double quotation mark“We’re very sorry, but we’re having trouble doing what you just asked us to do.Please give us another chance – click the Back button on your browser and try your request again.”Amazon customers have taken to social media to share their frustrations, with one X user writing: “i haven’t been able to buy anything from Amazon today.” In the thread on Downdetector a number of affected customers shared their experiences of trying to make a purchase.

“App order history does now show and checkout fails,” posted Paul Walker.In the same thread John Reid added: “All past orders except 1 have disappeared, no idea if a delivery due today will materialise.”Another poster, Neil, who had been in touch with Amazon customer service via live chat, said he was told that the company was having “issues globally”.Like other affected shoppers, his experience was that “our orders are not showing & we can’t buy anything we keep getting errors”.Amazon have been asked for comment….

The pound is weakening on the foreign exchange markets, as traders absorb the Green party’s landmark victory in the Gorton and Denton byelection.The Labour party’s poor performance, sloping in third behind Reform, is putting renewed pressure on prime minister Keir Starmer.As Mujtaba Rahman, managing director for Europe at Eurasia Group, puts it:double quotation markLabour’s defeat to the Greens in the Gorton and Denton by-election in Greater Manchester is another substantial blow for Prime Minster Keir Starmer; Eurasia Group remains of the view there is an 80% chance he will face and lose a leadership contest this year.Rahman also predicts Starmer will “veer left” after his “humiliating defeat” in Manchester.The pound is down a quarter of a cent against the US dollar now, at $1.

3455,It also hit its lowest level since last December against the euro, dipping below the €1,14 mark,A change of leader could undermine the government’s commitment to its fiscal rules, potentially leading to higher borrowing,However, UK government bond prices have strengthened this morning, pushing down the yield (or interest rate) on gilts – that suggests no market panic about a jump in borrowing….

Canada’s economy shrank at the end of last year, new data shows.Canada’s economy contracted at an annualized pace of 0.6% in the October-December quarter, Statistics Canada said, the equivalent of a 0.15% drop in GDP during the quarter.That follows annualised growth of 2.

4% in the third quarter (or 0.6% on a non-annualised basis).Streaming guide JustWatch have calculated the impact of combining Warner Bros Discovery with Paramount:A combined Paramount+, HBO Max, and Discovery+ would hold roughly 19% of the US SVOD [streaming video on demand] market, tying Prime Video and nearly matching NetflixEven without Discovery+, Paramount and HBO Max together would reach 18%, nearly tripling Paramount+’s current 5% shareBeyond platform scale, the deal would unite some of the most valuable IP in streaming, including Harry Potter, Game of Thrones, and DCCombined, Warner Bros., New Line, and Paramount films generate about 26% of all U.S.

movie clickouts on JustWatch, accounting for more than one in four streaming interactionsThe merger would elevate Paramount from a mid-tier player to a direct competitor to the market leadersOver on Wall Street, traders are reacting to Netflix’s decision to walk away from the Warner Bros, leaving rival Paramount clear to pursue its takeover.Shares in Netflix have jumped by 8.5% at the start of trading, to $91.74.That indicates relief that the streaming service showed discipline and didn’t raise its offer in response to Paramount’s new bid.

Paramount’s shares are only slightly higher (despite having jumped in pre-market trading); they’re up 1% at $11,35,Warner Bros Discovery’s, though, are down almost 2% at $28,24 each, a day after revealing that Paramount had raised its hostile bid to $31, prompting Netflix to walk away,That suggests some concern that regulators could scupper the bid (with California pledging a vigorous review), and perhaps also some disappointment that Netflix wasn’t lured into a bidding war.

Something has gone wrong at Amazon today.Downdetector reports a surge of reports of problems ordering from the e-commerce site today, with some customers unable to buy their purchases at the checkout.I did manage to just place an order, though – so the problems aren’t universal….I haven't been able to buy anything from Amazon today.@AmazonUK #outage pic.

twitter.com/ahDO5CzgzISpeaking of the Bank of England, its hawkish chief economist is warning that inflation has not been slayed.Huw Pill said today the central bank should not be too reassured by future falls in headline inflation where they are driven by one-off factors, as underlying price pressures persist, Reuters reports.Pill told a webinar hosted by Britain’s Society of Professional Economists and Elgin Advisory:double quotation mark“I think it is..

.important to recognise that the [disinflation] process is still incomplete.We shouldn’t be lulled into a false sense of security by movements in headline inflation which are partly driven by fiscal events or other events.“Underlying inflation is probably still running above target,” he addedThe UK government has appointed a senior banker at Barclays as the next deputy governor for prudential regulation at the Bank of England, as it continues to push regulators to spur growth in the UK economy.Katharine Braddick, who currently works at Barclays as Group Head of Strategic Policy and senior adviser to the CEO, will succeed Sam Woods when he steps down from the BoE in June.

The Treasury says Braddick brings “brings deep City, regulatory and policy expertise to keep the UK safe and open for investment, and to support growth and competitiveness”.But her appointment may add to existing concerns that the government deregulatory agenda could leave the economy exposed.Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves makes it clear what the Treasury is expecting from Braddick, saying:double quotation markKatharine Braddick is an accomplished pro-business leader with the experience to keep our financial system safe while backing the investment and lending that drives growth.She understands the City and regulation, and will help ensure the UK remains one of the best places in the world to do business.I want to thank Sam Woods for his dedicated service and the strength he has brought to the UK’s prudential regime.

Katharine will build on that record — keeping standards high while driving a competitive, growth-focused approach to regulation.Braddick’s LinkedIn page shows she was head of banking policy between 2001 and 2011 at the Financial Services Authority, before it was abolished after the financial crisis….She then moved to the Treasury for seven years, where she was director general for financial services.The Bectu (Broadcasting, Entertainment, Communications and Theatre) union is concerned that the takeover of Warner Bros Discovery could lead to job losses.Responding to the news that Netflix is pulling out of its bid for Warner Bros Discovery, the head of Bectu Philippa Childs says:double quotation markWhoever takes over Warner Bros, continuing consolidation within the creative industries is worrying for anyone who values competition and a plurality of voices and stories in entertainment and the media.

I am concerned that the takeover will have a negative impact on jobs and add to uncertainty in what is already an incredibly precarious sector to work in.We also need to be increasingly vigilant to prevent further homogenisation of content and the loss of any more of the UK’s unique and distinctive output.Such developments highlight the importance of the BBC, which continues to provide a unique UK voice as well as playing a fundamental role in our cultural ecosystem.With the BBC charter currently under review, now is a critical opportunity to protect the independence of the creative sector.People in the industry should make their heard and respond to the government’s consultation on charter renewal.

Paramount has previously said it could achieve $9bn in synergies and cost cuts if it owned Warner Bros Discovery – much of which could come through job cuts…Netflix’s decision to walk away from its $83bn bid for Warner Bros Discovery (WBD) has left some staffers working at CBS News and CNN panicking about the future as the two top-tier news operations come under the same roof,With Paramount Skydance emerging as the winning bidder, a deal that still requires the approval of WBD shareholders and government regulators, they fear the merging of the two networks – and, with it, the potential for a significant amount of job cuts,Some CNN employees are also nervous about Paramount’s Trump-friendly ownership and leadership enacting ideologically driven programming changes at the network, with particular concern about the specter of CBS News editor-in-chief Bari Weiss possibly getting a significant role,A new Bloomberg Intelligence note highlights potential antitrust considerations now that Paramount is on track to buy Warner Bros Discovery,Jennifer Rie, senior litigation analyst, says:double quotation markParamount has already cleared one hurdle -- clearance from the US Justice Department -- but still needs nods from the EU and UK before it can close, which could take another 10-13 months.

Though an outright block is unlikely, remedies may be necessary.Trust in the UK government has fallen since Labour’s triumph in the last general election, new data shows.The Office for National Statistics has reported this morning that “trust in the UK government remains low”, with around one in five adults (21.9%) in Great Britain reporting trust in Dec 2025 to Jan 2026.This is a statistically significant fall compared with the same period last year, the ONS says in its latest National Well-being report.

Trust increased to 27.6% after the July 2024 General Election, but declined steadily, reaching its lowest level since before the election by December 2025 to January 2026.This trust measure fell to just 19.5% in November 2023.However, the ONS only has data going back to January 2023, it is not yet clear whether these post‑election shifts are typical.

The report also flags the decline in living standards, pointing out that UK GDP per head fell in the third and fourth quarters of 2025.The Green’s new Gorton and Denton MP, Hannah Spencer, touched on this theme in her victory speech last night, reminding voters that “working hard used to get you something.It got you a house, a nice life, holidays, it got you somewhere.”The ONS also found that mean life satisfaction remains below its pre-pandemic peak, and that the share of adults reporting good or very good health has fallen “significantly” - from 76.0% in Quarter 4 2020 to 70.

9% in Quarter 4 2025,That shows a sustained post‑pandemic decline in overall health,UK government bond prices are rallying too, showing the lack of market panic following the Gorton and Denton byelection,This has pushed down the yield, or interest rate, on UK 10-year and 30-year bonds by two basis points (0,02 percentage points); a small move, but one that shows the UK’s cost of borrowing has dipped.

Mark Dowdin of RBC BlueBay Asset Management, says:double quotation markIn the UK, the Labour party suffered a humiliating defeat at the Gorton byelection.This outcome was largely expected, but the margin of defeat continues to heap pressure on Prime Minister Starmer.Nevertheless, gilts have continued their recent outperformance, helped by an improving inflation narrative, which may also, in turn, benefit the outlook for UK government finances.