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Along with a 3-year IP deal, Disney invests $1B in OpenAI. (0:15) Jobless claims rise. (2:22) End of an era for Macau. (3:04)
This is an abridged transcript of the podcast:
Our top story so far, Disney (DIS) is making a $1B equity investment in OpenAI (OPENAI) and has signed a sweeping three-year licensing deal that allows OpenAI’s video model Sora to generate content using Disney’s major intellectual properties.
Under the agreement, OpenAI can use more than 200 Disney, Marvel, Pixar, and Star Wars characters to create AI-generated video. Users will also be able to watch curated Sora-generated content on Disney+. The deal excludes talent likenesses and voices.
Disney will also become a major OpenAI customer — using its APIs to build new tools, products, and experiences, including for Disney+, and rolling out ChatGPT internally for employees.
Sora and ChatGPT Images are expected to begin generating fan-inspired videos featuring Disney’s licensed characters in early 2026.
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman called Disney “the global gold standard for storytelling,” saying the partnership expands how people create and experience content. Disney CEO Bob Iger said the deal marks a pivotal moment for the industry as the company integrates generative AI “thoughtfully and responsibly” while protecting creators.
The agreement arrives as Disney continues its legal fight with several AI startups accused of improperly using Disney and other studios’ characters.
Among active stocks, Visa (V) is higher after BofA upgraded the stock to Buy from Neutral, pointing to recent underperformance and standout fundamentals. Analyst Mihir Bhatia says Visa is one of only six S&P 500 companies delivering 10%+ revenue growth, double-digit EPS growth, and operating margins above 50% — and one of just two firms hitting those marks every year since 2021.
Adobe (ADBE) posted double-digit revenue growth in fiscal Q4 and sparked buzz with new AI initiatives and its pending Semrush (SEMR) acquisition. But some analysts echoed concerns that growth could slow in fiscal 2026 and want to see how much AI will reshape — or disrupt — Adobe’s creative-tools ecosystem.
And Eli Lilly (LLY) said its next-generation tongue twister weight-loss candidate retatrutide met all primary and key secondary endpoints in a late-stage study of obese or overweight adults with knee osteoarthritis but without diabetes.
Looking to the economy, weekly initial jobless claims jumped by +44K to 236K, above the 220K consensus and up sharply from 192K the prior week.
But continuing claims for the week ended Nov. 29 fell to 1.838M from 1.937M.
Pantheon Macro’s Samuel Tombs cautions that the drop in continuing claims is a head fake, noting the seasonal factor for Thanksgiving week is “unusually generous… for no clear reason.”
He adds that the rebound in initial claims — now at the highest level since early September after a similar adjustment-driven plunge last week — suggests layoffs may be starting to creep up, a signal economists are watching closely as labor-market momentum shows faint echoes of softening.
And in other news of note, Macau’s satellite casino era is coming to an end.
A 2022 amendment to Macau’s Gaming Law requires that all gaming operations take place in venues owned or directly controlled by the six licensed concessionaires — effectively outlawing the old satellite-casino model that relied on third-party property investors and revenue-sharing deals.
In response, major operators have accelerated the shutdown of nearly all remaining satellites, including Grand Dragon, Waldo, Grandview, and several Mocha Club slots venues. Some properties, like Ponte 16 and L’Arc Macau, have been acquired outright, so operators can bring them under full compliance.
The final holdout, Casino Landmark, is now scheduled to close on December 30, marking the end of the satellite system that once accounted for dozens of gaming locations across the city.
Macau’s six concessionaires — MGM China, Galaxy Entertainment, Venetian Macau, Melco Resorts & Entertainment, Wynn Resorts, and SJM Resorts — will now operate the entire legal gaming footprint under the new regime.
Read the full article here