Kim Kahn

But shares lost more than 75% from their 2019 pre-pandemic high as traffic struggled, ultimately prompting the board to explore strategic alternatives and accept the current buyout.

And in the Wall Street Research Corner, Wells Fargo issued a stark warning for cable operators, slapping sell ratings across the board.

Analysts cut Charter Communications, Comcast, Altus' Optimum, and Cable One to underweight, and now expect the group to lose about 1 million residential broadband subscribers this year as fixed wireless and fiber scoop up essentially 100% of net broadband ads.

Welcome to Seeking Alpha's Wall Street Lunch, our afternoon update on today's market action, news, and analysis.

Good afternoon.

Today is Monday, January 12th, and I'm your host, Kim Kahn.

Our top story so far, Paramount is making its move on Warner's board.

Paramount Skydance says it plans to nominate directors to Warner Bros.

Discovery and has filed suit in Delaware seeking basic information it says Warner shareholders need to make an informed decision between its bid and the current deal with Netflix.

In a letter to the Warner board, Paramount said it would also propose a bylaw amendment requiring WBD shareholder approval for any separation of global networks.

We do not undertake any of these actions lightly, the letter said.

Make no mistake, our goal remains to have a constructive discussion with WBD's board to reach an agreement that's in the best interest of WBD shareholders.

Adding political pressure, President Donald Trump signaled his disapproval of Netflix gaining control, reposting an opinion piece titled Stop the Netflix Cultural Takeover.

Even so, odds of Netflix acquiring WBD are holding steady on prediction markets.

On CalSheet, the chances stand at 54%, while PolyMarket puts the odds still at 53%.

Back to the battle in the nation's capital, several former economic officials, including Alan Greenspan, Ben Bernanke, Hank Paulson, and Janet Yellen, issued a joint statement calling the investigation into Jerome Powell and the Fed an unprecedented attempt to use prosecutorial attacks to undermine central bank independence.

This is how monetary policy is made in emerging markets, with weak institutions, with highly negative consequences for inflation and functioning of their economies more broadly, they said.

It has no place in the United States whose greatest strength is the rule of law, which is at the foundation of our economic success.

And in the world of unintended consequences, the odds of Powell leaving the central bank after his chairmanship ends have tumbled.

Powell's term as Fed chair ends in May, but he'll still have two years left as a governor.