Your commercial news round-up: interest rates, Warner Bros update, OpenAI and Amazon, Christmas food prices

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The Bank of England looks set to deliver its sixth interest‑rate cut since August last year, while a takeover battle heats up as Warner Bros Discovery urges investors to reject Paramount’s blockbuster bid. Meanwhile, Amazon is reportedly considering a multibillion‑dollar investment in OpenAI and, as Christmas approaches, festive food shoppers face sharply higher prices, with chocolates and turkeys among the biggest climbers. Read on for LCN’s picks of this week’s top commercial stories!

• The Bank of England is expected to cut interest rates today, lowering the rate from 4% to 3.75% – its lowest level since February 2023. Analysts widely anticipate the move, though the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) isn’t expected to vote unanimously. A cut would mark the sixth reduction since August last year, affecting both consumer borrowing costs and the returns available to savers. The latest inflation figures, published on Wednesday, revealed a sharper-than-forecast decline in Consumer Prices Index (CPI) inflation, falling to 3.2% in November from 3.6% in October. With inflation still above target but easing, along with signs of rising unemployment and a sluggish economy, pressure has grown on the MPC to cut interest rates.
   
• Warner Bros Discovery’s board has urged shareholders to reject Paramount’s $108.4 billion (£80.75 billion) takeover bid, despite Paramount calling its proposal “superior” to Warner’s existing $72 billion agreement with Netflix. The board “unanimously” recommended that the Netflix deal offers stronger financing, clearer structure and lower regulatory risk, insisting it provides better long‑term value. Warner Bros put itself up for sale in October after receiving multiple expressions of interest, including approaches from Paramount Skydance. On 5 December, the company announced a deal to sell its film studio and HBO streaming assets to Netflix, igniting the battle to acquire Warner Bros. Netflix welcomed the board’s recommendation, with its co‑CEO Ted Sarandos calling Netflix’s merger agreement “superior” and beneficial to shareholders. However, the bidding war may continue, as Paramount could return with a revised offer.
   
• Amazon is in talks to invest more than £7.5 billion in OpenAI – a deal that could push the ChatGPT developer’s valuation beyond $500 billion. The potential investment would support OpenAI’s escalating costs for datacentres and computing power, as the company seeks large-scale funding to sustain its AI infrastructure expansion. At the centre of OpenAI’s spending is a $38 billion, seven‑year agreement with Amazon Web Services, alongside plans to use Amazon’s Trainium chips in competition with Nvidia and Google. OpenAI’s spending commitments total $1.4 trillion over the next eight years, which is a lot more than its reported $13 billion in annual revenues. To secure capital, the company has restructured into a for‑profit entity and is reportedly considering selling its shares to the general public.
   
• Christmas food shopping is up sharply this year, with festive chocolates costing as much as 70% more and some turkeys rising by nearly £15, according to new analysis from Which?. The consumer group found that chocolate treats saw the steepest increases, with Lindt items topping the list. A Lindor milk chocolate truffles box at Asda rose by 72% to £1.98, while Lindt teddy Christmas decorations at Morrisons jumped by 71% to £6. Across all chocolate products, average prices climbed 14% year on year, driven largely by poor cocoa harvests caused by extreme weather. While percentage rises were highest for chocolate, turkeys saw the biggest cash increases. A Tesco Finest medium bronze turkey crown is now £68.77, which is a jump by £14.95. Turkey inflation overall averaged 4.7%, with bird flu and rising farm costs contributing to higher prices. The bird’s popularity as a Christmas centrepiece has continued to fall, prompting some retailers, including Waitrose, to drop whole frozen turkeys.

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