US Department of Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy last week unveiled the country's first ever "Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) National Strategy," setting up a roadmap to help accelerate American aviation innovation and transform our skies. AAM is a rapidly-emerging aerospace sector focused on safely and efficiently integrating highly automated aircraft into US airspace. It involves a range of innovations — particularly new aircraft types that typically operate below 5,000 feet — to transport people and packages more efficiently than ever before.
Another key component of this initiative is infrastructure, and that's where Lisa Wright comes in. The Founder and CEO of Landings is focused on her firm's plan to develop a network of rural vertiports that expand access to advanced air mobility across the US. She explains how her firm's potential has quickly grown as the conversation moves from one-off vertiport projects to multi-site networks. She believes that stakeholders now see the strategic advantage of building coordinated, regional vertiport systems that can support cargo, emergency services, and eventually passenger movement — not just isolated landing pads. Lisa speaks with Carol Massar and Tim Stenovec on Bloomberg Businessweek Daily.

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Wall Street traders parsing a batch of economic reports in a session marked by a slowdown in transactions drove stocks to all-time highs. Short-dated bonds underperformed. The dollar fell.
In a narrow tech-led advance, the S&P 500 rose for a fourth straight day. Volume was below the average of the past three months ahead of the Christmas holiday. The index rebounded even after data did little to encourage bets the Federal Reserve will cut rates in the near term.
Treasury two-year yields - more sensitive to imminent Fed moves - remained above 3.5%. That was after data showed the economy expanded at the fastest pace in two years. A drop in consumer confidence spurred only a mild bounce in bonds from session lows. The S&P 500 topped 6,900. Its equal-weighted version - which gives Dollar Tree Inc. as much clout as Apple Inc. - edged lower. A gauge of big techs climbed about 1% while smaller firms underperformed.
Today's show features:

• Bloomberg Equities Reporter Alexandra Semenova on her story explaining why some investors are fearful of overly optimistic expectations from equity analysts
• David Schassler, Head of Multi-Asset Solutions at VanEck Funds, on investing trends to watch as we close out the year
• Travis McCready, Head of Industries, Leasing Advisory, at JLL, on the structural forces poised to shape real estate decisions and investment demand for the life sciences sector in 2026
• Bloomberg News Chief Correspondent for Global Aviation Siddharth Philip on expectations for record holiday air travel expectations among US carriers

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Palmetto is a consumer home energy marketplace aimed at accelerating the transition to a clean energy future. Through a data-driven platform, Palmetto empowers homeowners to understand their energy use, discover personalized savings opportunities, and seamlessly purchase, finance, and manage home electrification and clean energy products and services.
Neil Chatterjee, Palmetto’s Chief Government Affairs Officer, brings more than two decades of experience shaping US energy policy experience. A longtime bipartisan negotiator and former Commissioner and Chairman of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), Neil plays a key role in guiding Palmetto’s policy strategy at a pivotal moment in the clean energy transition. He discusses the most pressing issues across the energy space, particularly when it comes to affordability for consumers, with Carol Massar and Tim Stenovec on Bloomberg Businessweek Daily.

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Larry Ellison is throwing his personal fortune behind Paramount Skydance Corp.’s bid for Warner Bros. Discovery Inc., aiming to give his son’s company an advantage in a fiercely contested takeover battle with Netflix Inc.
Both suitors moved on Monday to strengthen the financial backing for their offers, though they stopped short of increasing their bids. Netflix refinanced a portion of its planned $59 billion of debt as a way to ensure a lasting investment-grade rating — a key advantage it holds over the lower-rated Paramount.
But it’s the personal guarantee of Ellison, the world’s fifth-richest person with a $246 billion fortune, that could force a rethink by Warner Bros. The board previously urged shareholders to reject Paramount’s offer in part because the billionaire father of its Chief Executive Officer David Ellison had backed the $40.4 billion of equity financing with a revocable trust that could, as the name implies, be withdrawn or amended at any time.
Paramount has been aggressively pursuing Warner Bros. for months and Ellison was taken by surprise when the board agreed to a deal with Netflix for $82.7 billion for the streaming and studio assets. The strength of the financing for each bid has emerged as a decisive issue in the takeover battle, which unleashed two massive debt-fueled offers that rank among the largest in the past decade. Paramount took its offer of $30 a share, or $108.4 billion including debt, for the entire company directly to shareholders.
Today's show features:

• Bloomberg News Media Editor Molly Schuetz and Bloomberg Intelligence Senior Credit Analyst Stephen Flynn on the latest developments in the Warner Bros. Discovery bidding war
• Que Nguyen, Chief Investment Officer, Equity Strategies with Research Affiliates on whether small- and mid-cap stocks are contributing to the bull market and how much more growth we can expect from the AI trade
• Bloomberg Intelligence Senior Commodity Strategist Mike McGlone on trading trends in gold and crypto
• Darrick Hamilton, University Professor, the Henry Cohen Professor of Economics and Urban Policy at the New School, on whether Trump accounts can help close the racial wealth gap in America

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Brothers Bob and Russ Shay grew up with a relentless passion for skiing, and were frustrated with ill-fitting and mass-produced ski boots designed to fit everyone, without fitting anyone. Their love for the sport led them on a years-long search for any edge in training, technique, and equipment. Using tools in their family's garage, they ground, sawed, cut, padded, and pounded away at ski boots. Their vision was to combine comfort and performance to build a ski boot that would fit like it was made for you instead of a generic foot. The result was Surefoot, the world's largest custom ski boot company

Bob Shay, who is now serving as the CEO of Surefoot, details the firm's growth into a worldwide winter sports brand, and discusses whether he's ever considered selling the company. Bob speaks with Carol Massar and Tim Stenovec on Bloomberg Businessweek Daily.

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Featuring some of our favorite conversations of the week from our daily radio show "Bloomberg Businessweek Daily."
Hosted by Carol Massar and Tim Stenovec

Hear the show live at 2PM ET on WBBR 1130 AM New York, Bloomberg 92.9 FM Boston, WDCH 99.1 FM in Washington D.C. Metro, Sirius/XM channel 121, on the Bloomberg Business App, Radio.com, the iHeartRadio app and at Bloomberg.com/audio.

You can also watch Bloomberg Businessweek on YouTube - just search for Bloomberg Global News.
Like us at Bloomberg Radio on Facebook and follow us on Twitter @carolmassar @timsteno and @BW

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The US Justice Department released files from investigations into notorious sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, the culmination of a push that has had repercussions for prominent business leaders and politicians, including President Donald Trump.

The disclosure came after Congress overwhelmingly passed legislation in November compelling the department to make the files public. Trump had long resisted the move but relented and signed the bill as pressure from Republican lawmakers forced his hand.

The law required the release of investigative records, flight logs, travel documents, immunity deals, internal department communications and papers related to Epstein’s 2019 death. But the measure also includes protections for survivors and allows exceptions for ongoing investigations.

The Justice Department organized a team of more than 200 attorneys to work on determining which materials were responsive to the new law, Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche wrote in a letter Friday to lawmakers.

“This process resulted in over 1,200 names being identified as victims or their relatives,” Blanche wrote in a letter reported by Fox News. The department redacted references to their names and any materials that could result in their identification, Blanche said.

However, Blanche also told lawmakers that “the volume of materials to be reviewed” meant it wasn’t possible to meet the law’s requirement to release all files by Friday. The department plans to complete the release of all files during the next two weeks, Blanche said.

Today's show features:

• Bloomberg News Senior Investigative Reporter Jason Leopold on the DOJ's Epstein files release
• Bloomberg News Senior Editor, Equities Americas Eric Weiner recaps the trading week
• Tye Brady, Chief Technologist at Amazon Robotics, on delivery preparations for customers during the holiday season using new robotic technology
• Dan Ahrens Portfolio Manager of the AdvisorShares Pure US Cannabis ETF, on what the Trump Administration’s push to reschedule marijuana as a less-dangerous drug means for pot stocks

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Watch Carol and Tim LIVE every day on YouTube: http://bit.ly/3vTiACF.
Underlying US inflation rose in November at the slowest annual pace since early 2021, an unexpected improvement in a report muddled by the government shutdown.
The core consumer price index, which excludes the often-volatile food and energy categories, increased 2.6% in November from a year ago, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics data out Thursday. The overall CPI climbed 2.7% in November from a year ago.
The longest-ever government shutdown prevented the BLS from collecting much of the October price data. That not only limited the agency’s ability to determine month-over-month changes for the broader measures of inflation, but some economists noted it likely impacted the annual November figures as well.
Despite numerous caveats, the report offers some hope that inflationary pressures are easing after remaining stuck in a narrow range since early this year. The BLS said the core CPI rose just 0.2% over the two months ended in November, restrained by declines in costs of hotel stays, recreation and apparel. Prices of household furnishings and personal care products rose.
However, several economists noted that the two-month change in key shelter categories, which are some of the biggest components of the CPI, was basically flat — calling the calculations into question.
Today's show features:

• Jason Granet, Chief Investment Officer of BNY, on the market outlook and the Federal Reserve’s path forward
• Frank Sorrentino, Founder and CEO of ConnectOne Bank, on the economic outlook and the health of community banking sector
• Bloomberg News Energy Reporter Will Wade on a planned $6 billion merger between Trump Media & Technology nuclear fusion developer TAE Technologies
• Michelle Korsmo, CEO of the National Restaurant Association, on the struggles of restaurant workers and smaller eateries amid rising inflation

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