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Black Friday kicks off scramble in a shorter shopping season
NEW YORK (AP) — Black Friday has kicked off the shortest holiday shopping season in six years. Thanksgiving fell on the fourth Thursday in November, the latest possible date it could be. That means customers will have less time to shop and retailers will have less time to woo them.
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How a central banker’s low-rate shift showed the way for Fed
RICHMOND, Virginia (AP) — James Bullard, head of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, was among the first Fed officials to fully recognize that the U.S. economy was stuck in a rut and wouldn’t likely spark high inflation even if unemployment kept falling. It’s a notion that members of the Fed’s interest-rate setting committee, including Chairman Jerome Powell, have come to embrace. It helps explain why Powell has made clear that he sees no need to raise rates anytime soon.
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US stocks close out half-day session with broad losses
Stocks fell broadly on Wall Street Friday following a shortened trading session a day after the Thanksgiving holiday that left the market slightly below its record highs. Technology, health care and industrial stocks powered the sell-off. Several retailers fell as Black Friday got underway. Energy stocks dropped along with crude oil prices. Still, the S&P 500 notched its seventh weekly gain in eight weeks. The benchmark index also closed out November with its strongest monthly gain since June.
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Black Friday frenzy goes global – and not everyone’s happy
PARIS (AP) — Black Friday isn’t just an American tradition anymore. Retailers in other countries have embraced it in recent years with such force that it’s prompting a backlash from some activists, politicians and even consumers. Critics see it as a symbol of capitalism run amok. Climate activists are holding “Block Friday” protests at shops around Paris, sparking some heated exchanges with shoppers hoping to find a good deal.
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Holiday stress: Amazon, others under gun for 1-day delivery
NEW YORK (AP) — Buy something online this holiday season and you’ll set off a 24-hour race to your door. Amazon, Walmart and others are promising to deliver more of their goods in a day. It’s a feat that requires not just additional planes and vehicles, but more workers, piles of cash and data to help retailers prepare and predict what shoppers may buy.
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Amazon workers stage strike on Black Friday
BERLIN (AP) — Workers at Amazon distribution
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Publisher says he’s hearing interest in
NEW YORK (AP) — The publisher of the Salt Lake Tribune says he’s heard from other newspaper executives and lawyers who wonder if his idea of going
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Impact of WTO protests in Seattle still felt 2 decades later
SEATTLE (AP) — Protesters upset over problems like economic inequality, environmental destruction and worker exploitation descended on Seattle 20 years ago for a World Trade Organization meeting. They faced tear gas and mass arrests as they disrupted the conference with officials from 135 nations planning to talk about reducing trade barriers. Some say the protests restored a sense that mass demonstrations can effect change. Their criticism also is at home in the platforms of today’s progressive politicians.
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Germany’s Daimler to cut at least 10,000 jobs over 3 years
BERLIN (AP) — Daimler says it plans to cut at least 10,000 jobs worldwide by the end of 2022. The German automaker plans not to fill some vacant posts and to offer severance packages in Germany to reduce administrative jobs. The company employs about 300,000 people overall.
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German auto industry group appoints former Merkel aide
BERLIN (AP) — An influential group representing the German auto industry has chosen Hildegard Mueller, who was once a senior aide to Chancellor Angela Merkel, as its new leader. The German Association of the Automotive Industry, or VDA, announced the appointment on Friday.
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The S&P 500 index dropped 12.65 points, or 0.4%, to 3,140.98. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 112.59 points, or 0.4%, to 28,051.41. The Nasdaq slid 39.70 points, or 0.5%, to 8,665.47. The Russell 2000 index of smaller company stocks gave up 9.60 points, or 0.6%, or 1,624.50.
The Associated Press
