Michael Nagle | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Here are the most important news items that investors need to start their trading day:
1. Short day for stocks
We hope you had a terrific Thanksgiving. If you’re scheduled to work today, please don’t work too hard. U.S. stock markets are knocking off early, anyway, at 1 p.m. ET. (Bond markets close at 2 p.m.) Despite it being a short week with somewhat low trading volumes, equities are on pace to finish the frame in positive territory. The Fed minutes released Wednesday put a little extra pep in traders’ steps. The central bank’s policy makers indicated they are ready to slow down the pace of rate hikes given evidence of some progress in the fight against inflation. Read live market updates here.
2. Black Friday stakes
The pressure is on for retailers to pull off a strong holiday season, which kicks off in earnest with Black Friday sales. But retailers have also largely painted themselves into a corner with a steady stream of promotions and clearance sales dating back months now as they’ve sought to clear out excess inventory that piled up because of supply chain problems or mere changes in what customers want. The National Retail Federation said 166.3 million people are expected to shop over the weekend. That would be a record. But will they spend enough to get stores where they need to be? CNBC’s Melissa Repko explains what’s at stake for the retail industry in its most important time of the year.
3. Zelenskyy urges unity
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskiy sings the national anthem during his visit in Kherson, Ukraine November 14, 2022.
Ukrainian Presidential Press Service | Reuters
Ukrainian President Volodmyr Zelenskyy gave European governments a pep talk Friday, urging them to stick together as Russia’s war in his country drags on. “There is no split, there is no schism among Europeans and we have to preserve this. This is our mission number one this year,” Zelenskyy said in a video address to a conference in Lithuania. Zelenskyy’s remarks came as Ukraine struggles with widespread blackouts and infrastructure failures following a barrage of Russian missile attacks. Read live war updates here.
4. Musk’s latest Twitter tweak
SpaceX owner and Tesla CEO Elon Musk speaks during a conversation with legendary game designer Todd Howard (not pictured) at the E3 gaming convention in Los Angeles, California, June 13, 2019.
Mike Blake | Reuters
5. Binance flexes
Changpeng Zhao, Co-Founder & CEO, Binance, at Media Village during day one of Web Summit 2022 at the Altice Arena in Lisbon, Portugal.
Ben Mcshane | Sportsfile | Getty Images
– CNBC’s Carmen Reinicke, Sarah Min, Melissa Repko, Karen Gilchrist, Arjun Kharpal and Ryan Browne contributed to this report.
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