For: November 24, 2025
>>Ahead Of The Bell
(New York, NY) -- The opening bell rings this morning, ushering in what will be a holiday-shortened trading week. Wall Street closed out the week with stocks higher on Friday although the three major averages chalked up weekly losses of one percent or more. At the closing bell, the Dow Jones gained 493 points to 46-245. The S&P 500 rose 64 points to 66-02. The Nasdaq climbed 195 points to 22-273.
>>Noteworthy Economic Reports Being Served Up This Thanksgiving Week
(Undated) -- Coming up in the business week ahead, some noteworthy economic reports start rolling in tomorrow. That's when we'll get a government-shutdown delayed retail sales report, along with the producer price index - a favorite of the Fed when it comes to gauging inflation. Tuesday also brings the latest data on pending home sales, consumer confidence and the S&P Case-Shiller home price index. Weekly jobless claims are due Wednesday.
>>Scott Bessent Brushes Aside Recession Concerns
(Washington, DC) -- Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent says he's confident the U.S. won't enter a recession in 2026. However, during an appearance on NBC's "Meet the Press" he did however acknowledge that certain sectors such as housing have felt pressure. Consumers have felt a little better about the economy since the government shutdown ended. The University of Michigan's final reading for November rose slightly from its mid-month low. However, survey officials say consumers remain frustrated about higher prices and weakening incomes.
>>Journalists Go Back To Work At Post-Gazette As Strike Finally Ends
(Pittsburgh, PA) -- A lengthy labor strike is coming to an end as journalists go back to work today at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Last week, local Newspaper Guild members voted to end the three-year work stoppage after a court ruled in favor of their demands. The strike began in 2022 over claims of unfair labor practices, health care issues and leadership at the Post-Gazette taking away the union's contract.
>>Grassroots Groups Call For Black Friday Boycott
(Washington, DC) -- Several grassroots organizations are calling for a nationwide economic boycott on Black Friday. The National Retail Federation says this year's holiday sales are expected to pass one-trillion dollars for the first time. Now a coalition of groups is urging consumers to stop all spending on Black Friday and Cyber Monday to protest economic inequality in the U.S. The groups including Blackout the System and the Money Out of Politics Movement are also calling on shoppers to cancel digital subscriptions during the boycott, which runs from November 25th to December 2nd. Small Business Saturday is exempt from the boycott.
>>Many Retailers Closed For Thanksgiving & Reopen On Black Friday
(Undated) -- Most major retailers will be closed for Thanksgiving day this year. The stores closed for the holiday include most, but not all Ace Hardware stores. Aldi will close its stores for Thanksgiving along with Best Buy, but the tech retailers Black Friday hours can be found online. Costco's warehouse stores will be closed for the holiday and its Black Friday hours are available online. Dick's Sporting Goods will be closed on Thanksgiving, but will open at 6 a.m. for Black Friday shoppers. Other stores opening bright and early on Friday include JCPenney and Kohl's which will both open at 5 a.m.
>>Holiday Scams An Annual Concern
(Undated) -- 'Tis the season to look out for holiday scammers. With scammers becoming ever more sophisticated in their efforts to separate people from their money, it can be difficult to know who and what to trust. A top one is fake lookalike digital storefronts, often using URLs that look similar to the real thing. Then there's the flood of emails, promising deals from legitimate brands but really just trying to get your credit card info. And with AI making it harder to separate fiction from reality, be on the look out for bogus celebrity endorsements that generate traffic to fake websites.
>>Pharmaceutical Companies Lay Off Hundreds (Rahway, NJ) -- Two pharmaceutical companies are announcing a new round of layoffs. Beginning early next year, Merck expects to cut a little more than 200 positions at its headquarters in Rahway, New Jersey. The company plans to cut six-thousand positions by the end of 2027 as it seeks to slash some three-billion dollars from its budget. Merck has made some major acquisitions recently, including a ten-billion dollar purchase involving a promising COPD drug. Meantime, Bristol Myers Squibb has announced it plans to eliminate more than 100 positions, though it did not say where the cuts would be made.
>>Kia & Hyundai Recall Over 335K Vehicles
(Undated) -- Kia and Hyundai are recalling thousands of vehicles in the U.S. over an issues that could cause fuel tanks to melt. The recalls affect over 250-thousand Kia K5 sedans from model years 2021 through 2024 and over 85-thousand Hyundai Sonata vehicles from model years 2020 to 2023, all equipped with one-point-six-liter turbocharged engines.
