Black Friday retail sales growth picked up this year, Mastercard said Saturday, as shoppers shook off economic uncertainty and weak sentiment.
Why it matters: The consumer remains the engine of the U.S. economy, and a strong start to the holiday season will be reassuring to those who questioned whether tariffs and a soft labor market might crimp demand.
AI is upending everything, including retirement planning.
The big picture: Our comfortable golden years have always rested on assumptions of a steady full-time career, employer-sponsored savings and a predictable job exit. Now those assumptions are fraying.
Young Americans are increasingly planning for retirement by investing in the stock market while putting off homeownership.
Why it matters: For decades, owning a home has helped Americans build their nest eggs. A generation putting all its eggs into stocks without having weathered a prolonged market slump may be in for a surprise.
Pensions were left for dead, but their obituary might've been written too early.
Why it matters: Defined-benefit pensions have plummeted in recent decades as employers shifted more investment risk to their workers, in the form of 401(k)-style defined-contribution plans.
Microluxuries like $10 hand sanitizers and $20 lip balms are the latest flex for school kids.
The big picture: Thesepocket-size purchases are being "traded, shown off, and incorporated into personal brand-building," Casey Lewis wrote last month in After School, her newsletter about youth trends.
New pricing deals and aggressive marketing are transforming expensive GLP-1 weight-loss drugs into mainstream treatments and creating the next mega-market for the pharmaceutical industry.
Why it matters: Americans have shown they're willing to pay thousands of dollars out of pocket for the treatments — making them more popular than ever even as insurers try to pump the brakes by restricting coverage.
MAGA hopes the holiday season — and renewed attention on its favorite bogeymen — can produce a ceasefire in the pro-Trump movement's burgeoning civil war.
Why it matters: MAGA entered the year at the apex of its power, but has become mired in its most bitter infighting since its founding by President Trump in 2015.
