The holidays are often a pricey time for families. But new numbers show that the cost of an average Thanksgiving meal remained steady this year — with certain staples actually seeing a cut.
Where it stands: The average cost of a Thanksgiving dinner for 10 is up only one cent — to $48.91 — from last year's total, the American Farm Bureau Federation reports. A 16-pound bird costs about $20.80 — or about $1.30 per pound — down 4% from last year.
At least nine GOP organizations, Republican candidates and advocacy groups are selling Donald Trump Jr.'s first book, "Triggered," boosting his sales and sending him to the top of the New York Times' bestseller list for nonfiction, the New York Times reports.
Why it matters: The candidates and groups are recouping their cash through donations, so the story is mostly valuable as an interesting look at how these books make the Times bestseller list.
China summoned the U.S. ambassador on Thursday to "strongly protest" President Trump's signing of the Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act in support of protesters, state media report.
Why it matters: Trump signed the bipartisan congressional bill condemning Chinese interference in Hong Kong's affairs and supporting the rights of pro-democracy protesters as Washington and Beijing hold crucial trade talks.
More and more people are dodging the long lines and busy parking lots of Black Friday — and planning to do their holiday shopping online instead.
The big picture: Despite headlines and reports describing a retail apocalypse, brick-and-mortar stores still easily trump e-commerce sites, with online shopping claiming only about 10% of all retail. But when it comes to shopping around the holidays, online has a much larger share.
Extremely dry conditions in Latin America have led to a slowdown in coffee harvesting in Honduras, causing prices to surge 20% on the Intercontinental Exchange in recent weeks, the Wall Street Journal reports.
Driving the news: Coffee futures in mid-October were at $.93 a pound and have now reached around $1.157, spiking a total of 12% over two trading sessions last week alone, per the Journal.
54% of American consumers said they will do most of their holiday shopping online this year, highlighting the rise of Cyber Monday, the Washington Post reports.
Why it matters: Consumers' tendency to stay at home is forcing retailers to rethink how they offer deals on Cyber Monday and Black Friday — two of the biggest shopping days of the year — especially since the former offers loads of data that can allow for companies to make on-the-fly decisions about their offers.
More and more automakers are reckoning with the twin forces of a soft global auto market and the need to position themselves for a more electrified future.
Driving the news: Audi said yesterday it's cutting 9,500 jobs by 2025 as it seeks to boost earnings and navigate the "transformation of the automotive industry towards electric mobility and digitalization" — but it's also adding 2,000 jobs focused on electric vehicles and digital tech, according to the Wall Street Journal.
John Deere said in its fourth-quarter earnings report on Wednesday that it expects lower earnings in 2020 due to a decline in worldwide equipment sales, Reuters reports.
Why it matters: The world's largest farm equipment manufacturer cited ongoing tensions from the U.S.-China trade war as well as harsh weather in the U.S. as factors that have led farmers and construction companies to decide against large new investments.
The U.S. economy grew at a 2.1% annualized pace in the third quarter — faster than the initial read of 1.9% — according to revised data released by the Commerce Department on Wednesday.
Why it matters: The revision occurred thanks to an upward revision in business spending, indicating that the economy's slowdown was not as harsh as feared in the face of the U.S.-China trade war. The change means that economic growth accelerated marginally from the prior quarter's 2% growth, but it's worth noting that economists are much less optimistic about growth prospects for the current quarter.
Dollar Tree said acceleration of the trade war with China would up its costs by $19 million in Q4.
Why it matters: Even as the Trump administration says it’s close to a "phase one" trade deal with China, corporations are bearing down and preparing Wall Street for the worst-case scenario.
