Holiday sales rose by 10.7% compared to the pre-pandemic 2019 holiday period, the fastest increase in 17 years, according to the Associated Press.
Why it matters: U.S. retail sales had initially struggled against the backdrop of rising prices, supply chain issues and labor shortages, as businesses emerged from the economic damage incurred at the height of the pandemic.
Crocs stockholders aren't fans of the company's agreement to buy casual sandal brand Hey Dude for $2.5 billion, as shares on Thursday fell 11.6%, the most in a single day since April 2020.
Inside the deal: Crocs is trying to diversify beyond its trademark rubber clogs, which went from cool to uncool to cool again. Company sales for the third quarter were up 73% year-over-year, and shares hit an all-time high in early November.
A New York judge has upheld an earlier ruling barring the New York Times from publishing or covering documents written by a lawyer for the conservative group Project Veritas, the Times reported.
Why it matters: The ruling, which now also requires the paper to get rid of physical and electronic copies of the documents, is "a highly unusual and astonishingly broad injunction against a news organization," the paper said in a Friday editorial.
