Midnight tonight brings what has proven to be a fake NAFTA deadline.
What's happening: Trump's negotiating team was working under the theory that they had to sign the new NAFTA agreement on Nov. 30 because the incoming Mexican leftist leader Andrés Manuel López Obrador, who takes office in December, would not sign NAFTA 2.0. Trade Promotion Authority rules dictate that the U.S. government must release text of any new agreement 60 days before signing — and that's midnight tonight.
It’s not just stock prices and FICO scores that are hitting record highs. In the first quarter of this year, 403 of the stocks in the S&P 500 delivered earnings higher than Wall Street analysts had forecast — a record that was promptly broken in the second quarter, when 407 stocks achieved that feat.
The big picture: Earnings beats are always more the rule than the exception, even during bear markets. But these levels are unprecedented.
A U.S. Navy destroyer sailed close to disputed islands in the South China Sea on Sunday, a move that is expected to further heighten U.S.-China tensions, Reuters reports.
The big picture: A U.S. official told Reuters that the destroyer sailed within 12 nautical miles of Gaven and Johnson reefs in the Spratly Islands to counter Beijing’s efforts to limit freedom of navigation in the area. "[W]e have done [so] in the past and will continue to do in the future,” the official said. The decision comes just days after President Trump accused China of election interference and as trade tensions between the two nations continue to ratchet up.
So far, there's no evidence of pain from President Trump's ongoing trade war with China — at least from the economic indicators. Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell told a room of reporters earlier this week that there have been no measurable effects of the trade tension.
Be smart: That doesn't mean market-watchers and economists aren't bracing for an impact around the world. And there's already some evidence of an impact on individual companies.
Raising the minimum wage rate from $15 holds more weight than stricter gun control laws with voters from Generation Z, according to new polling data from the Morning Consult.
Why it matters: Despite the impact of mass school shootings in America, the issue doesn't move voters from 18 to 21 years old as much as anticipated. Other issues like minimum wage, LGBT rights and taxing corporations hold more importance to them.
The Simpsons, along with 12 other shows, are entering at least their 10th season, which is experts believe is a modern day record despite viewership declining by more than 70%, reports Steven Zeitchik of the Washington Post.
Why it matters: Though some would say the Simpsons, entering its 30th season are dying, Zeitchik writes, the criterion for the renewal of a show has changed from what it was. Networks weigh streaming potential and the ability to sell a show overseas heavily and The Simpsons still fits the mold.
CBS Corporation received subpoenas Friday from the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office and the New York City Commission on Human Rights related to the allegations of sexual harassment by then-CEO Leslie Moonves and others, The Wall Street Journal reports.
Why it matters: Those efforts of prosecutors from outside the company to look into the sexual harassment allegations involving Moonves are the first since he left the company. CBS hired two law firms to investigate allegations against Moonves along with other claims, per a Securities and Exchange Commission filing. Moonves departed the company after a second Ronan Farrow report was published by the New Yorker in mid-September detailing allegations from six more women of misconduct by the TV veteran.
