Axios

Many American households may get a boost to their holiday budgets thanks to an expected dip in heating costs. That's according to Jack Kleinhenz, chief economist for the National Retail Federation, who spoke to reporters Thursday morning.

Driving the news: Winter heating prices for U.S. homes are expected to remain relatively flat or decrease, the U.S. Energy Information Administration reported early last month.

Clorox revenue plummeted to a nearly eight-year low in the last quarter after a devastating cyberattack, Nathan writes.

• The horrific drop — sales fell 31% from the previous quarter — illustrate the steep consequences of cybersecurity breakdowns.

By the numbers: Clorox reported revenue of $1.39 billion in the period ended Sept. 30, marking its worst quarterly performance since the final quarter of the 2015 calendar year.

Fed chair Jerome Powell believes the U.S. economy is capable of growing faster than usual right now, without inflationary pressure.

The big picture: That was the subtext — and, in some spots, explicit text — of his comments after Wednesday's decision. It is also fueling a surge in stock and bond markets over the last 24 hours.

Toyota is recalling more than 1.85 million RAV4 sports utility vehicles because some of their batteries pose a fire risk.

Driving the news: The voluntary recall announced Wednesday is for certain RAV4 SUVs from model years between 2013 and 2018 with replacement 12-volt batteries that have smaller top dimensions, the automaker said.

A big day in the Treasury market went smoothly, driving yields lower.

Why it matters: The recent rise in yields took the wind out of the stock market's sails over the last couple of months.

Las Vegas, El Paso and San Jose now lead the country in terms of post-pandemic downtown recovery among more than 50 major U.S. cities.

• That's per researchers tracking how cities are emerging from the depths of the COVID-19 pandemic, and based on downtown visitors in March through mid-June 2023, as compared to the same period in 2019.

A lawsuit filed in D.C. on Wednesday alleges that some of the city's biggest property managers are colluding to artificially raise rents — and it's not just a D.C. phenomenon.

Why it matters: The lawsuit could illuminate one factor behind the surge in rental prices across the U.S. The lawsuit alleges that rather than competing on price, big landlords are effectively outsourcing pricing decisions to an algorithm that uses data from them and their top competitors. The result is higher rents across the board.

IAC, one of the word's largest internet holding companies, has submitted comments to the U.S. Copyright Office warning that unless the government protects copyrighted material from being used by generative AI, "the creation and publication of high-quality original content will wither and die."

Why it matters: IAC — which is home to Dotdash Meredith, the largest digital and print publisher in the U.S. — argues that if generative AI firms aren't forced to pay publishers for copyrighted content their algorithms are trained on and their bots recycle, the internet will become "unrecognizable" and users won't trust it.

Sam Bankman-Fried's defense team presented its closing arguments in court Wednesday, telling the jury that things aren't really what they seem.

Driving the news: The prosecution, SBF's attorney Mark Cohen said, was setting up their client to be something like a villain in a Hollywood movie, rather than what he was: a bright startup founder whose cryptocurrency businesses spun out of his control.

The prosecution began closing arguments in the trial of Sam Bankman-Fried Wednesday by stating an unchallenged fact: roughly $10 billion of customer funds had gone missing from FTX.

Why it matters: Jurors could decide as soon as Thursday whether the fallen founder of the cryptocurrency exchange is criminally responsible for one of the "biggest financial frauds in American history," or was just asleep at the wheel during a series of unfortunate mistakes.

When it comes to gifts, is your mother a connoisseur and your brother an enthusiast?

Why it matters: Knowing the difference could ensure you give your loved ones gifts they truly appreciate this holiday, says New York Times bestselling author Gretchen Rubin.