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WAL-MART, TARGET REPORT STRONG TRAFFIC
Wal-Mart and Target reported strong Thanksgiving Day traffic as
shoppers focused on big-ticket electronic items. A host of
retailers began offering special "Black Friday" sales on
Thanksgiving Day, starting at 6 p.m.
OIL PRICES TUMBLE TO FIVE-YEAR LOWS
Oil prices tumbled, plumbing five-year lows, following an OPEC
decision that will likely translate into a lingering glut of crude.
Nymex crude settled down 10.2% from Wednesday at $66.15 a
barrel.
U.S. STOCKS END MIXED AS OPEC ROILS MARKETS
Stocks finished mixed, with energy shares down sharply a day
after OPEC's decision to maintain its production target triggered a
tumble in oil prices. The Dow industrials closed flat, while the
Nasdaq inched up and the S&P 500 edged down.
EU APPROVES MEDTRONIC'S MERGER WITH COVIDIEN
Medical-device maker Medtronic secured EU approval for its $43
billion merger with rival Covidien, subject to conditions, two days
after U.S. authorities cleared the deal.
EUROZONE INFLATION WEAKENS AGAIN
Europe's economic prospects worsened as inflation across the
euro area weakened again and unemployment in Italy reached its
highest rate in nearly four decades--putting added pressure on the
ECB to step up stimulus.
U.S. AIRLINES RECOVER FROM NOR'EASTER
After canceling more than 750 flights on Wednesday, a busy
travel day before the Thanksgiving holiday, due to snow, rain and
winds across the East Coast, airlines were operating close to
normal on Friday.
U.S. APPEALS WTO MEAT-LABEL RULING
The Obama administration appealed a recent World Trade
Organization ruling that would have limited meat-origin labeling,
angering Canadian officials who threatened retaliation for what
they called violations of international trade rules.
STOCKTON, CALIF., ASKS THAT APPEAL NOT DELAY BANKRUPTCY EXIT
City leaders in Stockton, Calif., are urging a federal judge to
let the city exit bankruptcy with a court-approved reorganization
plan, despite an appeal of that plan filed by mutual fund company
Franklin Templeton Investments.
FRENCH COURT VERDICT ON UBER BAN IN TWO WEEKS
Car-hailing service Uber argued that a new French law governing
car-service apps is unconstitutional; an effort to throw roadblocks
into a lawsuit that could end up banning one of the company's main
services in France. A decision is expected on Dec. 12.
CANADA 3Q GDP EXPANDS 2.8%
Canadian economic growth slowed in the third quarter from the
second, but beat market expectations and the central bank's
forecast by a wide margin, led by exports and household
spending.
BCE TO BUY WIRELESS-PHONE DISTRIBUTOR GLENTEL
BCE said it will pay about $524 million to buy mobile-phone
retail distributor Glentel as the Canadian communications giant
looks to expand its wireless operations.
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The Wall Street Journal
SAVINGS RATE PORTENDS HEALTHY HOLIDAY SPENDING
Amid jitters over whether holiday shoppers can give the economy
a year-end lift, here's an unexpected cause for optimism: Americans
aren't feeling the need to save as much.
The Wall Street Journal
ENERGY WORLD QUAKES AS CRUDE PRICES THREATEN OUTLOOK
The outlook for U.S. energy companies dimmed in the wake of the
decision by Mideast oil producers to keep pumping lots of crude
despite a global glut of oil.