Good morning.
Happy Black Friday, a now-global festival of discounts marking the first shopping day of the Christmas season. Following the “busiest Thanksgiving ever,” Americans are expected to spend record amounts on Black Friday and Cyber Monday this year, according to Deloitte (which also sponsors this newsletter). For the first time, online retailers have displaced brick-and-mortar stores as the preferred way to shop.
Job-market optimism has pushed up consumer confidence and talk of a trade war may be prompting people to also bring forward purchases they might otherwise have delayed. A record 183.4 million people are planning to shop in-store and online from Thanksgiving through Cyber Monday, according to the National Retail Federation and Prosper Insights & Analytics. Don’t forget Travel Deal Tuesday!
And yet U.S. household debt has also hit highs of almost $18 trillion, according to the New York Fed, with consumers’ savings trending down as credit card delinquencies go up. Target CEO Brian Cornell talked about customers’ renewed focus on value when we recently met at the Fortune Global Forum. After all, who doesn’t like a great deal?
My colleagues from Fortune Recommends have been tirelessly screening out the best Black Friday deals. Keep an eye on demographic trends as those wealthy baby boomers gravitate to travel experiences and wellness products while their kids are more inclined to go thrifting. Enjoy the holiday.
More news below.
Diane Brady
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TOP NEWS
Russia takes desperate stand to save ruble
Russia’s central bank halted all foreign currency purchases for the remainder of the year, while actively selling Chinese yuan, in hopes of propping up the ruble. The ruble—currently worth a fraction of a penny—hit lows not seen since the start of the Ukraine war. Fortune
Trump and Zuckerberg break bread
Just a few short months ago, Donald Trump was threatening to send Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg to prison “for life” if he interfered in the election—but on Thanksgiving eve the President-elect and the Big Tech entrepreneur enjoyed dinner at Mar-a-Lago. Fortune
German layoffs hit 60,000—and it’s set to get worse
German companies in the Fortune 500 Europe have announced over 60,000 layoffs this year—but yet to feature in the layoff data is Germany’s largest company and perhaps its most imperiled: Volkswagen. Fortune
AROUND THE WATERCOOLER
Gen Z men could ditch real women for AI, warns Ex-Google CEO Eric Schmidt after a tragic suicide involving a chatbot by Christiaan Hetzner
With Trump’s return to the White House, innovation is the only way forward for Europe by Alex Wood Morton
Nearly half of master’s degree programs leave students financially worse off—and just one subject results in a starting salary over $100k by Orianna Rosa Royle
Keira Knightley, who got an agent at 6, says her daughters will focus on academics, not acting: ‘You need those pieces of paper saying you’re smart’ by Eleanor Pringle
Ikea profits down nearly 50% as fears of Trump tariff threats spook the Swedish retailer by Prarthana Prakash
Sanofi’s chief digital officer says remote work means employees lose the ‘serendipity’ needed to innovate by Ryan Hogg
This edition of CEO Daily was curated by Ian Mount.
