Hello, from Washington. While we celebrated Thanksgiving at home, many families across the globe had a very special reason for gratitude: More than two dozen hostages held captive in Gaza and Israel were reunited with their loved ones on Friday after a truce led to a temporary cease-fire.
Hamas released a group of 24 people held in Gaza under its four-day truce agreement with Israel, but in a turnaround, said it would delay a planned release of a second group of hostages. The organization, designated a terrorist group by the US and EU, was expected to eventually return 50 women and children, while Israel was supposed to release 150 jailed Palestinian women and youths. An initial group of 39 hostages was released by Israel on Friday, Qatar said.Americans weren’t included in the initial release, though a senior administration official said that the US remains hopeful that its citizens will be among the hostages eventually released by Hamas. “It’s only a start, but so far it’s gone well,” President Joe Biden said Friday.
Black Friday shoppers in the US spent a record $9.8 billion online, Adobe Analytics reported, offering a positive sign for retailers facing lackluster sales forecasts for the holiday season. Macy’s CEO Jeff Gennette said that the retailer had a “great day online yesterday during Thanksgiving,” as buyers snapped up luxury items, hostess gifts and home prep. Tesla showrooms drew in long lines while touting its new vehicle, the Cybertruck, in select locations across the country. Meanwhile, a bomb scare sparked the evacuation of the American Dream Mall in New Jersey. Governor Phil Murphy later said that law enforcement found no imminent threat and the investigation is still underway.
New York City Mayor Eric Adams, music mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs and guitarist Axl Rose are among the defendants of a flurry of high-profile sexual-abuse lawsuits filed in New York this week to beat the expiration of a state law that temporarily lifted the statute of limitations on civil abuse and harassment claims, no matter how old. The Adult Survivors Act, passed by New York lawmakers in the wake of the “Me Too” movement, took effect in late November 2022, and expired this week.
Stocks climbed for a fourth straight week, powered by optimism that the Federal Reserve is done raising interest rates and will start cutting them in 2024. Investors have seemingly thrown caution into the wind. “There has been absolutely no demand for hedging — the cost of protection using various metrics are all near lows looking out five years,” said Amy Wu Silverman, head of derivatives strategy at RBC Capital Markets.
One group of spenders is driving the economy as their savings accounts dwindle. Meet the YOLO consumer. Whether it's splurging on Taylor Swift concerts, trips to Paris or dining out, their relentless — and perhaps risky — spending is a key part of a resilient economy. Thanks for reading. Keep a look out for the Sunday briefing, where we’ll go over what to expect next week.
(Updates Hamas deal information and adds fresh Black Friday data.)