Things To Do In SW Florida

By MATT OTT, AP Business Writer

WASHINGTON (AP) — With Thanksgiving and the formal launch of the holiday shopping season, Americans will again be consumed with the annual trifecta of turkey, travel and transactions — lots of them.

While most big U.S. retailers are closed on Thanksgiving Day, many will open early the following day — Black Friday, the unofficial start of the holiday gift-buying season and the biggest shopping day of the year.

Here’s what is open and closed this Thanksgiving, and a travel forecast from the experts at AAA auto club.

Government Buildings

Government offices, post offices, courts and schools are closed.

Banks and the stock market

U.S. stock markets and banks are closed Thursday; however, markets reopen on Friday for a shortened trading day, wrapping up at 1 p.m. Eastern.

Package Delivery

Standard FedEx and UPS pickup and delivery services will not be available on Thanksgiving, although some critical services will be offered at certain locations.

Retailers

Walmart will be closed on Thanksgiving but most stores will open at 6 a.m. local time on Black Friday. read more

By TOM KRISHER

DETROIT (AP) — If President-elect Donald Trump makes good on his threat to kill federal tax credits for electric vehicle purchases, it’s likely that fewer buyers will choose EVs.

Yet tax credits or not, auto companies show no intention of retreating from a steady transition away from gas-burning cars and trucks, especially given the enormous investment they have already made: Since 2021, the industry has spent at least $160 billion on planning, designing and building electric vehicles, according to the Center for Auto Research.

In campaigning for the presidency, Trump condemned the federal tax for EV buyers — up to $7,500 per vehicle — as part of a “green new scam” that would devastate the auto industry. His transition team is reportedly working on plans to abolish the tax credits and to roll back the more stringent fuel-economy rules that were pushed through by the Biden administration. It is far from clear, though, that the Trump administration could actually rescind the credits. read more

By PAUL WISEMAN, AP Economics Writer

WASHINGTON (AP) — President-elect Donald Trump has identified what he sees as an all-purpose fix for what ails America: Slap huge new tariffs on foreign goods entering the United States.

On Monday, Trump sent shockwaves across the nation’s northern and southern borders, vowing sweeping new tariffs on Mexico, Canada, as well as China, as soon as he takes office as part of his effort to crack down on illegal immigration and drugs.

In a pair of posts on his Truth Social site Trump railed against an influx of immigrants lacking permanent legal status, even though southern border apprehensions have been hovering near four-year lows.

He said he would impose a 25% tax on all products entering the country from Canada and Mexico, and an additional 10% tariff on goods from China, as one of his first executive orders.

He said the new tariffs would remain in place “until such time as Drugs, in particular Fentanyl, and all Illegal Aliens stop this Invasion of our Country!” read more

By WYATTE GRANTHAM-PHILIPS, Associated Press Business Writer

NEW YORK (AP) — The holiday shopping season is about to reach full speed with Black Friday, which kicks off the post-Thanksgiving retail rush later this week.

The annual sales event no longer creates the midnight mall crowds or doorbuster mayhem of recent decades, in large part due to the ease of online shopping and habits forged during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Hoping to entice equivocating consumers, retailers already have spent weeks bombarding customers with ads and early offers. Still, whether visiting stores or clicking on countless emails promising huge savings, tens of millions of U.S. shoppers are expected to spend money on Black Friday itself this year.

Industry forecasts estimate that 183.4 million people will shop in U.S. stores and online between Thanksgiving and Cyber Monday, according to the National Retail Federation and consumer research firm Prosper Insights & Analytics. Of that number, 131.7 million are expected to shop on Black Friday. read more

MEXICO CITY (AP) — President Claudia Sheinbaum suggested Tuesday that Mexico could retaliate with tariffs of its own, after U.S. President-elect Donald Trump threatened to impose 25% import duties on Mexican goods if the country doesn’t stop the flow of drugs and migrants across the border.

Sheinbaum said she was willing to engage in talks on the issues, but said drugs were a U.S. problem.

“One tariff would be followed by another in response, and so on until we put at risk common businesses,” Sheinbaum said, referring to U.S. automakers that have plants on both sides of the border.

She said Tuesday that Mexico had done a lot to stem the flow of migrants, noting “caravans of migrants no longer reach the border.” However, Mexico’s efforts to fight drugs like the deadly synthetic opioid fentanyl — which is manufactured by Mexican cartels using chemicals imported from China — have weakened in the last year.

Sheinbaum said Mexico suffered from an influx of weapons smuggled in from the United States, and said the flow of drugs “is a problem of public health and consumption in your country’s society.” read more