By The Associated Press
Black Friday kicked off the holiday shopping season with enthusiasm, despite consumer confidence in the U.S. economy falling this month in the aftermath of the federal government shutdown, weak hiring and stubborn inflation.
This is a photo gallery curated by AP photo editors.
Wall Street rose for a fifth straight day to put the wraps on a volatile month.
The S&P 500 rose 0.5% in abbreviated trading Friday and closed out November with a slim gain of 0.1%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 289 points, or 0.6%. The Nasdaq gained 0.7% but ended November with a drop of 1.5% because of losses for some big tech stocks.
Stocks swooned in mid-month as investors worried that stocks boosted by the frenzy around artificial intelligence such as Nvidia had gotten too expensive. Nvidia lost 1.8% Friday and closed the month with a double-digit loss. Oracle fell 23% in November while Palantir Technologies sank 16%.
Some tech stocks did notch monthly gains, most notably Alphabet, which rose nearly 14%, due to excitement about its recently released Gemini AI model.
The market turned around on hopes the Federal Reserve will again cut interest rates at its meeting next month. Recent comments from Fed officials have given traders more confidence the central bank will again cut interest rates at its meeting that ends Dec. 10. Traders are betting on a nearly 87% probability that the Fed will cut next month, according to data from CME Group.
Shop local this holiday season by browsing Florida-centric gifts that, in some cases, also support good causes.
The Sunshine State offers goods that support the Save the Manatee Club, Surfing Santas T-shirts and hats and ResortPass gift cards to help sponsor a loved one’s sun-soaked getaway at one of Florida’s hotels.
Since its founding in 1981 by the late former Gov. Bob Graham and the late singer-songwriter Jimmy Buffett, the Save the Manatee Club has worked tirelessly to protect Florida’s beloved sea cows.
This shows up through advocacy efforts at the state, federal and local level with legal action, plus manatee rescue and rehabilitation, public awareness and education and manatee research. This is especially important as manatees face threats from a loss of seagrass, collisions with boats and cold stress.
It’s possible to support the club through volunteering and other actions, donations or through the Adopt-A-Manatee program, which allows people to symbolically sponsor an individual named manatee, complete with a certificate of adoption and a biography. Save the Manatee Club also offers an online shop, which supports the organization’s efforts.
By NICK KURCZEWSKI, Edmunds
SUVs deliver many attributes that car shoppers love in a vehicle. Thanks to their elevated height, they provide a commanding view of the road. They also deliver lots of passenger space, roomy cargo holds, and often have strong safety ratings.
Less appealing are higher fuel bills and the expense of buying an SUV that’s showroom-fresh. The experts at Edmunds have found five solutions on the used market to keep costs in line. Choosing a used hybrid SUV saves money at the point of purchase, and the hybrid engine helps lower the cost of refueling for many miles down the road.
Using a price cap of $25,000, Edmunds’ team has compiled five used hybrid-powered SUVs that are practical and kind to a car shopping budget.
The Escape Hybrid is the fuel-sipping cousin of Ford’s popular compact SUV. Getting it down the road is a 2.5-liter four-cylinder paired to an electric motor. Front-wheel drive is standard; all-wheel drive is optional. In terms of fuel economy, both the front-wheel-drive and all-wheel drive models delivers an EPA-estimated 39 mpg combined. Edmunds has complimented the Escape’s comfortable ride, easy-to-use controls and everyday practicality.
We’ve got a past-present-future theme going for this holiday shopping suggestion list. And each item may have historic implications, depending on how seriously you take your football.
Or we can call it an up-in-the-air list with ventures, real and imagined, into the cosmos, plus a serious weather front.
Central Florida’s biggest theme park story of the year is the opening of Epic Universe at Universal Orlando. There’s a dearth of park merch with 2025 branding, which would have been a nice debut-year touch.
Instead, we’ll seek out gifts from the Mysteries of 2020s Collection, more specifically, the popcorn container, to represent this slice of theme park life.
Universal sells the popcorn “buckets,” which are shaped like the golden compass-inspired Epic Universe logo and give off vibes from the Chronos, the 78-foot main-gate portal of the new attraction. It comes with a carrying strap, and the background, a sort of cosmos design, lights up.
The collectibles sell for $34.99 each, and that includes a load of popcorn, too. They’re available at stores at the theme park as well as Universal CityWalk. (Also check out shopuniversal.com.)