U.S. Economy

Black Friday’s and Cyber Monday’s Combined Retail Sales Didn’t Live Up to Investors’ Expectations

U.S. Cyber Monday sales were flat, as online retailers offered fewer discounts because of limited inventory and more shoppers returned to stores for purchases.

U.S. Cyber Monday sales were flat, as online retailers offered fewer discounts because of limited inventory and more shoppers returned to stores for purchases. Shoppers spent $7.1 billion online according to transaction data compiled by the Adobe Digital Economy Index.

The U.S. National Retail Federation predicted an 8.5%-10.5% increase in holidays sales vs. problematic 2020 holiday season, putting total sales for November & December at $843.4 & $859 billion respectively.

However, data from Adobe Analytics, Mastercard, and RetailNext paint a gloomier picture for retail. Brick & mortar traffic increased 61% on Black Friday vs 2020 but came up 27% short of pre-pandemic levels. E-commerce sales hit $8.9 billion compared to $9.0 billion from 2020 marking the first time ever comps failed to exceed the prior year. Thanksgiving Day traffic saw a +90% decrease in stores as companies from Target (TGT) to Walmart (WMT) kept stores closed. Overall Black Friday sales increased 12.1% vs 2020. Most retailers declined to offer heavy discounts this year.

U.S. Economy

Big Companies’ CEOs Spotted Selling Their Shares Before Net Investment Income Tax Rules Come into Effect

Top executives and the company leaders like the Waltons, Mark Zuckerberg, and Google’s co-founders have sold $63.5 billion worth of stakes in their companies through November, up 50% from 2020.

U.S. Economy

Elon Musk Sees Problem Not in Too Many Teslas, but in Too Few Buyers

Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk wants people to have more babies. “There are not enough people,” Musk told a Wall Street Journal event this week.

Investing Ideas

Coupa Software Earnings Confirm Fundamental Attractiveness of Cloud Platforms

Coupa Software (NASDAQ:COUP) reported its Q3 earnings results on Monday, December 6, 2021.