Weekly News For November 23-29

Friday, Nov 23: Black Friday Online Sales Rise to Record $6.22B

Black Friday broke 2017’s online sales record as more shoppers turned to the internet for deals during the holiday shopping season.

For this year, Black Friday generated $6.22 billion in online sales, above 23.6 percent from the previous year. It was also the first day in history to see sales from mobile devices reach more than $2 billion.

Monday, Nov 26: Cyber Monday Set to Hit $7.9b in US Online Sales

Cyber Monday is on course to hit a record of $7.9 billion in online sales, which would make it the largest online shopping day in the US.

Climbing nearly 18 percent from last year, the latest estimate is $6.2 billion higher than the online sales generated during Black Friday, which rose almost 24% from 2017.

Tuesday, Nov 27: Bitcoin Falls as Crypto Selloff Continues

Bitcoin returned to negative territory on Tuesday, slipping back towards its weakest level in over a year, as major digital currencies hit new lows.

Bitcoin fell at $3,813.50, after hitting its lowest since September 2017 of $3,663.00 on Sunday. The Ripple also declined at $0.35512, while Ethereum marked its lowest since May 2017 of $105.83.

Wednesday, Nov 28: US Stocks Rally after Fed Chairman’s Remarks

US stocks rallied on Wednesday after Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell suggested interest rates are just below broad estimates of a neutral level.

Dow Jones Industrial Average advanced 2.5% to $25,366.43, marking its biggest 1-day high since March 26, while the S&P 500 was up 2.3% to $2,743.82 and the Nasdaq Composite added 2.95% to $7,291.59, posting its highest since October 25.

Thursday, Nov 29: SoftBank’s $21B IPO Secures Retail Sales Target

SoftBank Group’s $21 billion IPO of its Japanese telecommunications business has reportedly secured sales for the bulk of its shares to individual investors.

Sources familiar with the matter stated that the ¥2 trillion retail sales target obtained enough reservations at around the suggested price of ¥1,500. SoftBank is due to announce the price range for the offering on Friday.