Consumer spending over the four-day Thanksgiving weekend climbed 13% to $59.1B, although the growth was slower than the 16% last year. Average spending per customer rose 6.3% to $423. Online sales on Black Friday jumped 26% and topped $1B for the first time, says ComScore, which forecasts that Internet sales over the holiday season will grow 17% to a record $43.4B. Movie tickets also hit a record $290M for the weekend.
Congress returns to work this week and seems to have made no actual progress on a deal to avoid the Fiscal Cliff – just 5 weeks away from triggering now. Over in Europe, there's the imminent Greek Cliff, with the Troika making their 3rd attempt today to come up with an agreement to reduce Greece's debt burden so that Government can get a round of bailout money that must be on hand on Friday.
Over in Spain, pro-independence parties won Catalonia's elections as that country makes another step towards revolution and Egypt's markets fell 9.6% as President Morsi takes that country another step towards Dictatorship by granting himself "sweeping powers and judicial immunity." Who does that guy think he is – Hank Paulson?
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