Newsletter Nov 26, 2021

After a one-year hiatus from traditional Black Friday shopping, the retail industry is hopeful that brick-and-mortar stores will experience a rebound.

3 things you must know
  • Will Black Friday shopping put retailers back in the black?

    Last year not only put a damper on Americans' Thanksgiving Day festivities with family and friends; it also killed the unofficial holiday of Black Friday. COVID-19 restrictions sent those who usually spend the Friday after Thanksgiving in the stores to shop online instead.

    How retail sales respond this year are very much up in the air amid a backdrop of inflation, supply chain issues and lingering COVID woes. Brick-and-mortar stores are hoping for a big bump over last year's blackest of Black Fridays, but analysts are wondering if the trend toward online shopping might mean the end for the holiday.

    FIND OUT WHAT EXPERTS ARE PROJECTING FOR SALES

  • Online retailers offering best deals on tech toys and gadgets

    If you're one of those shoppers who prefers to stay in their pajamas and order from the comfort of the couch, this Black Friday could be the best one yet. Online retailers are offering some of the best deals to date on high-tech toys and gadgets -- inflation be damned.

    Apple is holding excellent Black Friday deals on some of its most popular products, like Airpods, iPads and AppleWatches, while mass retailers like Amazon, Best Buy, Walmart, and Target are also offering some of their best prices of the year online. So let your fingers do all the walking this year and shop while you drop.

    CHECK OUT OUR BEST BLACK FRIDAY SHOPPING TIPS

  • Some economists wonder `Why all the fuss about inflation?'

    If you've turned on the TV news (or preferably, read a lot of stories on IBT), you might be scared to go to the grocery store or gas pumps due to all the doom and gloom about inflation. But some economists say not to believe all the hype about this natural event.

    Yes, inflation is real and people are paying higher prices for virtually everything. But it should be pointed out that part of the "problem" is actually a normal correction to existing economic forces. For instance, part of the reason for the price hikes is higher wages that workers have deserved for decades. It took a crisis to get it done.

    FIND OUT WHY ANALYSTS SAY INFLATION ISN'T ALL BAD

Markets
DJIA 35,804.38 -0.03%
S&P 500 4,701.46 0.23%
Nasdaq Composite 15,845.23 0.44%
Japan: Nikkei 225 28,751.62 -2.53%
UK: FTSE 100 7,089.90 -3.02%
Crude Oil Futures 73.43 -6.33%
Gold Futures 1,806.20 1.23%
Yen 114.10 -1.10%
Euro 1.13 0.47%
* As of market close

Online auctions soaring during the pandemic

While brick-and-mortar stores and online shopping are in a state of flux, one of the oldest forms of buying and selling is making an unlikely comeback. Auctions, now held almost exclusively online, have seen a sudden surge as collectors are paying big bucks (or on some cases, cryptocurrency) for rare art, memorabilia and Non-Fungible Tokens.

With millionaires getting richer off the stock market but stuck at home to spend their profits, many have taken to online auctions to snap up Michael Jordan's sneakers ($1.5 million), Albert Einstein's manuscripts ($13 million), and an NFT original copy of the U.S. Constitution ($43 million).

CHECK OUT SOME RECENT OUTLANDISH AUCTION PURCHASES



Dog the Bounty Hunter barks up wrong tree

One day after autopsy results confirmed what federal investigators already suspected -- that Brian Laundrie indeed died at his own hands -- one washed-up TV detective is not so sure. Duane Chapman, aka "Dog the Bounty Hunter," hinted that the target of the manhunt might be alive.

"If he's alive he's going to get arrested," Chapman said, "...but right now it looks like he committed suicide." The Dog snooped his way back into the spotlight as part of the Gabby Petito murder case, inserting himself into the investigation and proposing conspiracy theories that the subject was on the Appalachian Trail. Looks like this dog was on the wrong scent.

FIND OUT WHAT AUTHORITIES SAID ABOUT LAUNDRIE'S DEATH


YouTuber organizing his own 'Squid Game'

Fans of the hit Netflix series "Squid Game" who have dreamed about playing in the winner-take-all game show may finally get their chance. Popular YouTuber MrBeast has put together a less lethal version of the show and is inviting 456 players to compete for the $456,000 grand prize.

MrBeast's games will feature lighter penalties for losing (no bullets, just exploring dye packs) but will be closely recreated to give players the thrill of playing Red Light/Green Light, Marbles, and Glass Bridge. Contestants will compete to be the last one standing and nearly a half-million richer.

CHECK OUT SOME OF THE RECREATED GAMES FOR THE SHOW


Going, going ... sold!

All the big-money auctions got us to wondering what the highest selling auction item in history might be. See if you know the item and the price.

Thursday's answer: Late member of The Beatles John Lennon claimed he saw a UFO from his New York apartment rooftop in 1974 and wrote about it in his Walls and Bridges album. He also said he was sober at the time.

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