Media Navel Gaze: December 1, 2014
The Week Unpeeled
Black Friday was more shades of grey really with early-bird specials taking the usual punch out of post-Thanksgiving mall mayhem and big retailers now seeing more and more of their customers shop online (about 40%). Still, some reports showed that overall online sales were down 5% so far this season. Cyber Monday (that seems quaint now, right?) awaits.
Elsewhere:
- November proved to be an extremely strong month for stocks where records were anything but rare and the Dow ended the month up 2.5% to close at 17,828 (Walmart, by the way, led the charge, up 3% on Friday);
- The US economy grew at its fastest pace in more than a decade, with GDP in the third quarter rising 3.9%, suggesting perhaps that the indicators are catching up to the stock market at last;
- A Ferguson jury did not charge a Missouri policeman in the killing of a teen, sparking protests in cities around America and front-page and editorial coverage throughout the week;
- US Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel resigned, apparently amid misaligned views on strikes against ISIS; and
- Snooki wed.
