• Albania Bans TikTok for a Year After Teen Killed
  
  Albania on Saturday announced a one-year ban on TikTok, the popular short video app, following the killing of a teenager last month that raised fears over the influence of social media on children.
• Bill Approved Giving Full Social Security to Public Sector Retirees
  
  Senators voted 76-20 early Saturday to approve bipartisan legislation giving full Social Security benefits to more than 2.8 million public pension recipients who currently receive reduced-level payments, allowing them to collect benefits at the same levels as other retirees.
• Banker: Newsmax Raises $135 Million in Pre-IPO Plan, Offer to Close Soon
  
  Mark Elenowitz, managing director for Digital Offering LLC, told Newsmax on Friday that "Newsmax is doing something that's never been done before."
• Wells Fargo to Ditch Climate Coalition
  
  Wells Fargo has joined an expanding list of corporate banks to exit the Net-Zero Banking Alliance and their climate initiatives, Bloomberg first reported on Friday.
• Stocks Rally After Inflation Data But Down for the Week
  
  U.S. stocks rallied to close out the trading week Friday after two lackluster sessions as a cooler-than-expected inflation report and comments from Federal Reserve officials eased worries about the path of interest rates.
• Shutdown Could Cost Travel Sector $1B Each Week
  
  A partial government shutdown could cost the U.S. travel industry $1 billion per week and lead to widespread disruptions for travelers, a trade group representing airlines, hotels and other travel companies said Friday.
• Wall Street Week Ahead: Retail Sales, Housing, Jobs
  
  A look at some of the key business events and economic indicators upcoming next week.
• Nippon Steel Alleges Undue WH Influence on Doomed Deal Review
  
  Nippon Steel alleges the White House had "impermissible undue influence" over a national security review of its $14.9 billion bid for U.S. Steel and threatened legal action if the deal is blocked.The accusation was made in a Dec. 17 letter, signed by counsel for Nippon...
• Amazon Expects No Disruptions From Strike
  
  A US strike targeting Amazon in the peak festive period extended into a second day Friday as the retail behemoth said the labor action would not affect its business.
• Big Lots Conducts Going-Out-of-Business Sales
  
  Discount chain Big Lots is conducting going--out-of-business sales at its remaining locations after a sale of the company didn't materialize.
• Musk Says He'll Fund Moderate Dems in Primaries
  
  Elon Musk, the world's richest person, wants to extend his influence to the Democrat Party.
• Potential TikTok Bidder Frank McCourt Seeks a CEO
  
  U.S. billionaire businessman Frank McCourt is crafting a fundamental overhaul of TikTok's business model as part of a plan to bid for the Chinese-owned short-form video app, he told Reuters.
• Starbucks Workers Begin Strikes That Could Spread to Hundreds of US Stores
  
  Workers at Starbucks stores began a five-day strike Friday to protest lack of progress in contract negotiations with the company.
• Don't Gamble With Money You Can't Afford to Lose
  
  Cryptocurrency may be appropriate for some, but older Americans should put most of their money in "boring" assets like bonds, guaranteed annuities, bank CDs and perhaps dividend-paying stocks.
• Can Nissan SURVIVE the Next 14 Months Without Going Bankrupt?
  
  Nissan is on the brink of collapse. Things aren't looking good at Nissan from our perspective either. Executives said the company has "12 to 14 months to survive." Dealers are selling cars at a loss, production has slowed, and more recently, the company cut thousands of...
• US Watchdog Sues Tops Banks for Allowing Fraud on Zelle
  
  The U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau said Friday it had filed a lawsuit against JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, and Wells Fargo for failing to protect consumers from "widespread fraud" on payments platform Zelle.
• Wall Street Rallies to Trim Its Losses in a Rough Week
  
  U.S. stocks are rallying Friday to trim their losses in what had been one of the market's roughest weeks of the year.
• Luxury Labels Appeal to Masses With Lower-Priced Goods
  
  Confronting a broad decline in demand for their usual fare, including $3,000-and-up handbags and $4,000-and-up cashmere jackets, major marketers of designer and luxury merchandise are broadening their product lines to emphasize scarves, belts, wallets and home goods priced...
• Nike Goes Back to Basics as Investors Cool Their Heels
  
  New Nike CEO Elliott Hill's plan to refocus on sports that are core to its brand like basketball and running allayed some investor worries Friday, but Wall Street initially was taking a wait-and-see approach to the promised comeback.
• DOE: Data Center Power Use Could Triple by 2028
  
  U.S. data center power demand could nearly triple in the next three years, and consume as much as 12% of the country's electricity, as the industry undergoes an AI transformation, according to an unpublished Department of Energy-backed report seen by Reuters.
• Trump Warns EU: Reduce Trade Gap or Face Tariffs
  
  President-elect Donald Trump on Friday threatened the European Union with tariffs if the bloc does not reduce its "tremendous" trade gap with Washington through oil and gas purchases.
• Key Inflation Gauge Subsides to 2.4% in November
  
  Monthly inflation subsided in November after showing little improvement in recent months. The personal consumption expenditures (PCE) price index rose 0.1% last month after an unrevised 0.2% gain in October.
• Trump Moves All His Shares of Trump Media Into Trust
  
  President-elect Donald Trump has transferred his roughly 115 million shares in Trump Media & Technology Group, the parent company of Truth Social, into a trust controlled by his oldest son, Donald Trump Jr., according to a Securities and Exchange Commission filing.
• US Economy Eyes Strong Finish But Uncertainty in 2025
  
  The number of Americans filing new applications for jobless benefits fell more than expected last week, almost reversing the prior two weeks' increases and suggesting that a gradual labor market slowdown remained in place.
• Govt Shutdown and Tariff Fears Jar Year-End Markets
  
  U.S. government shutdown fears and fresh trade war threats cast another cloud over Wall Street as a bruising final full trading week of the year comes to a close and dampens what had been a stellar year for U.S. stocks.

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