Tausi Insider

People shop for Black Friday deals in Pico Rivera, Calif., on Nov. 25. FREDERIC J. BROWN/AFP/Getty Images Cautious shoppers hunted for the best deals at stores and online as retailers offered new Black Friday discounts to entice consumers eager to start buying holiday gifts but weighed down by inflation. Due to elevated prices for food, rent, gasoline and other essentials, many people were being more selective, reluctant to spend unless there was a big sale. Some were dipping more into savings, turning to “buy now, pay later” services that allow payment in installments, or running up their credit cards at a time when the Federal Reserve is hiking rates to cool the U.S. economy. Sheila Diggs, 55, went to a Walmart in Mount Airy, Maryland early Friday looking for a deal on a coffee maker. To save money this year, she said the adults in her family are drawing names and selecting one person to shop for. “Everything’s going up but your paycheck,” said Diggs, who manages medical records at...

A fast-moving conveyor moves packages to delivery trucks at an Amazon fulfillment centre in Robbinsville, N.J., on Nov. 29, 2021. MIKE SEGAR/Reuters Spending on Cyber Monday, the biggest U.S. online shopping day, may hit a record $11.6 billion, according to a report, as discounts on everything from pajamas to AirPods drive shoppers to buy even under the strain of inflation. The Adobe Analytics report is predicting Cyber Monday spending of $11.2 billion to $11.6 billion, an increase of up to 8.5% from a year earlier, as inflation-weary consumers have been putting off holiday shopping for weeks in the hopes of deep post-Thanksgiving markdowns. Adobe Analytics, which measures e-commerce by analyzing transactions at websites, has access to data covering purchases at 85% of the top 100 internet retailers in the United States. Cyber Monday sales fell 1.4% last year as retailers spread out promotional deals across weeks from as early as October to better manage inventories amid widespread p...

A hiring sign at a job agency in Mount Prospect, Ill., on Jan. 3. Nam Y. Huh/The Associated Press For months, the outlook for the U.S. economy has been a mostly bleak one: Inflation hitting a four-decade high, consumer spending weakening, interest rates surging. Most economists pencilled in a recession for 2023. An economic downturn is still possible. Yet in recent weeks, with inflation showing widespread signs of easing, a more cheerful view has gained traction: Maybe a recession isn’t inevitable after all. One reason for the tentative optimism is evidence that an acceleration in U.S. wages, which has benefited workers but also heightened inflation, is slowing. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell has frequently pointed to fast-rising worker pay to explain why the Fed has had to raise interest rates so aggressively. Fed rate hikes, if carried out far enough and long enough, can weaken the economy so much as to trigger a recession. On Thursday, the government is expected to issue anot...