Kamis, 28 November 2019

Dealmaster: More Black Friday deals are now live, including AirPods for $129 [Update] - Ars Technica

Apple's AirPods
Enlarge / Apple's AirPods.

Update, 11:10PM ET: The two Apple deals highlighted below appear to be going in and out of stock at Walmart. If the $129 AirPods offer runs dry for good, we'll note that the headphones are currently available for $5 more at Amazon and other retailers. There are several other good Black Friday deals that just went live beyond that—check them out below.

Original story

Holiday deals have been flowing in since November began, but we're now starting to see proper Black Friday deals take effect. With Black Friday just a couple days away, Walmart has kicked off its shopping event with a bunch of savings and discounts that are some of the best we've seen all ready. Apple products top the list: now you can get AirPods with a charging case for $129 and an Apple Watch Series 3 for $129.

As for what you’re getting here: AirPods are some of the most popular wireless earbuds available, and the newest model with the standard charging case typically goes for $144. While we have seen major retailers drop the price to $134 before, this $129 price tag is a new low. These are the second-generation AirPods, featuring hands-free "Hey Siri" voice commands, 50-percent more talk time, and the new H1 chip that helps the AirPods pair and switch between devices more quickly.

These AirPods have a battery life of around five hours, and the case that comes with them provides an addition 24 hours of life. The included case is Apple's standard AirPods case, not the optional Qi wireless charging case that Apple introduced with the second-gen AirPods. However, that's always been an optional accessory that you can get for $79 and enables you to charge the case and the AirPods themselves with any Qi-compatible wireless charging pads.

Walmart also has the Apple Watch Series 3 at a new low price of $129 (38mm, while the 42mm models are $159). The two-year-old Apple Watch may be considered ancient by some, but it has most of the features that made the Apple Watch the most dominant smartwatch on the market. It's a stellar daily activity and workout tracker thanks to its continuous heart rate monitor, built-in GPS, and water-resistant design, plus it has a bunch of customizable watch faces and a solid 18-hour battery life. It also supports watchOS 6, the latest software for the Apple Watch, so it will have new features including enhanced Siri, Activity Trends, Hearing Health, menstrual cycle tracking, and the on-watch App Store.

What it won't have are the hardware differences between it and the Apple Watch Series 4 and Series 5 models. The biggest new feature is arguably Apple's ECG app, which lets you take individual ECG measurements that can help detect instances of irregular heart beat or atrial fibrillation. An improved accelerometer and other internal sensors also allow the Series 4 and Series 5 Watches to detect when you've fallen and need emergency assistance, and the provide generally improved performance as well. Series 5 Watches also have a new always-on Retina display, but in most other cases, those devices aren't radically different from their Series 4 counterparts.

The Apple Watch Series 3 represented a pivotal moment in the history of Apple's main wearable. Not only was it the first Apple Watch with optional LTE, but it was the first model that truly had all of the "necessary" features of a smartwatch—and Apple executed those features very well. While the Series 4 and Series 5 Watch have many convenient and useful improvements, the Series 3 is remains a great smartwatch made better by watchOS 6. At this Black Friday price of $129, it's a great deal for anyone who wants the best smartwatch for iPhone users and one of the best smartwatches you can get, period.

In addition to the AirPods and Apple Watch Series 3 deals, Walmart also has a number of other early Black Friday deals available right now. Apple's newest iPad is on sale for $249, which is $80 off its regular price of $329. The most popular Instant Pot model is on sale right now for $49.99 as well, and there are numerous Playstation and Xbox bundles on sale as well. Check out the full list below.

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Note: Ars Technica may earn compensation for sales from links on this post through affiliate programs.

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2019-11-28 03:33:06Z
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Rabu, 27 November 2019

U.S. third-quarter GDP growth revised up to 2.1% - Yahoo Finance

A container ship is shown at port in Long Beach, California

WASHINGTON, (Reuters) - U.S. economic growth picked up slightly in the third quarter, rather than slowing as initially reported, amid a stronger pace of inventory accumulation and a less steep decline in business investment.

Gross domestic product increased at a 2.1% annualized rate, the Commerce Department said in its second estimate of third-quarter GDP on Wednesday. That was up from the 1.9% pace estimated last month.

The economy grew at a 2.0% pace in the April-June period. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast third-quarter GDP growth would be unrevised at 1.9%.

When measured from the income side, the economy grew at a 2.4% rate in the last quarter. Gross domestic income (GDI) increased at a rate of 0.9% in the second quarter. The income side of the growth ledger accelerated despite a drop in profits.

After-tax profits without inventory valuation and capital consumption adjustment, which corresponds to S&P 500 profits, decreased $11.3 billion, or at a rate of 0.6%, as they were held down by legal settlements with Facebook and Google. Profits increased at a 3.3% rate in the second quarter.

The average of GDP and GDI, also referred to as gross domestic output and considered a better measure of economic activity, increased at a 2.3% rate in the July-September period, quickening from a 1.4% growth pace in the second quarter.

There are signs the economy slowed early in the fourth quarter amid a cooling in consumer spending and a deepening downturn in business investment.

The Trump administration's trade war with China has eroded business confidence, contributing to the second straight quarterly contraction in business investment. The fading stimulus from last year's $1.5 trillion tax cut package is also sapping momentum from the expansion, now in its 11th year.

Growth has slowed from the 3.1% rate notched in the first three months of the year. But the risks of a recession in the near term have subsided as the housing market has rebounded from last year's soft patch, driven by lower mortgage rates.

The Federal Reserve last month cut interest rates for the third time this year and signaled a pause in the easing cycle that started in July when it reduced borrowing costs for the first time since 2008.

Growth in consumer spending, which accounts for more than two-thirds of U.S. economic activity, was unrevised at a 2.9% rate in the third quarter.

Consumer spending is being supported by the lowest unemployment rate in nearly 50 years. But moderating job growth, ebbing consumer confidence and stalling wage gains are raising doubts about the consumer's resilience.

Business investment dropped at a 2.7% rate in the third quarter, rather than contracting at a 3.0% pace as previously reported. The declines in spending on nonresidential structures such as mining exploration, shafts and wells, were not as steep as previously estimated.

Inventories increased at a $79.8 billion pace instead of the $69.0 billion pace reported last month.


(Reporting by Lucia Mutikani Editing by Paul Simao)

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2019-11-27 13:39:00Z
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US durable goods orders rebound in October, rising 0.6% - CNBC

Household appliances for sale at a Home Depot in Chicago.

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Orders to U.S. factories for big-ticket manufactured goods rebounded last month on a surge in demand for military aircraft.

The Commerce Department says orders for durable goods — which are meant to last at least three years — rose 0.6% in October after dropping 1.4% in September. Orders for military aircraft soared 18.1%. Excluding defense, durable goods orders blipped up 0.1%.

The numbers reflected a strike at General Motors, settled in late October. Orders for cars and auto parts fell 1.9% in October and 2.9% in September.

American manufacturing has been hurt by a trade war with China and a slowing global economy. Overall October orders were better than economists had expected.

In addition, a closely watched category that tracks business investment rose 1.2% last month after dropping in September.

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2019-11-27 13:31:00Z
CAIiELHk56sFFK6PhedOxAtrX8cqGQgEKhAIACoHCAow2Nb3CjDivdcCMIvwngY

US growth revised higher to 2.1% in third quarter - Fox Business

The U.S. economy grew more quickly than expected in the three months through September, according to new figures published by the Commerce Department on Wednesday.

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Gross domestic product increased at a 2.1 percent annualized rate, the government said in its second reading of third-quarter GDP. That was higher than its original estimate of 1.9 percent last month; analysts surveyed by Refinitiv also expected the measure to remain unrevised from the preliminary reading.

MILLENNIALS' 'TROUBLING' HEALTH HABITS COULD HAVE ALARMING EFFECT ON US ECONOMY

The upward revision was largely the result of stronger inventory and business investment.

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At the beginning of the year, the U.S. economy grew at a torrid 3.1 percent rate, but has weakened substantially over the year -- largely a result of the U.S.-China trade war.

“The trade conflict with China represents the main risk to U.S. growth,” said Agathe Demarais, global forecasting director at the Economist Intelligence Unit. And if the world’s two largest economies fail to sign a phase one trade deal by mid-December, suspending billions of dollars in planned tariffs, “growth would decelerate more sharply than we currently expect.”

Still, the holiday shopping season, which is expected to be relatively healthy thanks to solid job growth and strong consumer spending, could boost economic growth.

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2019-11-27 13:29:53Z
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Toys R Us is back. Here's a look inside its first new store - CNBC

Hoping to bring back feelings of childhood nostalgia this holiday season? If you're lucky enough to be near one of two cities, you'll have the chance to go to a Toys R Us store again.

Two smaller-format, permanent Toys R Us stores are about to open. The first debuts Saturday at Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield's Garden State Plaza mall in Paramus, New Jersey. And a second will open in early December at Simon Property Group's The Galleria in Houston.

It marks the Toys R Us brand's return to bricks-and-mortar retail after the company was forced to liquidate last year, shuttering its entire fleet of stores. Tru Kids, the revitalized brand's parent company, has since teamed up with Target to relaunch Toys R Us' website.

"We wanted to make sure that everywhere you turned in the store there was interactivity," said Richard Barry, president and CEO of Tru Kids, in an interview at the Paramus store. "We have an amazing number of digital experiences throughout the store, but we also have good old analog [experiences]. ... Take the products out of the boxes and kids will be able to get their hands on them."

The Toys R Us location in Paramus spans about 6,000 square feet. It will be staffed with roughly a dozen toy pros, who are trained to test toys with kids and their parents, and help shoppers order items online that they don't see in the store.

Barry said Toys R Us would take upwards of 10,000 square feet per store in the future, as it scouts additional real estate.

"We believe that Toys R Us was renowned, and customers really saw us as the experts in the space," said Barry. "And we want to make sure we deliver on that, but in a very different way than we were before, because this is a ... high-touch, experiential store."

Tru Kids announced in July that it would be teaming up with software retailer b8ta to open stores again, beginning with two in the U.S. ahead of the holiday season. It's still planning to open 10 stores nationwide in 2020, which could include a larger New York flagship.

B8ta, which has more than a dozen of its own stores in malls around the country, including the new Hudson Yards in New York, is helping the Toys R Us brand lease out space to various toy brands in the store. It has also installed dozens of sensors in the ceilings of the Paramus and Houston stores that will monitor traffic patterns and shopper cadence, among other metrics, to give brands and Tru Kids feedback on how the spaces are performing.

B8ta's in-house technology platform, which is also powering pop-up marketplaces within some Macy's stores, has worked with top toy brands like Lego and Nerf to help them create their own mini boutiques within the new Toys R Us shops.

Here's a first look inside the new Toys R Us store at the Garden State Plaza mall in Paramus, New Jersey.

There are roughly 1,500 items for sale in a single store.

Source: Lauren Thomas, CNBC

From hot brands like LOL Surprise...

Source: Lauren Thomas, CNBC

To older favorites like Steiff.

Source: Lauren Thomas, CNBC

Four brands — Lego, Nintendo, Nerf and Paw Patrol — have larger boutiques in the store to show off a wider array of merchandise.

Source: Lauren Thomas, CNBC

In the Nerf shop, shoppers can try out items in a test shooting range.

Source: Lauren Thomas, CNBC

There's a tree house in the middle of the store for kids to climb.

Source: Lauren Thomas, CNBC

Toys R Us also has a small event space in the store, where people can hold birthday parties.

Source: Lauren Thomas, CNBC

And it will have weekly programmed events there.

Source: Lauren Thomas, CNBC

Here's a look at one of the tracking sensors in the ceiling, installed by b8ta.

Source: Lauren Thomas, CNBC

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2019-11-27 13:00:00Z
CAIiEABi-6Bi3GmTOsnc4kgUB2kqGQgEKhAIACoHCAow2Nb3CjDivdcCMJ_d7gU

These stores are closed on Thanksgiving Day: Report - Fox Business

If you're looking to get a head start on Black Friday shopping -- or if you have to pick up something last minute on Thanksgiving Day -- be careful you don't go to one of the many major retailers that are closing their doors for the holiday.

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According to PwC's Holiday Outlook 2019 report, 22 percent of people will shop online and in-store on Thanksgiving Day. The report also found that 32 percent of holiday shoppers plan to just shop online and 17 percent plan to go in-store.

Costco is among the major retailers that won't be open on Thanksgiving Day.

MACY'S SLASHES OUTLOOK AFTER STEEPER THAN EXPECTED SALES SLOWDOWN

Meanwhile, 24 percent don't plan to shop at all on Thanksgiving Day, PwC found.

If you're among those shoppers who want to browse the shelves in-store and get early deals on gifts, here’s a list of retailers to avoid, according to reports from USA Today and BestBlackFriday.com.

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Academy Sports + Outdoors

Ace Hardware

Aldi

Ann Taylor

Apple stores -- with the exception of the Fifth Avenue location in New York City, which closes for an hour on Thanksgiving night.

At Home

Barnes & Noble

Bealls Florida

BJ's Wholesale Club

Bloomingdale’s

Bob's Discount Furniture

Boscov's 

Burlington

Costco

Crate & Barrel

Dillard's

Fleet Farm

Guitar Center

H&M

Half Price Books

Harbor Freight

Hobby Lobby

Home Depot

HomeGoods

Ikea

Jo-Ann

Lids

Lowe’s

Marshalls

Menards

Neiman Marcus

Nordstrom

Nordstrom Rack

Office Depot and OfficeMax

Petco

Petsmart

Pier 1

Publix

REI

Sam's Club

Sears 

Shoe Carnival

Sierra Trading Post

Staples

Stein Mart

T.J.Maxx

The Container Store

Trader Joe's

True Value

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2019-11-27 12:08:14Z
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Stocks look set for new records on US-China trade harmony - Fox Business

US stocks pointed higher on Wednesday morning before Thanksgiving after setting fresh highs on Tuesday, spurred by optimism over trade talks between the U.S. and China.

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Investors are awaiting fresh U.S. home sales data, a key measure of inflation, and Washington’s latest quarterly estimate of economic growth.

Investors have grown more hopeful over trade negotiations as the world’s two economies keep their rhetoric in check. The latest signals indicating that China and the U.S. are making progress toward a deal on trade have been particularly encouraging, as new U.S. tariffs are set to hit Dec. 15 on many Chinese-made items on holiday shopping checklists, such as smartphones and laptops.

EXCLUSIVE: FORMER FED CHAIRMAN EXPLAINS WHY MARKETS ARE BOOMING DESPITE TRADE WAR

Investors hoping that Washington and Beijing can agree on terms of a deal that halts their trade dispute, or at least stops it from escalating.

President Donald Trump said Tuesday that “We’re in the final throes of a very important deal. I guess you could say one of the most important deals in trade ever.”

That followed an announcement by China’s Commerce Ministry that said negotiators for both sides had spoken on the phone and agreed to more talks aimed at reaching a deal. The latest development came a day after China announced new guidelines for the protection of patents and copyrights, which has been a key issue in the dispute.

While most of the news on trade tensions between Washington and Beijing pointed toward progress, the Department of Commerce on Tuesday announced a plan to begin requiring case-by-case approvals of all purchases by telecommunications companies of equipment that might pose a security risk.

The move follows an order by President Donald Trump in May declaring a national emergency as a first step toward barring such deals. Major telecoms gear suppliers like China’s Huawei Technologies and ZTE Corp. would likely be the hardest hit. The Commerce Department proposal could complicate efforts to clinch the trade deal.

DOW SCORES 100TH RECORD CLOSE UNDER TRUMP

The risk is “optimists are getting ahead of themselves on hopes of a US-China trade deal,” Mizuho Bank said in a commentary. “And not merely because the details of a 'Phase-1' deal may end up disappointing. Instead, the bigger risk is an augmented form of ‘bait and switch’ with regards to U.S.-China trade conflict; where investors seduced by a rapidly progressing 'Phase-1' trade deal are blind-sided by the escalating tech tensions between the U.S. and China.”

GLOBAL STOCKS

Britain’s FTSE 100 gained 0.3% to 7,423.42 while the CAC 40 in France edged 0.1% lower to 5,924.05. Germany’s DAX lost less than 0.1% to 13,229.04. Wall Street looked set for a tepid start, with the future contract for the Dow Jones Industrial Average almost unchanged at 28,126.00. The future for the S&P 500 inched 0.1% higher to 3,145.60.

In Asian trading, Japan’s Nikkei 225 advanced 0.3% to 23,437.77 while the S&P ASX 200 in Australia climbed 0.9% to 6,850.60. South Korea’s Kospi gained 0.3% to 2,127.85. The Hang Seng in Hong Kong rose 0.2% to 26,954.00. The Shanghai Composite index lost 0.1% to 2,903.19, while India’s Sensex added 0.2% to 40,910.06.

Shares fell in Malaysia but rose in Taiwan and elsewhere in Southeast Asia.

Overnight on Wall Street, the S&P 500 index rose 0.2% to 3,140.52, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.2% to 28,121.68. The Nasdaq composite added 0.2% to 8,647.93. The Russell 2000 index of smaller company stocks picked up 0.1% to 1,624.23.

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The major stock indexes are on track for strong gains this year. The S&P 500 is up by more than 25%, while the Dow is up by more than 20%. The Nasdaq, meanwhile, is now up by more than 30%.

Surprisingly good corporate earnings, solid economic data, interest-rate cuts by the Federal Reserve and more optimism on the part of investors about the prospects for a U.S.-China trade deal have helped spur the market higher since late October.

In energy trading, benchmark crude oil lost 5 cents to $58.36 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It rose 40 cents to settle at $58.41 a barrel. Brent crude oil, the international standard, lost 3 cents to $63.18 per barrel.

The dollar rose to 109.17 Japanese yen from 109.03 yen on Tuesday. The euro slipped to $1.1006 from $1.1021.

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2019-11-27 10:15:15Z
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