Posted by 1/ US ‘Black Friday’ sales look awfully strong. Sales were up ~7%y/y, and electronic sales up ~24%y/y
A word of caution on the Black Friday sales: good doesn’t mean bullet-proof. The last time Black Friday sales were this strong was an ~8% surge in 2007 — just at the edge of the prior recession (the the NBER judges that US economy slipped into recession in December 2007).
Sometimes, when folks are desperate for the sales, it’s because they are feeling desperate.
In other news, Belgium got a budget – and maybe even a Government.
ricardian ambivalence 