The combined value of distributive trade sales and manufacturers’ shipments for October, adjusted for seasonal and trading-day differences but not for price changes, was estimated at $1,400.8 billion, up 0.6% from September and up 6.5% from October 2016, the Census Bureau announced.

Advance estimates of U.S. retail and food services sales for November, adjusted for seasonal variation and holiday and trading-day differences, but not for price changes, were $492.7 billion, an increase of 0.8% from the previous month and 5.8% above November 2016. Total sales for the September through November period were up 5.2% from the same period a year ago. Retail trade sales were up 0.8% from October, and were up 6.3% from last year. Gasoline Stations were up 12.2% from November 2016, while Building Materials and Garden Equipment and Supplies Dealers were up 10.7% from last year.

In the week ending December 9, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims for unemployment insurance was 225,000, a decrease of 11,000 from the previous week’s unrevised level of 236,000, the Labor Department reported. The four-week moving average was 234,750, a decrease of 6,750 from the previous week’s unrevised average of 241,500.

The average interest rate for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage is 3.93%, down from 3.94% one week ago, according to Freddie Mac. The average interest rate for a 15-year fixed-rate mortgage is unchanged at 3.36%.

Thursday, the Dow decreased 76.77 points (0.31%) to 24,508.66, the NASDAQ was down 19.27 points (0.28%) at 6,856.53, and the S&P 500 closed 10.84 points (0.41%) lower at 2,652.01. The Russell 2000 fell 17.50 points (1.15%) to 1,506.95, and the Wilshire 5000 lost 123.72 points (0.45%) to finish at 27,503.09.

The price of the 10-year Treasury note was down 3/32, increasing its yield up to 2.352%. The price of the 30-year Treasury bond was up 10/32, decreasing its yield to 2.708%.

ON THIS DATE: In 1654, a meteorological office established in Tuscany began recording daily temperature readings. In 1791, in the U.S., the first ten amendments to the Constitution, known as the Bill of Rights, went into effect following ratification by the state of Virginia. In 1854, in Philadelphia, the first street cleaning machine was put into use. In 1877, Thomas Edison patented the phonograph. In 1890, American Sioux Indian Chief Sitting Bull and 11 other tribe members were killed in Grand River, South Dakota, during an incident with Indian police working for the U.S. government. In 1938, U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt presided over the ground-breaking ceremonies for the Jefferson Memorial in Washington, D.C. In 1939, “Gone With the Wind,” produced by David O. Selznick based on the novel by Margaret Mitchell, premiered at Loew’s Grand Theater in Atlanta. In 1961, the U.N. General Assembly voted against a Soviet proposal to admit Communist China as a member. In 1966, Walter Elias “Walt” Disney died in Los Angeles at the age of 65. In 1978, U.S. President Jimmy Carter announced he would grant diplomatic recognition to Communist China on New Year’s Day and sever official relations with Taiwan. In 1996, Boeing Co. announced plans to pay $13.3 billion to acquire rival aircraft manufacturer McDonnell Douglas Corp. In 1997, the San Francisco 49ers retired Joe Montana’s number 16 during halftime of a game against the Denver Broncos.

In Wolverhampton, England, a not so bright YouTuber’s friends ended up calling police when their video stunt went terribly wrong. According to the BBC, a man had his friends cement his head, which was protected by a plastic bag, inside a microwave. The mixture set quickly and the man’s friends tried for an hour and a half to free him. They did manage to get a tube into his mouth to help him breathe. After calling firefighters, it took the rescuers about an hour to get him free.

In Milwaukee, Wisconsin, when officers tried to pull over a man in a minivan, he fled, starting a chase that reached 100 mph. The chase ended when the driver crashed his minivan down an embankment. According to the Associated Press, the driver told officers he crashed his vehicle because he was checking his cell phone.

In Edmond, Oklahoma, parents were confounded about why their baby’s pacifiers kept going missing. Then, one of the baby’s grandmothers saw the family’s dog take one off a counter. The Associated Press reports that a trip to the veterinarian and resulting surgery revealed the dog had 21 pacifiers lodged in her stomach.


In Plymouth, England, a 38-year-old man takes pride in the fact that his Christmas tree lights are a decade older than he is. The man says his mom bought the lights back in 1969 for 3 pounds―the equivalent of around $58 in 2017. Although the lights came with a spare set of bulbs, the man says he’s never needed to replace them, according to the British news agency South West News Service.

Have a wonderful weekend!