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The implications of this policy shift are far-reaching and have already reverberated through the financial markets. Investors are closely monitoring the government's actions and statements for clues about the future direction of economic policy. The shift towards a more "proactive" and "prudent" approach has raised hopes of a more sustainable and balanced growth path for China's economy.Consumers in the United States scoured the internet for online deals as they looked to take advantage of the post-Thanksgiving shopping marathon with Cyber Monday. Even though e-commerce is now part and parcel of many people's regular routines and the holiday shopping season, Cyber Monday — a term coined in 2005 by the National Retail Federation — has become the biggest online shopping day of the year, thanks to the deals and the hype the industry has created to fuel it. Adobe Analytics, which tracks online shopping, expected consumers to spend $13.2 billion Monday — a record, and 6.1% more than last year. That would make it the biggest shopping day for e-commerce for the season — and the year. Online spending was expected to peak between the hours of 8 p.m. and 10 p.m. on Monday night, per Adobe — reaching an estimated $15.7 million spent every minute. For several major retailers, a Cyber Monday sale is a dayslong event that began over the Thanksgiving weekend. An Amazon Prime delivery person lifts packages while making a stop Nov. 28, 2023, in Denver. Amazon kicked off its sales event right after midnight Pacific time on Saturday. Target's two days of discount offers on its website and app began overnight Sunday. Walmart rolled out its Cyber Monday offers for Walmart+ members Sunday afternoon and opened it up to all customers three hours later, at 8 p.m. Eastern time. Consumer spending for Cyber Week — the five major shopping days between Thanksgiving and Cyber Monday — provides a strong indication of how much shoppers are willing to spend for the holidays. Many U.S. consumers continue to experience sticker shock after the period of post-pandemic inflation, which left prices for many goods and services higher than they were three years ago. But retail sales nonetheless remain strong, and the economy kept growing at a healthy pace. At the same time, credit card debt and delinquencies are rising. More shoppers than ever are also on track to use "buy now, pay later" plans this holiday season, which allows them to delay payments on holiday decor, gifts and other items. Many economists also warned that President-elect Donald Trump's plan to impose tariffs next year on foreign goods coming into the United States would lead to higher prices on everything from food to clothing to automobiles. A FedEx delivery person carries a package from a truck Nov. 17, 2022, in Denver. The National Retail Federation expects holiday shoppers to spend more this year both in stores and online than last year. But the pace of spending growth will slow slightly, the trade group said, growing 2.5% to 3.5% — compared to 3.9% in 2023. A clear sense of consumer spending patterns during the holiday season won't emerge until the government releases sales data for the period, but some preliminary data from other sources shows some encouraging signs for retailers. Vivek Pandya, lead analyst at Adobe Digital Insights, noted that discounts from Thanksgiving onward "exceeded expectations" and online spending throughout Cyber Week is on track to cross a record $40 billion mark combined. U.S. shoppers spent $10.8 billion online on Black Friday, a 10.2% increase over last year, according to Adobe Analytics. That's also more than double what consumers spent in 2017, when Black Friday pulled in about $5 billion in online sales. Consumers also spent a record $6.1 billion online on Thanksgiving Day, Adobe said. Meanwhile, software company Salesforce, which also tracks online shopping, estimated that Black Friday online sales totaled $17.5 billion in the U.S. and $74.4 billion globally. Mastercard SpendingPulse, which tracks in-person and online spending, reported that overall Black Friday sales excluding automotive rose 3.4% from a year ago. A United Parcel Service driver sorts deliveries July 15, 2023, on New York's Upper West Side. E-commerce platform Shopify said its merchants raked in a record $5 billion in sales worldwide on Black Friday. At its peak, sales reached $4.6 million per minute — with top categories by volume including clothing, cosmetics and fitness products, according to the Canadian company. Toys, electronics, home goods, self-care and beauty categories were among the key drivers of holiday spending on Thanksgiving and Black Friday, according to Adobe. "Hot products" included Lego sets, espresso machines, fitness trackers, makeup and skin care. Other data showed physical stores saw fewer customers on Black Friday, underscoring how the huge crowds that were once synonymous with the day after Thanksgiving are now more than happy to shop from the comfort of their homes. RetailNext, which measures real-time foot traffic in stores, said its early data showed store traffic on Friday was down 3.2% in the U.S. compared to last year, with the biggest dip happening in the Midwest. Sensormatic Solutions, which also tracks store traffic, said its preliminary analysis showed retail store traffic on Black Friday was down 8.2% compared to 2023. Grant Gustafson, head of retail consulting and analytics at Sensormatic Solutions, noted that in-store traffic was getting spread across multiple days since many retailers offered generous discounts before and after Black Friday. "Some of the extended Black Friday promotions really ended up leading to a little bit of a softer day-of traffic than expected," Gustafson said. In 2024, staying small on purpose seems to be paying off big for small businesses. They're keeping operations small and targeting niche, highly specialized customers. And some business owners find this strategy results in more time, energy, and money to intentionally capitalize on unique, small cap opportunities. The data tells the story of growth in small businesses for the year. According to NEXT , the Small Business Administration (SBA) reports awarding 38,000 SBA 7(a) loans under $150,000: double the amount they awarded in 2020. Here are the related small-business trends paying off in 2024. Commercial real estate agent Ryan Beckenhauer of Market Real Estate in Boulder, Colorado, has noticed that small businesses are growing smaller, and that their office and warehouse spaces are starting to reflect that as they shop for business space. In commercial real estate, many small business owners gravitate toward industrial condos and other flexible spaces. These are small-scale industrial spaces with a 90:10 or 80:20 split of warehouse to office. "More individuals are leveraging skills acquired at larger organizations to venture out on their own," explains Beckenhauer. And he goes on to say that they don't need a large commercial space as they make that leap to start a business. His clients include engineers, consultants, builders and other tradespeople. Beckenhauer's clients like the flexibility of being out of an office and being close to their inventory and workshop space. "The clients want to see and touch the finishes," he says. Small business owners both rent or buy these spaces. But he's seeing his clients opt to own industrial condos to stabilize costs due to rent increases in Boulder. And because these spaces are smaller, it can be easier for new buyers to qualify for financing. Mariana Alvarez, owner of Controller Works , an online bookkeeping and advisory firm, has noticed that small business owners outsource financial support services because they don't want to increase headcount. "Outsourcing gives them the possibility of having access to the knowledge and the skills of a CFO without having to pay for the salary," she says. "They don't have to manage or deal with the workload, employment taxes , and all that comes with it," says Alvarez. Additionally, many small business owners in fields like construction are family-owned, and this makes it easier for business owners to hand off delicate financial work to a trusted person with financial experience. Every small business has recurring tasks that can benefit from some level of artificial intelligence automation . And Alvarez sees a lot of value in using AI for small business bookkeeping. She explains that you can automate the data entry on Quickbooks. "When you create rules, as long as you create the rules correctly, it pretty much does itself," says Alvarez. From there, you can lean on financial experts to help you analyze the data and make more informed decisions. She uses AI as a background resource when guiding her accounting clients. "I believe that we still need the human-to-human interaction that comes with more perspective for financial analysis," she explains. According to the SBA , 77% of consumers feel that human interaction is still required for a positive customer experience. People turn to small businesses every day for a human experience. According to Arvind Rongala, CEO of Edstellar , small business workers can show up for their customers but still use AI for routine tasks like customer queries. "This balance allows companies to scale their operations without losing the personal touch that makes them unique. It's important to remember that AI isn't there to replace the human element—it's there to enhance it," he says. "By really focusing on one very small weakness that Amazon has, I've been able to carve out a successful business by offering something different," says Lou Harvey owner of Tank Retailer , a retailer of commercial water and fuel tanks. "When you read our customer reviews, many of them actually mention me by name because of how much we focus on customer service and go the extra mile." One of Harvey's most successful business strategies this year has been to lean into his small, niche market and offer the kind of customer experience that large retailers like Amazon don't. "Any small weaknesses that Amazon has (however small those weaknesses may be) needs to become a strength of a smaller business focusing on a niche market," says Harvey. Harvey has his company's customer service phone number front and center on the website to help earn customer trust. "I prominently feature our phone number, and a real person always answers the phone (usually it's me)," says Harvey. Lucie Voves, CEO and founder of Church Hill Classics , an online, woman-owned diploma framing company that uses sustainable materials, has noticed an uptick in customers seeking services from a business on a mission. "This year, we've seen a growing inclination for consumers to actively seek out and support small businesses owned by women and minorities," says Voves. When consumers shop small, they choose to make their dollars count. "Customers are fueled by a desire to promote social impact through purchasing power," says Voves. Long gone are the days of online retailers "building it and they will come." In 2024 we've seen more small businesses than ever turn to social commerce to sell directly on social media platforms like Instagram Shopping , Facebook Marketplace , and TikTok . Small business owners are turning toward influencers, social media ads, and organic content to target their customers. Mike Vannelli of Envy Creative creates online ads for businesses, and he has seen his clients succeed on TikTok of late. "I've seen businesses, especially in retail, use TikTok's short-form video format to make their products go viral. Think of it as word-of-mouth marketing on steroids," says Vannelli. He uses the platform's algorithm to push a company's content to the right audiences, and it works because TikTok loves storytelling. "I know small brands that use behind-the-scenes videos, customer testimonials, and even playful challenges that tap into trends to humanize their products and build trust," explains Vannelli. To stand out on TikTok, he says, smaller brands need to embrace authenticity and emotional connection. Show your team, share your journey, and involve your community in content creation. This story was produced by NEXT and reviewed and distributed by Stacker. Get the latest local business news delivered FREE to your inbox weekly.

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It’s one thing for a president to pardon his son. It’s another to do it like this. President Joe Biden’s pardon of his son , Hunter Biden, on Monday (AEDT) is exceptional not just because of the pardon’s recipient – the closest family member to receive a pardon in history – but also for its sheer breadth, according to experts on presidential pardons. President Joe Biden accompanied by his son Hunter Biden in Nantucket over the Thanksgiving holiday. Credit: AP Biden didn’t just pardon his son for his convictions on tax and gun charges , but for any “offences against the United States which he has committed or may have committed or taken part in during the period from January 1, 2014, through December 1, 2024”. That’s a nearly 11-year period during which any federal crime Hunter Biden might have committed – and there are none we are aware of beyond what has already been adjudicated – can’t be prosecuted. It notably covers when he was appointed to the board of the Ukrainian energy company Burisma in 2014 all the way through to Sunday, well after the crimes for which he was prosecuted. Hunter Biden hasn’t been charged for his activities regarding Burisma or anything beyond his convictions, and nothing in the public record suggests criminal charges could be around the bend. Congressional Republicans have probed the Burisma matter and Hunter Biden extensively and could seemingly have uncovered chargeable crimes if they existed, but haven’t done so. Hunter Biden after pleading guilty to federal tax charges in September. Credit: AP Even still, the scope of the pardon is remarkable. Experts say there is little to no precedent for a pardon covering such a wide range of activity over such a long period, with the closest being Gerald Ford’s 1974 pardon of Richard Nixon after Nixon resigned post-Watergate. Hunter Biden’s pardon “isn’t tied to any special counsel investigation or charging document,” Sam Morison, who spent 13 years working for the Justice Department’s Office of the Pardon Attorney, said via email. “The only pardon grant that comes close is Ford’s pardon of Nixon for any crimes he may have committed from 1969 to 1974, which on its face would have included crimes (if any) unrelated to Watergate.” Experts pointed to several broad, preemptive and blanket pardons that bear similarities to the one covering Hunter Biden. But they also feature some key differences. The language of the Nixon pardon cited crimes he “has committed or may have committed” between January 20, 1969, and August 9, 1974 – language similar to Hunter Biden’s pardon. Pardoned: Former US president Richard Nixon became infamous for the Watergate scandal. Credit: AP As noted, that is not Watergate-specific, and the dates cover Nixon’s entire presidency. But it’s a period roughly half as long as that covered under Hunter Biden’s pardon. There’s also the fact that some of Nixon’s actions might already have been exempt from prosecution by virtue of his role as president – something Hunter Biden doesn’t benefit from. In 1976 Jimmy Carter pardoned most of those who dodged the Vietnam War draft between August 4, 1964, and March 28, 1973. That covered a large group of people, but the pardon was only for violating the Military Selective Service Act and related regulations. Other presidents have also issued blanket amnesties for large groups of people tied to specific events or specific crimes. Benjamin Harrison did so in 1893 for Mormon polygamists, noting that they had “abstained from such unlawful cohabitation” by 1890. But that was, likewise, for a specific crime. US President Andrew Johnson pardoned 13,000 former Confederate soldiers. Credit: LOC Andrew Johnson issued individual pardons for 13,000 Confederate soldiers after the Civil War, granting them clemency for “all offences by him committed, arising from participation, direct or implied” in the rebellion. “These individual pardons were issued by Johnson throughout his term, and particularly during its first two years,” Frank O. Bowman III, a pardon expert at the University of Missouri School of Law, said in an email. “Hence, they reached back some 6–8 years.” George Washington did so in 1794 for participants of the Whiskey Rebellion, a tax revolt in Pennsylvania . The pardoned conduct was broad – the pardon was for those who had “directly or indirectly engaged in the wicked and unhappy tumults and disturbances lately” and encompassed residents of several counties – but it was at least tied to one event. A couple of other more recent examples that involve pardoning figures for crimes committed in high-profile scandals bear some similarities to the Hunter Biden pardon. Michael Flynn was pardoned by Donald Trump at the end of his first presidency. Credit: AP George H.W. Bush in 1992 pardoned six figures in the Iran-contra affair, including former defence secretary Caspar Weinberger, “for all offences charged or prosecuted by Independent Counsel Lawrence E. Walsh or other member of his office, or committed by these individuals and within the jurisdiction of that office”. And now-President-elect Donald Trump in 2020 pardoned former national security adviser Michael Flynn for “any and all possible offences” arising from facts or circumstances that were “in any matter related” to special counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia investigation. Broad clemency The latter went even further than the former, by pardoning Flynn for conduct even just somehow related to the special counsel’s investigation. At the time, some experts regarded it as the broadest act of clemency since Nixon’s pardon. “Flynn’s pardon was broad, to be sure, but not nearly as broad as Hunter’s,” Morison said. There is some question about whether such a broad pardon for unspecified crimes is constitutional, an issue that arose when reports indicated Trump might preemptively pardon family members at the tail end of his first term. The Nixon pardon was not tested in court. But the Supreme Court said amid Johnson’s post-Civil War pardons that a president’s pardon power “extends to every offence known to the law, and may be exercised at any time after its commission, either before legal proceedings are taken or during their pendency or after conviction and judgment.” There is some subjectivity in comparing these pardons. Hunter Biden’s known actions come up well shy of the magnitude of participating in a rebellion against the United States or some of the high-profile scandals mentioned above, for example. And it’s worth emphasising how extraordinarily political many of Trump’s pardons were – granting clemency to numerous political allies and several people wrapped up in investigations involving Trump, including Flynn. Trump surely stretched the bounds of presidential pardon power. But there’s no question that Biden’s exercise of his pardon power also stretched those bounds - and on behalf of his son, no less. “The Nixon pardon is the only precedent in modern times for such a broad pardon, which purports to insulate Hunter Biden from prosecution for crimes that have not even been charged,” said Margaret Love, who served as US pardon attorney under George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton. “Some of the Trump pardons were also disruptive of ongoing prosecutions,” Love said, adding that they were at least “directed to specific charged conduct”. Washington Post

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