Thanksgiving Continues to Grow This Year

The list of U.S. retailers to remain closed on Thanksgiving continues to grow this year as they give their workers a break and maintain their reputations. Retailers are now pushing back against the "Black Friday creep", where retailers open for business on Thanksgiving. A Sam's Club spokeswoman said that they "want their associates to have that time to spend with their families, while their customers wanted to spend the day with their loved ones." However, Radio Shack announced it will opening its doors at 8:00am on Thanksgiving as the struggling electronics store looks to increase sales.

D.R. Horton, the largest U.S. home builder, reported today that quarterly revenues from home sales rose by 33% in its latest earnings report to $2.40 billion, which was above the $2.38 billion expected. In addition, the number of homes sold jumped by 25% to 8,612 units - the company caters to those purchasing their first or second homes. Within the report it showed that the home builder had earnings per share of 45 cents, which was below the 48 cents that was estimated.

After a brief pause in October, U.S. Stock markets are trading at all-time highs with the closely watched S&P 500 Index hitting 39 new closing highs in 2014 versus 45 in 2013. The index is now up 10% for the year after rising by a staggering 31% in 2013. In addition, it is up over 200% since the low of 666 seen on March 9, 2009, which was the height of the great Recession. The meteoric rise in Stocks has been due to a recovering job and housing market along with an economic recovery, which has been due in part to the various stimulus programs enacted by the U.S. Federal Reserve. The S&P is now at 2,037.