MARKET WRAPS
STOCKS: Stocks finished mixed after weekly jobless data.
TREASURYS: Treasury yields rose after data showed layoffs falling in the U.S.
FOREX: The U.S. dollar ticked up as traders weighed mixed signals from the jobs market.
COMMODITIES: Oil futures rose as the war in Ukraine showed no signs of relenting.
HEADLINES
Jobless Claims Fell to New Recent Low Per Labor Department
Newly filed unemployment claims last week dropped to the lowest level in three years, the Labor Department said Thursday, a reassuring signal that the economy avoided a big surge of layoffs through the first 11 months of the year.
About 191,000 Americans filed for new unemployment benefits in the week through Nov. 29, a drop from 218,000 a week earlier and the fewest since September 2022. Economists surveyed by The Wall Street Journal had anticipated 220,000 new claims.
Continuing claims, which track with the total size of the unemployed population, were 1.94 million in the week through Nov. 22, down slightly from a week earlier. Those data lag the initial-claims numbers by a week. The continuing claims tally has gradually moved higher this year, a sign of slower hiring that has prolonged job searches.
Paramount Raises Concerns About Netflix's Bid for Warner Bros. Discovery
The fight for the future of Warner Bros. Discovery is getting messy.
Paramount took aim at rival Netflix's bid in a Monday letter to Warner Discovery's lawyers, saying a sale to Netflix would likely "never close" due to regulatory challenges here and abroad, given its global dominance.
Paramount has been arguing that it offers the cleanest regulatory path to closing compared with Netflix and Comcast, the other two suitors who submitted second round bids Monday.
Dollar General Lifts Outlook on Growing Demand
Dollar General said its lower-income customers are feeling increasingly stressed, as they are making more frequent shopping trips and buying fewer items per visit.
Despite some incremental pressures, though, consumers continue to spend on everyday items such as food and household supplies, as well as seasonal products, home decor and apparel. That resilience helped boost the discount retailer's profit and sales during the third quarter and prompted the company to raise its full-year outlook.
Shares were recently up 10%, to $120.76, on pace for their highest close since August 2024 and extending their more than 50% gain over the past year.
Trump Tightens Work Permits for Migrants, Expanding Crackdown on Legal Immigration
Work permits issued to immigrants who have applied for asylum or a range of other humanitarian programs will now be valid for 18 months rather than five years, under a new policy announced Thursday by the Trump administration.
By forcing immigrants to renew their work permits more often, the government will have more opportunities to re-vet them, said Joe Edlow, director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, the agency which handles most legal immigration applications.
Edlow framed the change, which reverses a Biden-era policy, as the latest action by the administration to crack down on legal immigration in response to the shooting last week in Washington, D.C., of two National Guard members. Federal officials allege the shooting was carried out by an Afghan national.
Hovnanian Enterprises Swings to Loss as Hesitant Homebuyers Squeeze Margins
Hovnanian Enterprises swung to a loss in its fiscal fourth quarter as the homebuilder is handing out more incentives to try to attract wary house-shoppers.
U.S. consumers are shying away from buying homes, as mortgage rates remain elevated and macroeconomic factors such as tariffs are creating anxiety about big-ticket purchases, Chief Executive Ara Hovnanian told analysts on a Thursday call. As a result, housing sales are slowing and the company is providing more incentives to entice customers, he said.
"Many potential buyers are still hesitant to move forward and enter contracts," Hovnanian said.
PepsiCo Nears Settlement With Activist Investor Elliott
Activist investor Elliott Investment Management is close to striking a settlement agreement with beverage and snacks giant PepsiCo, after taking a big stake in the company in September, according to people familiar with the matter.
Details of the settlement couldn't be learned. An announcement could come soon, the people added.
Elliott unveiled a roughly $4 billion stake in PepsiCo and sought engagement with the board to boost the company's flagging share price. Elliott pushed the company to refranchise its bottling operations and make other changes, such as divesting underperforming assets in its food business.
New York Times Sues Hegseth, Defense Department Over New Press Rules
The New York Times and its intelligence reporter Julian E. Barnes have sued the Trump administration, saying the Defense Department's new press rules violate their free speech and due-process rights.
The lawsuit names as defendants the Defense Department, as well as Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell. It says the policies, enacted earlier this fall, are unreasonable and chill protected speech that Department officials might not like.
The Pentagon issued a memo in September stating that reporters would need to sign a document restricting their communication with military sources. Many outlets interpreted it as requiring that they agree not to disclose classified or other sensitive information without prior authorization. The guidelines were revised in subsequent weeks, but major media organizations balked at the final version in October.
TD Bank Pushes Up Dividend After Underlying Earnings, Revenue Beat Expectations
Toronto-Dominion Bank joined other big Canadian lenders in boosting its dividend, signaling optimism despite continued economic uncertainty after TD and its rivals each notched better-than-expected results in the latest quarter.
TD, Canada's second-largest bank by market value, said Thursday it will increase its dividend 2.9% for the coming quarter despite earnings in the final quarter of fiscal 2025 being held back by restructuring and other charges as it looks to slash costs and continues with efforts to rebuild its anti-money-laundering controls. Excluding unusual costs, its earnings jumped thanks to a rise in capital-markets activity and volume growth in Canadian banking.
The Toronto-based bank, like the rest of Canada's "Big Six" lenders, maintained a strong capital position that sits well above minimum regulatory requirements and said it was aiming for adjusted growth in earnings per share in fiscal 2026 of between 6% and 8% despite lingering concerns among households and businesses over the shift in U.S. trade policy and tariffs that have disrupted global trade.
Kroger Swings to Quarterly Loss as Expenses Increase
Kroger swung to a fiscal third-quarter loss as expenses increased, though the company said it continues to make progress on its strategic priorities by improving the customer experience and building a foundation for long-term growth.
The Cincinnati supermarket chain on Thursday posted a loss of $1.32 billion, or $2.02 a share, in its third quarter ended Nov. 8. That compares with a profit of $618 million, or 85 cents a share, a year earlier.
Stripping out one-time costs, Kroger notched earnings of $1.05 a share. Analysts surveyed by FactSet expected adjusted earnings of $1.03 a share.
TALKING POINT Wall Street Wants In on the 'Trump Accounts' for Babies
It took four years-and one important poker game-but a plan to set up investment accounts for young Americans is moving forward. And Wall Street senses an opportunity.
All manner of financial institutions are vying for a role in the program, from banks such as JPMorgan Chase to brokerages such as Charles Schwab and Robinhood Markets to money managers including BlackRock.
The U.S. will seed each of the "Trump Accounts" with $1,000, costing $15 billion through 2034, and tech billionaire Michael Dell and his wife, Susan Dell, said Tuesday they would donate $6.25 billion to expand the reach of the initiative.
Participating financial firms likely would earn lower management fees than their typical rates, but the program would be a potential gateway to acquire millions of new customers the companies hope will stay with them into adulthood and grow their accounts over time.
"I've heard from a number of them that they would all love to be a part of it," Michael Dell said in an interview.
Many of the largest banks, brokers and asset managers plan to make pitches to the Treasury Department. The agency already is seeking proposals from firms including Schwab and Robinhood to oversee the Trump accounts' records and perform administrative tasks, people familiar with the matter said.
One priority for the government is to offer low-fee investment options.
--Gunjan Banerji, Alexander Saeedy and Hannah Erin Lang
Expected Major Events for Friday
00:01/UK: Nov BRC-Sensormatic IQ Footfall Monitor
05:00/JPN: Oct Indexes of Business Conditions - Preliminary Release
07:00/GER: Oct Manufacturing orders
07:00/GER: Oct Manufacturing turnover
07:00/UK: Nov Halifax House Price Index
07:45/FRA: Oct Industrial production index
07:45/FRA: Oct Foreign trade
07:45/FRA: Oct Balance of payments
09:00/ITA: Oct Retail Sales
09:30/UK: 3Q Bank of England external business statistics
13:30/CAN: Nov Labour Force Survey
15:00/US: Sep Personal Income and Outlays
15:00/US: Dec University of Michigan Survey of Consumers - preliminary
20:00/US: Oct Consumer Credit
All times in GMT. Powered by Onclusive and Dow Jones.
Expected Earnings for Friday
Bio-Path Holdings Inc $(BPTH)$ is expected to report for 3Q.
Brand House Collective Inc $(TBHC)$ is expected to report $-0.46 for 3Q.
(MORE TO FOLLOW) Dow Jones Newswires
December 04, 2025 16:45 ET (21:45 GMT)
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