U.S. Weekly Jobless Claims Pull Back Off Five-Month High

A day earlier than usual due to the holiday on Thursday, the Labor Department released a report on Wednesday showing first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits fell by more than expected in the week ended November 23rd.

The report said initial jobless claims dropped to 213,000, a decrease of 15,000 from the previous week’s revised level of 228,000.

Economists had expected jobless claims to dip to 221,000 from the 227,000 originally reported for the previous week.

The upwardly revised number of jobless claims in the previous week was the highest since the week ended June 22nd.

The Labor Department said the less volatile four-week moving average also edged down to 219,750, a decrease of 1,500 from the previous week’s revised average of 221,250.

Continuing claims, a reading on the number of people receiving ongoing unemployment assistance, also slid by 57,000 to 1.640 million in the week ended November 16th. With the drop, continuing claims hit their lowest level since August of 1973.

The four-week moving average of continuing claims also fell to 1,680,500, a decrease of 13,000 from the previous week’s revised average of 1,693,500.

Next Friday, the Labor Department is scheduled to release its more closely watched report on the employment situation in the month of November.

DRC's Ntaganda guilty of crimes against humanity, war crimes

International Criminal Court finds ex-rebel leader Ntaganda guilty of war crimes in Democratic Republic of the Congo.

International Criminal Court (ICC) judges have convicted ex-rebel leader Bosco Ntaganda of the Democratic Republic of the Congo of 18 counts of crimes against humanity and war crimes committed by rebel fighters he led 20 years ago.

The prosecution wants a 30-year prison term.

Ntaganda is the fourth person to be convicted by the ICC.

Al Jazeera’s Catherine Soi reports from Kiwanja in eastern DRC.

Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier to prioritise UK trade deal post-Brexit – FT

Nov 26 (Reuters) – The European Union’s Brexit negotiator, Michel Barnier, has told EU politicians that he will make Britain’s new trade deal with the EU a priority after Brexit, the Financial Times reported here citing people briefed on a closed-door meeting in Strasbourg on Tuesday. (Reporting by Anurag Maan in Bengaluru; Editing by Sandra Maler)

Film festival rivalry: China targets Taiwan's Golden Horse

The film festival has found itself caught up in the increasingly tense relationship between China and Taiwan.

Taiwan’s Golden Horse Film Festival, famous as the “Chinese-language Oscars”, has grown into a fixture for the movie industry in Asia since its beginning in 1996.

But China has not only banned its filmmakers from taking part in the Taiwanese event but has even created its own film awards, the Golden Rooster, on the same day.

Al Jazeera’s Andrew Thomas reports from Beijing.

Gold Prices Give Back Ground In Light Pre-Holiday Trading

Gold prices moved notably lower over the course of the trading day on Wednesday, more than offsetting the increase seen in the previous session.

After rising $3.40 to $1,460.30 an ounce on Tuesday, gold for December delivery slid $6.90 or 0.5 percent to $1,453.40 an ounce.

With the decrease on the day, gold for December delivery ended the session at its lowest closing level in nearly four months.

The more actively traded gold for February delivery fell $6.60 or 0.4 percent to $1,460.80 an ounce after climbing $3.60 to $1,467.40 an ounce on Tuesday.

Continued optimism about a U.S.-China trade weighed on the price of gold, as traders moved out of the safe haven amid expectations the two economic superpowers will eventually reach an agreement.

Trading activity was somewhat subdued, however, with some traders looking to get a head start on the Thanksgiving Day holiday on Thursday.

The upcoming holiday pushed forward several U.S. economic reports, leading to an avalanche of data that painted a mixed picture.

Oil Prices Pull Back On Unexpected Increase In Inventories

Oil prices moved to the downside during trading on Wednesday, giving back ground after moving higher over the two previous sessions.

Crude for January delivery climbed well off its lows of the session but still fell $0.30 or 0.5 percent to $58.11 a barrel.

The pullback by oil prices came after the Energy Information Administration released a report unexpectedly showing a weekly increase in crude oil inventories.

The report said crude oil inventories rose by 1.6 million barrels in the week ended November 22nd compared to economist estimates for a decrease of about 0.3 million barrels.

The EIA said gasoline inventories also surged up by 5.1 million barrels during the week, while distillate fuel inventories increased by 0.7 million barrels.

Meanwhile, the upcoming Thanksgiving Day holiday pushed forward several U.S. economic reports, leading to an avalanche of data that painted a mixed picture.

Brazilian meatpacker Marfrig plans $477 mln share offering- report

SAO PAULO, Nov 26 (Reuters) – Brazil’s Marfrig Global Foods SA is preparing a 2 billion reais ($477 million) share offering, Brazilian newspaper Valor Economico reported on Tuesday.

Citing sources with knowledge of the matter, the paper said the company plans to issue new shares and shareholders will also sell part of its stakes.

Marfrig did not immediately reply to a Reuters request for comment. ($1 = 4.1964 reais) (Reporting by Tatiana Bautzer)

Amazon to double holiday hiring to 200,000

Is Amazon’s decision to protest the Pentagon strategic?

Lifewire.com editor-in-chief Lance Ulanoff discusses whether Amazon’s decision to protest the Pentagon is a good strategic business decision.

NEW YORK — Amazon plans to hire 200,000 people for the busy holiday shopping season, double the number of workers it hired a year ago.

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The hiring spree is a sign of how quickly the online shopping giant is growing. To keep up with online orders, Amazon has been opening more warehouses, package sortation hubs and delivery stations. It’s also working to speed up delivery for its Prime members to one day from two.

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Other retailers plan to hire in smaller numbers. Target said it would hire 130,000 this year, up 4 percent from a year. And Kohl’s planned to hire 90,000, about the same from 2018.

In the last year, Amazon said it has promoted about 19,000 workers who packed and shipped orders to manager or supervisor roles.

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