Tonight, we have a number of stories that we’ve following including President B’s meeting with Prince W in B and US men soccer’s captain C.P getting the all clear ahead of tomorrow big match at the World Cup. But we want to begin with that new data tonight about job numbers. It is strong, but fears about inflation and possible recession remain. The Labor Department’s November report out today showed employment increased by two hundred and sixty-three thousand jobs. On Wall Street, the DOW fell by more than three hundred points in early trading but rallied late the day and closed in positive territory. The S&P 500 and NASDAQ finished slightly lower. President B signed a bill that blocks potential nationwide railroad strike and prevents what he called an economic catastrophe during the holiday season.

Mixed signals tonight as President B tries to keep the economy on the rails. But during this holiday season, there is still concerns over high inflation and a possible recession. The deal to avert a rail strike coincide with the holiday surprise a better expected job’s report. Employers’ defiant high inflation and interest rate hikes, adding tens of thousands of jobs more than predicted. The unemployment rates hold in steady. Hospitality and leisure led the games. Healthcare and government jobs also saw strong growth. But there are signs of weakness, retail jobs fell despite strong holiday sales. On media, techs continue to shed jobs. CNN and Doordash are the latest companies to announce major cut this week. Another concern, wages jumped more than expected, leading to fears that high inflation will continue. But a gift to consumers, gas prices are down thirty-two cents last month and it could fall below $3 by Christmas, good news for holiday shoppers. The National Retail Federation estimates holiday sales will go up about eight percent this year, that slower growth compared to last year but higher historical average.