U.S. stock futures remained flat Wednesday amid announcements of strong earnings from Target and Lowe’s. Target said comparable sales rose 12.7% and e-commerce sales rose 29% in the most recent quarter as holiday sales launched early. Lowe’s beat analysts’ expectations for the third quarter, anticipating $95 billion in sales as the company got a bump in business from remote workers.

Black Friday is early again this year, and maybe forever - Retail Dive

Walmart ad revenue surge helps keep prices low as sales soar - Ad Age

@jimsciutto: New: Retail sales for the month of October rose 1.7%, more than economists had expected and significantly more than the previous month. In September, retail sales grew 0.7% from the month earlier, beating economists' forecast for a 0.2% decline.

The White House is prepared to invest billions of dollars towards expanding U.S. vaccine manufacturing capacity to at least one billion doses a year starting in 2022. The Biden administration has faced mounting pressure to increase the vaccine supply in poorer nations. The move comes as the Food and Drug Administration pushes to authorize booster doses of Pfizer’s coronavirus vaccine for all adults this week.

COVID vaccine can be bundled with a child's routine shots, doctors say - ABC News

Nurse Salaries Rise as Demand for Their Services Soars During Covid-19 Pandemic - The Wall Street Journal

@DataDrivenMD: Pfizer/BioNTech expect $60 billion in revenue from COVID-19 vaccine sales in 2021 and 2022. In 2023, “analysts have forecast revenue of over $6.6 billion […] mostly from booster sales.” 2/n

A federal judicial panel assigned the GOP-majority appeals court in Cincinnati to handle at least 34 lawsuits challenging the Biden administration’s vaccine and testing requirements for private businesses. The assignment casts further doubt on the survival of the vaccine mandate the White House says is central to the fight against the coronavirus.

Utah’s workplace COVID vaccine exemption bill becomes law - ABC4 Utah

Biden’s and Fauci’s supposed hypocrisy on vaccine mandates, examined - The Washington Post

Resignation rates reached record highs of 4.4 million in September, with quitting rates especially high for in-person roles in traditionally lower-paying industries such as entertainment, hospitality, trade, transportation and retail, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The Great Resignation also targeted U.S. tech workers with 72% thinking about leaving their current employer in the next year, according to TalentLMS. Executives have voiced feelings that we are far from the end of the shift in worker habits.

Is The 'Great Resignation' Actually A Mass Retirement? - Forbes

The Worst of Both Worlds: Zooming From the Office - The New York Times

The CEO of the world’s biggest job portal says he has a solution to the labor shortage: getting rid of the resume - Fortune

@axios: Some 60% of firms are re-designing their offices for the post-pandemic era, according to a new report that surveyed large companies around the world. Of those, a quarter are eliminating private offices entirely.

Supply chain constraints paired with climate change are leading to a shortage of both real and artificial Christmas trees, prompting vendors to urge consumers to buy before Thanksgiving. Some businesses said that this year consumers will potentially see a 25% price increase due to the hike in transportation costs. Additionally, holiday dinners will cost more this year. Last month, the price of meat, poultry, fish and eggs rose 12% from a year ago, pork prices rose 14.1%, and beef prices surged 20.1%.

How climate change and extreme weather are crimping America’s pie supply - The Washington Post

From turkey to festive fizz: how will shortages affect UK Christmas dinner? - The Guardian

@AnnaHoffmanTV: Grocery Store workers recommend getting your Thanksgiving turkeys early to avoid impacts of a turkey shortage. Thankfully our local stores are prepared for...