That was Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell talking about the economy this week. The job market is strong, holiday spending expectations are up, so why is consumer confidence down for the fourth straight month? Today, we unpack it all. Plus: Why eBay is selling StubHub, why young women bear the brunt of unpaid household labor, and why Mexican cartels are getting into the avocado business.

We’re barreling toward the official start of the holiday shopping season, even though most stores have had tinsel up since late October. Today, we’ll hear from a bunch of different retailers about how their businesses have changed. Plus: Why companies are splitting up the chairman and CEO, who’s actually paying tariffs and how cryptocurrency works.

The United States produces about 2.7 billion pounds of tomatoes per year. When they’re in season, there’s nothing like biting into a fresh one. So why are so many tomatoes on grocery store shelves so bad? Plus: The latest on Huawei, English winemakers’ plan to repair their reputation and how accessibility impacts shopping.

The upcoming sequel to “Top Gun” may strike many moviegoers in the summer of 2020 as an aerial tribute to American military might, yet several sharp-eyed fans who have seen the trailer are asking if Paramount Pictures is doing the bidding of China. The studio changed Tom Cruise’s character’s signature jacket to remove the Taiwanese flag, and it’s just the latest example of Beijing’s censorship laws shaping entertainment in the States. Today, we trace many examples and talk about why they matter. Plus: A bunch of mergers and acquisitions news as PayPal buys Honey Science Corp. and Charles Schwab enters talks to buy its biggest rival, TD Ameritrade.

A Japanese conglomerate just bought craft beer giant New Belgium Brewing, bringing an end to one of the largest employee-owned companies in the United States. There are only about 6,000 others in the country, so today we take some time to talk about how employee ownership works and why companies do it. Plus: The NFL’s latest efforts to attract women and our reading of the latest Federal Reserve meeting minutes.

Like it or not, it’s already holiday shopping season. And while you might not be ready quite yet, the truth is all those potential gifts on store shelves got here months ago. Today, we’re taking a visit to the Port of Los Angeles, which handles about half of all the shipping container trade between the United States and China. You may have heard there’s a trade war on. We’ll talk with the workers at the port about how it’s going. Plus: Why Home Depot is struggling and a new kind of prosperity gospel.

Ford is taking a big swing with the Mustang Mach-E, a new electric SUV the company announced last night. We have the exclusive interview with CEO Jim Hackett about the car and his vision for the company after a tough year. Plus: The Trump administration backs off its fight against flavored vape products, and Amazon takes criticism for how it handles counterfeit goods.

Holiday shopping season is upon us, and many retailers are rushing to hire seasonal workers. Today, we look at how companies decide how much extra help they need and what happens when they get it wrong. Plus, what you need to know about the Trump administration’s push for transparent hospital pricing, and as always, we do the Weekly Wrap.

Last November’s Camp Fire was the deadliest and most destructive wildfire in California history. Given the massive scale of what was lost, there are thousands of survivors who still need serious financial help to put their lives back together. But getting that help takes a long time and requires staying on top of paperwork and deadlines. The most important of those deadlines just passed, and some estimates indicate thousands of people with claims missed it. Plus: A conversation with the head of the Atlanta Fed and a sign that the real estate market could be getting less competitive.

From the BBC World Service… Germany narrowly avoids recession. China is light years ahead of Google when it comes to online payments. Plus, Sweden sets an example when it comes to closing the gender pay gap.