Top News Today: U.S. Stocks Fall; Bitcoin Makes Sharp Decline
MARKET WRAPSSTOCKS: Stocks fell to start December after five straight days of gains.TREASURYS: Treasurys sold off, sending yields higher, after President Trump said he has made up his mind about Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell's successor.FOREX: The dollar edged lower amid growing speculation that Trump would appoint the National Economic Council's leader, Kevin Hassett, to replace Powell as Fed chief.COMMODITIES: Silver reached a new high after rising 3.5%. Oil prices rose after Ukraine launched attacks on Russia's energy infrastructure over the weekend.HEADLINESBitcoin Tumbles to $85,000. Why Crypto Traders Are Feeling 'Extreme Fear.'Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies tumbled in Monday trading, slipping below key levels over the weekend as sentiment for digital assets eroded.The price of Bitcoin fell 6.8% over the past 24 hours through 2 p.m. Eastern time Monday to $85,236. The largest digital asset had reclaimed the key $90,000 support level last week but fell through it again on Sunday.U.S. Manufacturing Contracts for Ninth Straight MonthU.S. manufacturing activity contracted for the ninth consecutive month in November, a decline manufacturers attribute largely to President Trump's tariffs.The Institute for Supply Management's PMI for manufacturing came in at 48.2, a decrease from 48.7 in October. The level was below the 50 score that divides contraction from expansion."It really is all about tariffs," said ISM Chair Susan Spence. "We do not see anything on the horizon that's going to turn this ship."Barrick Considering Spinning Off North American Gold AssetsBarrick Mining is considering selling a minority stake in its prized North American gold assets, separating them from the miner's gold and copper mines in riskier parts of the world.The company on Monday said its board authorized management to explore an initial public offering of a new company that would house the North American operations, anchored by its majority-owned operations in Nevada and it is mine in the Dominican Republic.The proposed split marks an escalation of a recently launched review of the Canadian miner's operations that puts greater emphasis on the North American assets, which currently account for more than half of its gold production.Algoma Steel to Cut 1,000 Workers Due to TariffsOTTAWA-Algoma Steel said it would eliminate about 1,000 jobs, or about a third of its workforce, as the company shuts down production from its blast furnace and coke ovens that became financially unsustainable with hefty U.S. tariffs.The steel maker, based in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, said the job losses would take effect in 16 weeks, or late March. This would represent one of the biggest employment hits to date for Canada from the shift in U.S. trade policy under President Trump.Canada is the largest foreign provider of steel to the U.S. market, and Canadian products entering the U.S. face a 50% tariff. Algoma said the tariffs have altered the competitive landscape and sharply limited the company's ability to access the U.S. market.Shopify Breaks Down on Busy Cyber MondayShopify experienced an outage on Cyber Monday that interrupted transactions for some merchants on its e-commerce platform during one of the busiest shopping days of the year.The web hosting company said on X it was aware of an issue impacting selected stores and was working to resolve it.A spokeswoman referred questions to the company's status page, which said that merchants might experience difficulties logging into the point-of-sale system and other problems that the company was investigating.Goldman Makes a $2 Billion Bet on 'Boomer Candy'Goldman Sachs on Monday said it would acquire Innovator Capital Management for about $2 billion, a bet on a fast-growing corner of the exchange-traded fund market that has been called candy for the retired baby-boomer crowd.Innovator supervised some $28 billion in assets across 159 funds, as of Sept. 30. The company has a special focus on so-called defined-outcome funds, or buffer funds, which use options contracts to offer investors protection from market downturns while retaining access to some of the gains.Baby boomers and people close to retirement have flocked to the funds as a way to stay invested in the market even while trying to remain conservative, earning buffer funds and others like them the nickname "boomer candy."Starbucks Reaches $38.9 Million Settlement With NYC on Worker Protection ViolationsStarbucks will pay $38.9 million in restitution to employees and civil penalties following a settlement with New York City.The global coffee chain will pay $35.5 million to more than 15,000 workers, along with $3.4 million in civil penalties and costs, the city said Monday.The agreement comes after the Department of Consumer and Worker Protection found Starbucks had committed half a million violations of New York City's Fair Workweek Law since 2021.Newell Brands to Cut 10% of Employees in Cost-Savings PushNewell Brands will lay off about 10% of its professional and clerical employees, or over 900 workers, as part of its ongoing cost-savings plan.The maker of Yankee Candle and Sharpie on Monday said the cuts will have a limited effect on its manufacturing and supply chain operations. Layoffs in the U.S. are expected to largely occur this month, with international layoffs continuing into next year.Newell Brands employed approximately 23,700 people worldwide as of the end of last year, according to its most recent annual filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.TALKING POINT Is America Heading for a Debt Crisis? Look Abroad for AnswersPolitics and debt don't mix well. Americans would be wise to look across the Atlantic to see how tough things can get.The U.K. government demonstrated the problem with its annual budget, where it is stuck in a trilemma, unable to please lenders and voters while also doing the right thing for the economy. Something had to give, so on Wednesday the government ignored its promises to go for growth, and focused on the bond market and its political base.France has the same trilemma, only worse. Government debt is higher than in the U.K., the fiscal deficit is higher, and not only are tax rises politically impossible but taxes are already so high that raising them further might be self-defeating.Spending cuts are even more difficult than in Britain-where welfare cuts have proved to be a political nonstarter-and securing a budget at all in a deeply riven French Parliament is a challenge. At least in London the bond panic during the supershort term of Prime Minister Liz Truss has shown the politicians that they have to pay attention to lenders.Already some of the same issues are visible in the U.S.-along with a lack of political will to do anything to prevent the problem from festering. For now, all that stands between the U.S. and a debt-market freakout is the dollar. Having the world's reserve currency, however, isn't the unbreakable shield many assume.Go back to the U.K. to see how dysfunctional politics limits action. The government floated the idea of an economically efficient income-tax rise in the run-up to the budget, and the bond market loved it. But politics made Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves abandon the idea in favor of a series of smaller, delayed tax rises on pensions, corporate investment and driving that each slice a little off potential growth-but, she hopes, will get less attention from voters. The money raised goes into welfare spending forced on the government by its own members of Parliament, after it lost a fight earlier this year.By James Mackintosh, The Wall Street JournalExpected Major Events for Tuesday00:01/UK: Nov Shop Price Monitor00:01/UK: Nov CBI Growth Indicator Survey05:00/JPN: Nov Consumer Confidence Survey07:00/UK: Nov Nationwide House Price Index09:00/ITA: Oct Unemployment11:00/ITA: Oct PPI13:55/US: 11/29 Johnson Redbook Retail Sales Index15:00/US: Dec RCM/TIPP Economic Optimism Index21:00/US: Nov Domestic Auto Industry Sales21:30/US: API Weekly Statistical BulletinAll times in GMT. Powered by Onclusive and Dow Jones.Expected Earnings for TuesdayAmerican Eagle Outfitters Inc (AEO) is expected to report $0.43 for 3Q.Asana Inc (ASAN) is expected to report $-0.16 for 3Q.Bank of Nova Scotia (BNS,BNS.T) is expected to report $1.29 for 4Q.Box Inc (BOX) is expected to report $0.06 for 3Q.Children's Place Inc (PLCE) is expected to report $0.70 for 3Q.Citi Trends Inc (CTRN) is expected to report $-0.76 for 3Q.Couchbase Inc (BASE) is expected to report $-0.23 for 3Q.CrowdStrike Holdings Inc (CRWD) is expected to report $-0.10 for 3Q.Forward Industries Inc (FORD) is expected to report for 4Q.GitLab Inc (GTLB) is expected to report $-0.12 for 3Q.Here Group Ltd - ADR (HERE) is expected to report for 1Q.Leslie's Inc (LESL) is expected to report for 4Q.Okta Inc (OKTA) is expected to report $0.11 for 3Q.Pure Storage Inc (PSTG) is expected to report $0.25 for 3Q.TRX Gold Corp (TRX,TRX.T) is expected to report for 4Q.United Natural Foods Inc (UNFI) is expected to report $0.21 for 1Q.Village Super Market Inc - Class A (VLGEA) is expected to report for 1Q.Wilhelmina International Inc (WHLM) is expected to report for 3Q.Powered by Onclusive and Dow Jones.We offer an enhanced version of this briefing that is optimized for viewing on mobile devices and sent directly to your email inbox. If you would like to sign up, please go to https://newsplus.wsj.com/subscriptions.This article is a text version of a Wall Street Journal newsletter published earlier today.