Bloomberg - Evening Briefing - Cutting back for Christmas

The gift that no one wants but everyone is getting this year? Inflation. Higher prices are hitting shoppers hard as 2022 comes to a close. That’s taking the joy out of gift-giving for a majority of Americans, according to a new survey from the Harris Poll commissioned by Bloomberg News. Inflation surged to a 40-year high this year, while wages struggled to keep up. Americans are cutting back on their holiday spending as a result. About 60% of respondents said they plan to buy fewer gifts for fewer people. A similar percentage are cutting back on holiday travel. Meanwhile, more than one third have decided to skip gift-giving altogether. That’s leading Americans to lower their expectations on what they’ll unwrap. Three in 10 say they expect to be disappointed by the gifts they receive this year, with millennials and Generation Z especially pessimistic. —Natasha Solo-Lyons

The path of US inflation in 2023 may have more surprises in store after a year in which consumers suffered the biggest cost-of-living hit since the Reagan administration.

Goldman Sachs aims to cut at least a few hundred more jobs as the Wall Street titan restructures its struggling consumer business and braces for an uncertain economy in the year ahead.

Covid is rapidly spreading through Chinese households and offices after the country’s pandemic rules were unexpectedly unwound last week, sparking confusion on the ground as ill-prepared hospitals struggle to deal with a surge in cases. 

Meanwhile, Chinese officials continued to downplay the risks of Covid-19 as restrictions are eased, with a top medical adviser saying the fatality rate from the omicron variant of the virus is in line with influenza.

Morning commuters at a subway station in Shanghai on Dec. 5 Photographer: Qilai Shen/Bloomberg

US stocks advanced with investors gearing up for Tuesday’s reading on consumer prices. US Treasuries ended Monday lower, erasing earlier gains. Here’s your markets wrap.

At least $73 million of political donations tied to Sam Bankman-Fried’s FTX may be at risk of being clawed back as bankruptcy lawyers sort through the remnants of his crypto empire in search of assets to repay creditors.

Things are looking up for people who are close to retirement, according to a Morningstar report published Monday. With the outlook improving for stocks and bonds next year, the percentage of a nest egg that retirees can safely start withdrawing from savings has increased to 3.8%, up from 3.3% in 2021, the report said. 

Photographer: Don and Melinda Crawford/UCG/Universal Images Group/Getty Images

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As a volatile 2022 comes to a close, recession talk has many investors in a defensive crouch. In the short term, it may make more sense to focus on preserving capital than finding growth. But in the long run, inflation eats away at cash and leaves savers with less purchasing power. For those willing to venture into the markets, we asked five investment experts to share their best ideas on where to invest $100,000.

Photographer: Paul Yeung/Bloomberg

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