Amazon workers in more than 20 countries, including the United States and the United Kingdom, plan to hold protests or go on strike between Black Friday and Cyber Monday, two of the marquee shopping promotions of the year, according to organizers.

The planned “Make Amazon Pay” demonstrations are intended to “hold Amazon accountable for labor abuses, environmental degradation and threats to democracy,” according to the initiative’s organizers, the Switzerland-based labor federation UNI Global Union and the grassroots activist group Progressive International.

“We stand united in demanding that Amazon treat its workers fairly, respect fundamental rights, and stop undermining the systems meant to protect us all. ‘Make Amazon Pay Day’ is becoming a global act of resistance against Amazon’s abuse of power,” said Christy Hoffman, general secretary of UNI Global Union.

In a statement, Amazon spokeswoman Eileen Hards said: “These groups represent a variety of interests, and while we’re always listening and looking at ways to improve, we remain proud of the competitive pay, comprehensive benefits, and engaging, safe work experience we provide our teams.”

The two strike organizers said unions and allied groups are planning to hold demonstrations in the U.S., the U.K., Germany, France, Japan, Brazil, Turkey and other nations. In at least six German towns, thousands of Amazon workers are set to strike. In New Delhi, hundreds of Amazon workers are expected to rally to demand fair treatment.

The planned “global day of resistance” comes as labor leaders around the world feel increasingly emboldened to take on large corporations in an era of income inequality. The International Labour Organization, an arm of the United Nations, found that post-pandemic inflation and the rising cost of living have been eroding the real value of minimum wages in many countries.

In recent years, American labor activists have increasingly trained their ire on Amazon and the shopping behemoth’s billionaire founder, Jeff Bezos. The results have been mixed. In early 2022, an Amazon facility in Staten Island, New York, became the first company warehouse to vote to form a union. But similar union drives in Alabama and at least two others in New York failed.

It was not immediately clear how many Amazon workers in the U.S. would participate in the announced demonstrations against the Seattle-based company, one of the leading e-commerce and digital technology firms in the world.

“Amazon is everywhere, but so are we,” said Varsha Gandikota-Nellutla, co-general coordinator of Progressive International. “By uniting our movements across borders, we can not only force Amazon to change its ways, but lay the foundations of a world that prioritizes human dignity, not Jeff Bezos’ bank balance.”

UNI Global Union and Progressive International said that this is the fifth year of “Make Amazon Pay” activities. In previous years, according to the groups, thousands of workers went on strike at company facilities in Germany, France, Spain, the U.K. and Italy.

Many U.S. retailers are hoping to put the fall quarter behind them. The decisive outcome of this month’s presidential election, which showed a GOP sweep, seems to be giving them the fuel to do so.

On Tuesday, Best Buy reported one of its worst three-month stretches of the past decade, something CEO Corie Barry blamed in part on the ‘distraction’ of the presidential contest, alongside an overall more uncertain macroeconomic environment.

But she said the company has begun to see holiday sales momentum now that the vote is over — with particular demand for computers, tablets and sales in its services department.

“We continue to see a consumer who is seeking value and sales events, and one who is also willing to spend on high price-point products when they need to or when there is new, compelling technology,” Barry said in a release.

Best Buy’s latest results — representing its worst quarterly profit ‘miss’ of estimates in more than a decade — capture the uncertain environment most retailers are experiencing.

While consumers are still grappling with higher prices on everyday items and groceries, surveys and commentary suggest any uncertainty brought about by the election has lifted over the past couple of weeks.

Gallup’s monthly Economic Confidence Index survey saw a nine-point jump this month compared with October. Although the report still shows most Americans believe economic conditions are ‘getting worse’ overall, the current reading of -17 is the best since a -12 reading in August 2021.

The improvement was driven by a six-percentage-point drop in ‘poor’ ratings, while 36% of survey respondents said the economy is getting better, compared with 32%% in October. Overall, 55% said it’s getting worse — down from 62% last month.

Gallup’s survey was conducted between Nov. 6 and Nov. 20.

The index’s improvements were heavily partisan: Republicans’ scoring of the economy soared 29 points during the survey period, while Democrats’ dropped 10 points — though notably, Democrats still hold a net positive rating of the economy compared with both Republicans and independents.

A separate monthly consumer-confidence report released Tuesday also surged to its highest level in nearly 18 months, with optimism about family finances over the next six months hitting a new all-time high.

The widely followed survey from The Conference Board, a business nonprofit, also saw the lowest proportion of consumers anticipating a recession in more than two years, while inflation expectations fell to the lowest measure since March 2020. Job availability expectations, meanwhile, reached their highest level in almost three years.

Among those expecting stronger holiday sales Tuesday was Abercrombie & Fitch, which continues to see a sales renaissance. The trendy apparel chain now expects holiday quarter sales growth of 5% to 7%, ahead of the 4.8% growth that analysts had expected, CNBC reported. It also lifted its sales growth guidance for the full year.

Burlington likewise noted a strong start to holiday sales in a Tuesday earnings release, with the outerwear retailer stating it was ‘optimistic’ about its prospects for the upcoming quarter, while maintaining a ‘cautious’ outlook overall.

The sunnier if still cautious outlook is resonating on Wall Street: According to CNBC, a retail-focused stock-tracker traded on the New York Stock Exchange is up 10% month to date and is heading for its best month since February.

Last week, the Philadelphia Federal Reserve announced its quarterly survey of dozens of economic forecasters now showed the U.S. economy expanding at an annual rate of 2.2% in the coming three months, and 1.9% in the first quarter of 2025. That’s up from the predictions of 1.7 percent in the last survey.

‘The near-term outlook for the U.S. economy looks better now than it did three months ago,’ it said.

Shares in a little-known drone company soared Wednesday after announcing that Donald Trump Jr. had joined its advisory board.

Unusual Machines, an Orlando, Florida-based firm born just two years ago as it acquired a drone manufacturer and a separate drone retailing firm, announced the appointment in an early-morning press release.

“Don Jr. joining our board of advisors provides us unique expertise we need as we bring drone component manufacturing back to America,” Allan Evans, Unusual Machines’ CEO, said in the release. “He brings a wealth of experience and I look forward to his advice and role within the Company as we continue to build our business.”

Trump Jr., in the statement, also put the move in the context of the America First economic agenda of his father, President-elect Donald Trump.

“The need for drones is obvious. It is also obvious that we must stop buying Chinese drones and Chinese drone parts,” Trump Jr. said. “I love what Unusual Machines is doing to bring drone manufacturing jobs back to the USA and am excited to take on a bigger role in the movement.”

After announcing Trump Jr.’s move, Unusual Machines’ stock nearly doubled to more than $10 on heavy trading volume before giving back some of the gains.

In a securities filing Wednesday, Trump Jr. is listed as at one point having been Unusual Machines’ second-largest shareholder. The company disclosed that Trump Jr. had previously owned 331,580 shares of Unusual Machines before a share offering detailed in the statement, and currently owns no shares. The statement does not disclose the price paid by Trump Jr. for his shares, or what price he sold them at.

Nevertheless, the stock surge demonstrates the extent to which an association with the Trump name can transform an entity’s fortunes, for better or worse. During Donald Trump’s first term as president, his social media posts mentioning a company or one of its executives could cause shares to slide or jump, creating material risks or gains for investors.

Unusual Machines already had some momentum earlier this month, posting large gains after Election Day. Still, even with the share increases, its market value stood at a relatively meager $69 million as of early Wednesday afternoon.

Unusual Machines also finds itself potentially in the crossfire if President-elect Trump launches a new trade war with China. The company notes in the securities filing its heavy reliance on Chinese imports, which Trump now says would face punitive tariffs once he takes office. “If there are increased tariffs imposed, it could materially and adversely affect our business and results of operations,” the company said in a regulatory filing, warning of potential price increases.

An Unusual Machines spokesperson didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

In February, Unusual Machines closed its initial public offering of 1.25 million shares of stock for net proceeds of $3.85 million, according to CNBC.

When the company completed its IPO, it also acquired the drone brands Fat Shark and Rotor Riot from Red Cat. Jeffrey Thompson, the founder and CEO of Red Cat, is the founder, prior CEO and current board member of Unusual Machines.

In a recent regulatory note, Unusual Machines said it changed its accounting firm in April and “terminated its engagement with their prior auditor.” The firm in question was BF Borgers CPA, which also had been the auditor for Trump Media, the Truth Social parent company whose majority owner is the president-elect.

The SEC in May charged BF Borgers with “massive fraud” for work that affected more than 1,500 SEC filings. The auditor and owner Benjamin Borgers agreed to be permanently suspended from practicing as an accountants before the SEC and to pay a combined $14 million in penalties.

Trump Media soon after retained a new auditor to replace BF Borgers.

Unusual Machines in its recent quarterly report said that its own new accounting firm re-audited the company’s prior financial statements, and found that various transactions and stock compensation expenses weren’t recorded.

The domestic box office is poised for its biggest Thanksgiving haul since the pandemic thanks to a Polynesian princess, a pair of witches and a revenge-fueled gladiator.

Disney’s “Moana 2” is set to hit theaters Wednesday and generate between $120 million and $150 million in box office receipts in the U.S. and Canada through Sunday. It’ll be joined by Universal’s “Wicked” and Paramount’s “Gladiator II,” both in their second week of domestic screenings.

Box-office analysts believe the five-day Thanksgiving weekend, which runs from Wednesday to Sunday, should easily clear $200 million in ticket sales and could even become the second- or third-highest Thanksgiving period in cinematic history.

“The trifecta of ‘Moana 2,’ ‘Wicked,’ and ‘Gladiator II’ is a bona fide perfect storm for movie theaters this Thanksgiving,” said Shawn Robbins, director of analytics at Fandango and founder of Box Office Theory.

“The holiday used to regularly see major releases combining for all-audience appeal, but that’s been a challenge for the industry to replicate in the post-pandemic era so far,” he said. “This year is much different with such a holy trinity of tentpole releases that could anchor some of the biggest all-around box office results the holiday frame has ever seen.”

The Thanksgiving holiday haul hasn’t topped $200 million since 2019, according to data from Comscore. Currently, the highest-grossing Thanksgiving weekend is 2018′s slate, led by “Ralph Breaks the Internet,” “Creed II” and “Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald,” which generated $315 million in ticket sales combined. The second-highest haul for the holiday period was the $294.2 million secured during the same five-day period in 2013.

“Thanksgiving is arguably the most important holiday period of the year for movie theaters as it sets the tone for the year-end box office sprint,” said Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst at Comscore. “The strength of the final few weeks of the year will determine the total annual box office revenue and its perception as either a win or a loss for the industry.”

Disney could use another animation win.

After ruling the Thanksgiving box office for years with titles from Pixar and Disney Animation, it’s failed to live up to expectations with its recent string of releases.

In 2016, “Moana” opened over the Thanksgiving holiday, generating $82.1 million. The following year “Coco” took in $72.9 million during its opening, and in 2018 “Ralph Breaks the Internet” tallied $84.8 million during its debut over the five-day period. Just before the pandemic in 2019, “Frozen II” added $125 million over the Thanksgiving holiday after opening the week before to more than $130 million.

Meanwhile, “Encanto,” which arrived during the midst of the pandemic, managed to tally $40.6 million in 2021. “Strange World” flopped, having scooped up just $18.9 million during the holiday period in 2022, and “Wish” snared a meager $31.6 million in 2023. No Disney animated film was released over Thanksgiving in 2020.

“Moana 2” should outperform these post-pandemic releases, however. It arrives in theaters a year after the first film was named the top-streamed film aimed at kids and families. And audiences came out in droves for Disney and Pixar’s “Inside Out 2″ over the summer. “Inside Out 2” opened to $154.2 million domestically and tallied more than $1 billion globally during its full run.

Disclosure: Comcast is the parent company of NBCUniversal, CNBC and Fandango. NBCUniversal distributed “Wicked.”

Reddit is ramping up efforts to attract more users outside of the U.S., putting countries like India and Brazil in focus as it looks to unlock new advertising opportunities, a top company executive told CNBC.

In a wide-ranging interview, Jen Wong, chief operating officer of Reddit, said other platforms have 80% to 90% of users outside of the U.S. while about half of her company’s current users are based internationally.

“So that points to a lot of our future user growth opportunity definitely outside of the U.S. and local language,” Wong told CNBC. “The opportunity, the way I think about it, is every language is an opportunity for another Reddit.”

Reddit has historically been an English-language platform, but the company is looking to expand its international reach with the help of artificial intelligence translations. This year, Reddit launched a feature that automatically translates its site into different languages.

Wong said that around 20 to 30 languages could be available by the end of the year.

Among the company’s fastest-growing markets in terms of users is the U.K., the Philippines, India and Brazil.

“India’s growing really rapidly,” Wong said. “We see a big opportunity in India.”

The Reddit COO said that India has a large English-speaking internet population, and there are lots of engaged users around topics like cricket and the Bollywood movie industry.

Wong also said Reddit has been meeting with “mods” — or moderators, who oversee content on communities on the site.

Growth in markets like India can propel Reddit to boost ad revenue, its main source of income.

International markets account for just over 17% of Reddit’s revenue currently, according to the company’s third-quarter results, despite around 50% of its users being located outside the U.S.

Wong said that Reddit first attempts cross-border advertising for international markets, such as when a European brand is looking to advertise in the U.S. Then, when Reddit hits about 10% of a country’s internet population in a country, there is an opportunity to build teams focused on local advertising — like an Indian brand advertising to Indian users.

This has not yet happened in many markets, but Reddit is keeping an eye on many of its fastest growing countries, Wong said.

Reddit users will know that it’s not always the easiest site to find what you’re looking for — a drawback that the company is now looking to change with new search tools.

During Reddit’s third-quarter earnings call last month, CEO Steve Huffman called search on the platform a “focused investment” in 2025.

Wong expanded that the company is thinking of its search feature as a way of helping users to navigate around the site to find similar topics or posts that they may have otherwise missed.

“You land on a post and but it’s almost like a dead end. But there are a lot of posts, often like that post, or there are other posts like that post in other communities. And so giving you a total view of what that looks like is a really interesting opportunity,” Wong said.

“Guiding you through Reddit as you follow that line of thinking, is how we think of the opportunity.”

Wong declined to say more except, “We’re testing a lot of things.”