AWARDS

It’s going to be a big month for investors.

December will be full with big financial news that is bound to move the markets. They range from crucial rate decisions at the U.S. Federal Reserve and the European Central Bank to an important OPEC meeting.

Here are the top four economic events of December that will guide you through the month:

1. More 'easy money' and another rate cut in Europe?

The European Central Bank's leadership meets December 3 and many expect it will take action of some kind to boost the region's economy. The ECB began its stimulus program in March, buying bonds at a monthly rate of 60 billion euros, and it could increase that pace.

The ECB could also cut its interest rate, which is already in negative territory. When rates are negative, banks essentially pay borrowers to take out money, instead of borrowers paying the bank.

Low interest rates are meant to make it easy for businesses to borrow and spend. That spending could create jobs and boost economic growth.

The ECB's economy -- made up of 19 countries -- only grew 0.4% in the third quarter. Unless the economy improves, experts expect the value of the euro to fall even further against the dollar, to a point that the euro and dollar could be at parity in 2016.

2. Big jobs report including NFP (Non-Farm Payrolls) on Friday

The world's biggest economy gets its latest health check up on Friday, December 4, when the monthly U.S. jobs report is released.

It follows a particularly strong October jobs report when not only were there a lot of new jobs created, but wage growth had finally picked up. The November report can confirm whether employers are really hiring in great numbers, or if October's wage growth was a fluke.

The unemployment rate fell to 5% in October, and it could go below that mark for the first time since 2008 on Friday.

An improving job market should translate into more Americans spending, which would boost the U.S. economy in 2016.

3. The Fed could finally raise rates

The jobs report Friday has an extra special meaning this time: it's the last economic data hurdle for the Fed before its two-day meeting December 15-16. The Fed appears ready to raise its key interest rate for the first time in nearly a decade, and only a terrible report may change their mind.

No one expects the first rate hike to be big. However, everyone expects it to be the first of several over the next year or so. The Fed has said they plan to raise rates at a slow pace. Rates have been near zero since 2008.

It would also signal the divergence between the Fed and the ECB, which is cutting rates. That divide will likely cause the dollar to rally more into 2016.

4. A divided OPEC meets. Will it cut production?

It's a tense time for OPEC, the oil cartel led by Saudi Arabia. They meet towards the end of this week to determine whether to cut production as oil prices -- the main engine for these countries' economies -- are at less than half of what they were at last year.

Saudi Arabia, the kingpin of OPEC, wants to maintain its oil production levels. But smaller OPEC countries, like Venezuela and Algeria, want to cut production in an effort to boost oil prices, and they're all but begging Saudi Arabia to change course.

OPEC meets December 4 in Vienna, Austria. Few expect Saudi Arabia to lower oil production, but tensions amid members could rise even further, threatening OPEC's unity.

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30

Nov

This video by Amazon, shows a family in the "not too distant future" receiving a replacement soccer shoe via drone after their bulldog chews up the original. 

It is the first such video from Amazon in two years, showcasing new flight footage and revealing a new design for the company's drone fleet. Amazon is seeking to win public support for its project and overcome regulatory hurdles in the United States, United Kingdom and elsewhere.

"In time there will be a whole family of Amazon drones, different designs for different environments," Clarkson says, narrating footage of a drone flying over a suburban area.

"This one can fly for 15 miles," he says. "And it knows what's happening around it. It uses 'sense and avoid' technology to, well, sense and then avoid obstacles on the ground and in the air."

Amazon first spoke publicly about its plans for the Prime Air delivery service in December 2013. "I know this looks like science fiction. It's not," Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos said on "60 Minutes."

Back then, Amazon shared footage of a delivery drone taking a package to a customer, but the company's engineers have clearly made many enhancements since then. In Sunday's new video, the drone flies much higher and seems to be more stable.

Clarkson, the narrator, is known around the world as the host of the BBC's "Top Gear." When the BBC sacked him earlier this year, Clarkson and his producing partners struck a deal with Amazon. Their new show will debut on Amazon sometime next year.

In the promotional video for Prime Air, Clarkson describes Amazon's drone design in a way that is meant to assuage safety concerns. "After rising vertically like a helicopter to nearly 400 feet, this amazing hybrid design assumes a horizontal orientation and becomes a streamlined -- and fast! -- airplane," he says.

As the drone approaches its destination, the customer receives a message on a tablet "to say that your Prime Air delivery is arriving," he continues.

Once approved for a landing (via a tap on the tablet) the drone "goes back to vertical mode and scans the landing area for potential hazards. This amazing innovation then lowers itself slowly to the ground, drops off the package, and flies straight back up to altitude."

An Amazon spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for further comment. But the company's website was updated on Sunday with new information about its plans.

"Amazon Prime Air is a future service that will deliver packages up to five pounds in 30 minutes or less using small drones," the site says.

"Flying under 400 feet and weighing less than 55 pounds, Prime Air vehicles will take advantage of sophisticated 'sense and avoid' technology, as well as a high degree of automation, to safely operate beyond the line of sight to distances of 10 miles or more," it adds.

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Shoppers may be out and about this Black Friday, but there aren't enough Star Wars toys, 4K TVs, PlayStation 4s and Beats headphones on the planet to push most major retail stocks into the black anytime soon.

In general, it has been a lousy year for traditional retailers. Consumers have been surprisingly cheap, despite improvement in the job market and low gas prices. Sales have been sluggish in the U.S, and the strong dollar has hurt the overseas operations of many big retailers.

But the American consumer hasn't cut up their credit cards and stopped shopping for good. A quick look at the year-to-date stock performance of several big retail stocks clearly shows what the real story is.

Just look at the numbers: Walmart: Down 30%, Target: Down 4%, Sears: Down 32%, Kohl's: Down 21%, Nordstrom: Down 22%, Macy's: Down 39%, Best Buy: Down 17%. Amazon is Up by 118%!

Amazon is now trading near an all-time high and has a market value of $317 billion. That's $32 billion more than the COMBINED market value of the other seven retailers listed above.

Every day is Cyber Monday for Amazon. The rise of online shopping is clearly hurting traditional retailers. According to figures from Adobe, online sales growth on Thanksgiving was up 24% from a year ago.

Walmart, Target and other big retailers are investing heavily in their digital operations. But it may not be enough to compete Amazon anytime soon.

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Russia threatened economic retaliation against Turkey on Thursday and said it was still awaiting a reasonable explanation for the shooting down of its warplane, but Turkey dismissed the threats as "emotional" and "unfitting".

In an escalating war of words, President Tayyip Erdogan responded to Russian accusations that Turkey has been buying oil and gas from Islamic State in Syria by accusing Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and his backers, which include Moscow, of being the real source of the group's financial and military power.

The shooting down of the jet by the Turkish air force on Tuesday was one of the most serious clashes between a NATO member and Russia, and further complicated international efforts to battle Islamic State militants. World leaders have urged both sides to avoid escalation.

Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev on Thursday ordered his government to draw up measures that would include freezing some joint investment projects and restricting food imports from Turkey.

Economy Minister Alexei Ulyukayev said Moscow could put limits on flights to and from Turkey, halt preparations for a joint free trade zone, and restrict high-profile projects including the TurkStream gas pipeline and a $20 billion nuclear power plant Russia is building in Turkey.

"We are strategic partners ... 'Joint projects may be halted, ties could be cut'? Are such approaches fitting for politicians?" Erdogan said in a speech in Ankara.

"First the politicians and our militaries should sit down and talk about where errors were made and then focus on overcoming those errors on both sides. But instead, if we make emotional statements like this, that wouldn’t be right."

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Russia was still awaiting a reasonable answer from Ankara on why it downed the fighter jet. Moscow insists it never left Syrian air space, but Ankara says it crossed the border despite repeated warnings.

Erdogan said the Russian jet was shot down as an "automatic reaction" to the violation of Turkish air space, in line with standing orders given to the military. Those instructions were a separate issue to disagreements with Russia over Syria policy, he said, adding Ankara would continue to support moderate rebels in Syria and Turkmen fighters battling President Assad's forces.

Medvedev on Wednesday alleged that Turkish officials were benefiting from Islamic State oil sales, while Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said it was no secret that "terrorists" use Turkish territory.

"Shame on you. It's clear where Turkey buys its oil and gas ... Those who claim we are buying oil from Daesh like this must prove their claims. Nobody can slander this country," Erdogan said, using an Arabic acronym for Islamic State.

"If you are seeking the source of weaponry and financial power of Daesh, the first place to look is the Assad regime and countries that act with it," he said.

Moscow says its military involvement in Syria is aimed at battling terrorist groups including Islamic State, casting the campaign to a supportive Russian public as a moral crusade that must be completed despite obstruction from elsewhere.

Turkey and its allies say Russia's real aim is to prop up its ally Assad and that it has been bombing moderate opposition groups in areas of Syria like Latakia, where the jet was downed, and where there is little or no Islamic State presence.

Russian forces have shown no sign of backing down, launching a heavy bombardment against insurgent-held areas in Latakia on Wednesday, near where the jet crashed.

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