Retail Earnings - Several retail giants reported earnings, providing insights into consumer behavior ahead of Black Friday [1] - Kohl's shares increased by over 22% after an earnings beat and the announcement of Michael Bender as the permanent CEO [5] - Abercrombie & Fitch shares surged 18% in premarket trading due to stronger-than-expected results, particularly from its Hollister brand [5] - Dick's Sporting Goods shares fell more than 3% after announcing plans to close some Foot Locker stores to improve profits [5] - Best Buy exceeded Wall Street expectations and raised its sales guidance, resulting in a 2.5% increase in shares [5] - Alibaba reported revenue growth in the fiscal second quarter, driven by a boom in cloud sales, with U.S.-listed shares gaining over 3% [5] AI and Technology Investments - Amazon announced significant investments in AI infrastructure for its cloud business aimed at U.S. government customers, expected to begin in 2026 [6][7] - The project will add approximately 1.3 gigawatts of capacity and provide government clients access to Anthropic's Claude models and Nvidia chips [7] - Amazon also introduced a service allowing businesses to test its internet-from-space initiative, Leo, which competes with SpaceX's Starlink [7] NHL Franchise Valuations - The average NHL franchise value increased by 15% to $2.2 billion, driven by higher media rights deals [8] - The Toronto Maple Leafs' valuation reached $4.3 billion, an 8% increase from the previous year, while the New York Rangers rose by 9% to $4.8 billion [9] Microsoft Data Center Plans - Microsoft faced community opposition to a proposed data center in Caledonia, Wisconsin, leading to the cancellation of the project [10]