Squawk on the Street SOTS 2nd Hour: Black Friday Edition - Incl. L.L. Bean's CEO, Apple's Holiday Takeaways, & A Read On Luxury Demand 11/28/25
6 snips
Nov 28, 2025 
Ray Washburne, Chairman of Sunoco, shares insights on luxury retail performance and consumer behavior this Black Friday. He notes strong demand and double-digit gains in luxury centers, alongside stable gasoline and growing diesel volumes. Christina Partsinevelis, a CNBC reporter, highlights a significant CME outage caused by data-center cooling issues, stressing the risks of relying on third-party infrastructure. Together, they explore trends in retail, dining, and how tariffs are impacting consumer prices.
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Labor Market Softening Strengthens Cut Case
- The Beige Book showed broad labor-market weakening with hiring freezes and headcount limits across districts.
- That trend strengthens the case for Fed rate cuts despite lingering inflation concerns.
Cooling Failures Can Cripple Markets
- A CME outage halted major contracts due to a data-center cooling failure, not a cyberattack.
- Exchanges face single-point infrastructure risks while migrating to cloud over years.
AI Story Plus Fed Eases Market Tailwinds
- Earnings and durable demand have kept the AI trade intact despite mid-month volatility.
- The market now benefits from both AI fundamentals and higher odds of Fed cuts.