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With the holiday shopping season coming soon, consumers may be surprised to see something they haven’t experienced in a while: lower prices.

In laying out projections for the 2024 holiday season, National Retail Federation (NRF) President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Matthew Shay said prices have moved lower this year for many items and categories, giving consumers a reprieve after facing sky-high inflation for the past several years.

“There's been real deflation in the cost of goods, and so many retailers have cut prices on thousands of items,” Shay said.  “You can think of a couple of big retailers with national, if not global, footprints, who have literally cut their prices on thousands and thousands of items and SKUs (stock-keeping units) across the whole store.”

The NRF thinks the lower-price environment will help store owners with sales. The organization representing retailers projects an increase in holiday spending of between 2.5% and 3.5% compared with 2023 totals.

Inflation has slowed across the economy in a process economists call “disinflation." That means prices are still moving higher at a slower rate.

However, prices have retreated for individual items, potentially offering shoppers lower prices than they paid last year, Shay said. 

Data from the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) monthly Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) report on inflation shows this trend. While prices for food and services continue to rise at an elevated pace, prices for goods have either been less or par with prices from last year for each month in 2024. In August, prices for goods were almost 1% lower than the same month in the prior year.

Shay said retailers will likely offer more targeted promotions during the holiday season, driving prices lower.

“I think it will be more targeted and personalized to individual consumers based on needs and interests, and I think it will be broader, across more brands and across more categories than we experienced a year ago,” Shay said.

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Members of the Non-Academic Staff Union of Educational and Other Associated Institutions (NASU) have announced plans to resume their suspended strike due to four unpaid salaries from the Federal Government.

Prince Peters Adeyemi, the General Secretary of NASU, shared this information during the union’s National Executive Council (NEC) meeting in Abuja.

While he didn’t specify an exact start date for the strike, it’s anticipated that the NEC will finalize their decision during the meeting.

Prince Adeyemi stated that the members’ patience has worn thin, asserting, “We are going to resume the suspended strike.”

Recall that President Tinubu had, in October 2023, directed that NASU and Senior Staff Association of Nigeria Universities, SSANU, members be paid two out of the four months withheld salaries by the federal government under President Muhammadu Buhari in 2022, following a prolonged strike over unresolved disputes. [SWIPE]

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Former One Direction star Liam Payne has reportedly passed away in Argentina after reportedly f***ing from the third floor of his hotel balcony.

TMZ reports that 31-year-old singer was in Buenos Aires for pal Niall Horan’s tour when he the tragic incident occurred on Wednesday afternoon, October 16.

In a statement, the capital police said they were called to the hotel in the capital’s leafy Palermo neighborhood where they were notified of an “aggressive man who could be under the effects of dr+gs and alc%hol.”

Payne was best known as a member of One Direction. The group, which included Harry Styles, Zayn Malik, Louis Tomlinson, and Niall Horan, shot to international fame after forming on the UK version of The X Factor in 2010.

After One Direction’s hiatus in 2015, Payne pursued a solo career, releasing his debut album LP1 in 2019. Payne leaves behind a son, Bear, born in 2017, whom he shared with former Girls Aloud singer Cheryl Cole.

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Novavax (NVAX) shares plummeted nearly 20% Wednesday after the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) stopped research on the biotech firm's experimental combination COVID-19 and flu vaccine and standalone flu shot following a report of nerve damage in one patient who took the combination injection.

The company announced the FDA placed its clinical hold on the treatments because of "a spontaneous report of a serious adverse event (SAE) of motor neuropathy in a single CIC Phase 2 trial participant outside of the U.S. who received the vaccine in January 2023."

Novavax Chief Medical Officer Dr. Robert Walker said although the company doesn't believe "causality has been established," it was working closely with the FDA "to provide the necessary information that will allow them to better understand this observation and resolve the clinical hold." Walker added that Novavax's goal is to begin a Phase 3 trial "as soon as possible."

The company noted that its current COVID-19 vaccine is not impacted by the FDA action.

Even with today's selloff, shares of Novavax have more than doubled this year.

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Intel (INTC) shares fell Wednesday after a Chinese industry group said the chips that Intel sells in China should be reviewed for national security risks. 

According to a report Wednesday from , the Cybersecurity Association of China (CSAC) said Intel has “constantly harmed” the country’s interests and security. The body, while not a government agency itself, called for a review of Intel products by the Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC), the country’s cyberspace and internet regulator, the news agency reported. 

"It is recommended that a network security review is initiated on the products Intel sells in China, so as to effectively safeguard China's national security and the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese consumers," CSAC said Wednesday, per .

Intel didn't immediately respond to a request for comment by .

There is some precedent for China taking action against American semiconductor companies. In 2023, the CAC banned the sale of Micron Technology (MU) products to companies in China, citing a similar national security review.

Intel shares dropped about 4% early Wednesday, then recovered some ground to trade about 1% lower, at $22.42, by 1:15 p.m. ET. They have lost more than half their value year-to-date.

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The Dow Jones Industrial Average was higher at midday Wednesday as strong earnings reports offset continued worries about the semiconductor sector. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq were little changed.

Banks stocks got a lift as Morgan Stanley (MS) and U.S. Bancorp (USB) both reported better-than-expected results, boosted by strong net interest income.

Shares of United Airlines (UAL) took off as the carrier beat profit and sales estimates and announced a $1.5 billion stock buyback on improved travel demand. 

Prologis (PLD) shares gained after the largest industrial real estate firm's funds from operations (FFO) exceeded forecasts.

Ulta Beauty (ULTA) shares tumbled when the beauty products maker said that it faces a challenging environment.

The selloff continued for New York-traded shares of ASML Holding (ASML) following the Dutch chip equipment maker's warning about demand for non-artificial intelligence (AI) semiconductors.

Novavax (NVAX) shares plunged when the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) put holds on the biotech firm's combination COVID-19 and flu vaccine and standalone flu shot because of a report of a patient developing nerve damage.

Oil futures fell. Gold prices rose. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note dropped. The U.S. dollar was up on the euro, pound, and yen. Bitcoin traded higher.

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