Oil crash is not the biggest story in global markets right now

But there is another major move in markets that has flown a bit under the radar: US Treasury bonds.The yield on long-dated US Treasury bonds — meaning the 10- and 30-year bonds — has been falling sharply over the last week.When long-dated bonds rally, it is taken as a sign that investors are “fleeing to safety” or “seeking protection,” as US Treasury bonds are considered the safest investment you can make.And so while the stock market usually garners the most headlines, investors are increasingly watching the bond market, as strength in longer-dated Treasuries indicates increasing concern about the short-term prospects for the economy and other assets.

Black Friday's fizzle: when the consumer shrugs

The greatest shopping day of the year wasn’t, according to a survey released by the National Retail Federation, which polled 4,631 consumers and estimated that sales at stores and online dropped by 11%. Sales were $50.9bn, $6.5bn less than 2013, and the overall haul was 6% smaller, with consumers spending, on average, $380.95 each over the holiday weekend.

As the economic recovery sputters on, millions of Americans are living paycheck-to-paycheck. According to IHS Global,more than 10 million Americans did not receive their pay on Black Friday, since it was over a holiday weekend. Instead, they will be getting paychecks today – just in time for Cyber Monday. 

Spending hundreds of dollars on gifts and big-ticket items might seem frivolous to some Americans as 14% of households continue to struggle with food insecurity and about 2.8 million Americans have been out of work for more than 27 weeks.

A drop-off in start-ups: Where are all the entrepreneurs?

The image of the U.S. as bursting with entrepreneurial zeal, it turns out, is more myth than reality. In truth, the rate at which new companies are being formed has fallen steadily for more than three decades.The decline has occurred nationwide — even in Silicon Valley. Business creation there is still high compared with most of the country, but it's down markedly from the past, according to the Brookings Institution.

Unsteady Incomes Keep Millions Behind on Bills

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