Greetings N2K reader!

This week’s world famous News Haiku™ competition is about things to be genuinely thankful for this Thanksgiving. Send me your entry — to our spiffy new email address, haiku at cheddar dot com — by noon today (it’s a short week!) for consideration by your Cheddar peers on Wednesday. And now for something completely different!

—Matt Davis, Need2Know Chedditor

News You Need2Know

What’s the stock market up to, eh?

$SPX ( ▲ 1.55% )   $DJI ( ▲ 0.44% )   $NDX ( ▲ 2.69% )

Companies mentioned in today’s newsletter

$WBD ( ▼ 1.34% )   $KSS ( ▲ 0.13% )   $META ( ▲ 3.16% )  

Buy these 5 Black Friday gadgets, or face a lifetime of regret

Holiday shopping is officially here, and according to Kate “Capitalist” Kozuch, managing editor at Tom's Guide, there's a "self-gifting trend" happening as shoppers look to secure value on items they've long desired. She notes that gratitude big discounts on quality products are what "Black Friday is all about." We've rounded up five must-have gadgets on sale that offer both form and function.

For book lovers, the Kindle Color Soft is seeing its first major discount, dropping from $250 to $170, finally offering a color screen for comics and cookbooks. When it comes to audio, the stylish Marshall Acton Three Bluetooth Speaker is a massive steal at $180 (normally $300), offering powerful sound with a vintage rock-and-roll aesthetic. As Kozuch says about the Marshall speaker, "This is one of the best deals out there right now."

For those interested in smart technology, the Ray Ban Meta Smart Glasses (Gen 1) are 20% off, available for under $250. This is "the way to go to start using smart glasses," according to Kozuch, who still wears her Gen 1 pair daily, like a complete geek. The Shokz Open One Dot earbuds are discounted to $140 from $200, ideal for commuters, runners, and soldiers of fortune who need "situational awareness." Finally, in the popular sleep tech category, the Hatch Restore 3 Sunrise Alarm Clock, a product that "almost never goes on sale," has gone on sale, now $140, down from $170. This is especially helpful as "your body needs that sunlight feeling" in the winter months, Kate said.

Should you watch ‘The Chair Company’ on HBO?

HBO’s $WBD ( ▼ 1.34% ) new series, “The Chair Company,” is a massive hit and one of the network's strongest freshman comedies. The simple plot—a guy sits on a chair, it breaks, and he "goes down a wormhole conspiracy as to why the chair broke"—is just the start.

Co-star Lake Bell, who plays Barb, describes the series as a "sharp and satirical take on modern corporate culture and some conspiracies that lurk behind office doors." She admits that describing the show to her mom was "really hard," and that "all good things are a little hard to crack."

Bell thinks the show’s success lies in its inventive narrative, crafted by writers Tim Robinson and Zach Canaan. It offers a "super unusual, surprising, kind of dangerous narrative shape that is fresh."

The show’s wide appeal comes from playing into the "zeitgeist of neuroses and a little conspiracy theory." Bell observes, "people want to snack on that," and it’s relatable for anyone who, like yours truly, has spent hours down internet "rabbit holes."

Song of the day: Elise Elvira, ‘Think About You Lots’

She’s international. She’s a rising alternative soul artist. She looks absolutely miserable in a tunnel:

But maybe you’ll enjoy her music! Listen here.

Boom times are ahead, says Treasury secretary

Despite recent economic ups and downs, billionaire Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent is striking an optimistic tone about the future of the U.S. economy. Speaking on NBC's “Meet the Press,” Bessent dismissed concerns of an overall recession, emphasizing that while recessionary pressures have affected interest rate-sensitive sectors like housing, the broader economy remains stable. Looking ahead, Bessent forecasted “very strong, non-inflationary growth” by 2026, thanks to easing interest rates, tax cuts, and lower energy prices.

Funnily enough, that happens to be when the midterm elections are.

Bessent highlighted several encouraging signs, including what he said was a dip in energy costs (did your energy costs drop? Let me know if they did!) and climbing home sales in October. He attributed inflation concerns not to trade tariffs, as some critics suggest, but rather to the “services sector's behavior.” Recent tax policy changes — like caps on overtime tax and deductions for auto loans — are also expected to boost real income levels and provide significant refunds for taxpayers by early 2026, he said.

Bessent’s interview has drawn criticism even from right-leaning outlets like The New Republic, which ran a story entitled “WTF Is Scott Bessent Talking About?”

Let us know if you think “boom times are ahead” in today’s poll!