Good morning, friends and Fortune readers.
U.S. stocks look set to rebound at Thursday’s open after the Dow’s 268-point drop Wednesday — its worst one-day decline since Oct. 9, driven lower by tumbling energy stocks. Oil prices are steady this morning, after dropping again Wednesday. Traders will be dissecting a handful of economic reports today, including a drop in weekly jobless claims and the fastest growth in U.S. retail sales in eight months.
Here’s what else you need to know about.
1. Google plays hardball in Spain
Google (GOOG) is shutting down the Spanish version of its Google news service ahead of an intellectual property law set to take effect in January. The new law would allow news companies in Spain to charge services like Google for listing their websites in search results.
2. RadioShack under attack
Thanksgiving weekend same store sales were up at RadioShack (RSH), but that was about the only good news for the electronics retailer, which reported a 16 percent drop in quarterly sales Thursday and said it was undertaking cost-cutting actions to boost earnings.
3. Playstation 4 is coming to China
Starting Jan. 11, Chinese gamers will be able to buy Sony’s Playstation 4. Microsoft’s (MSFT) XBox One also recently went on sale in China after the country ended a ban on foreign gaming consoles. Reuters notes that Sony (SNE) is still worried about working with Chinese censors as it markets to Chinese consumers.
4. Another major IPO
Lending Club, an online market for loans, will start trading on the New York Stock Exchange today at a reported $15 a share. The public offering is expected to bring in around $870 million, which is not as big as some of the big market debuts we’ve seen this year, but is more than many expected.
5. Lululemon not excited for year’s end
Canadian yoga wear chain Lululemon (LULU) reported a better-than-expected quarterly profit Thursday as online sales jumped 27 percent. The results beat analysts’ expectations for the quarter, but the company looked to temper expectations for the end of the year.
—Reuters contributed to this report.
