Retail spending growth pulled back last month after a strong back to school shopping season, leaving U.S. consumer spending strength in doubt heading into the holidays.A report published Wednesday by the Census Bureau showed U.S. retail spending ticked up only 0.1 percent in November – short of analysts' expectations and a sharp decline from the 0.6 percent expansion seen in October. (U.S. News & World Report)

With 2016 about to go the way of the dinosaur, it's a great time to review your finances and decide how you're going to set yourself up for success in 2017. Here are three quick ways you can do that. (CNN Money)

There are mistakes to avoid in business. Any mistakes you can't avoid should be something to learn from. But then there are the major mistakes that happen at big companies -- disasters that can create ill-will, anger entire countries, become costly operational disasters, or risk the existence of the business. These are the types of mistakes you pray never happen to your undertaking. And they're the ones you should pay close attention to as object lessons.Here are 10 of the biggest business mistakes of the year -- of varying degrees, but all mammoth whoppers. Look hard and memorize them. If you do something similar, there's no guarantee you'll work your way out of it. (Inc.)

A group of African-American men filed a lawsuit Tuesday in Chicago federal court alleging systematic discrimination by a temporary staffing agency and several of its clients they say passed over black applicants in favor of Hispanic workers. (Chicago Tribune)

Not long ago, someone telecommuting might have needed a desktop computer, a printer, a landline, and a fax machine (plus filing cabinets to store pay stubs, bank statements, and bills). Today more people than ever work from home, but laptops and Wi-Fi function just as well couchside—or, hey, by the pool—as deskside, and chances are you’re neither sending nor receiving a ton of faxes.(Bloomberg)

Questions about whether you should or should not give gifts to your co-workers, colleagues and clients, along with the ubiquitous money collections. To navigate smoothly through the holiday gift-giving season, here are some tips to follow. (Entrepreneur)

There are distinct differences between Millennials and older generations in their experiences and attitudes toward workplace diversity and inclusion, according to new research from the Institute for Public Relations (IPR) and leading global communications and engagement firm Weber Shandwick. (Business Facilities)

Whether you own a large company or manage a small operation, a diverse workplace helps you work towards lasting success. At the end of the day, we want two things from our businesses: professional success and personal satisfaction. When we factor in the benefits of diversity in the workplace, we put both goals within easier reach. (Huffington Post)

Amazon has launched Amazon Prime Video in 200 countries, including India but not China, ratcheting up the competition with Netflix (NFLX) in online streaming. Amazon Prime Video had been in just five countries. Netflix airs in some 190 countries, with China the only major holdout. Amazon focused on India with its announcement. (Investor's Business Daily)

Thousands of cabin crew workers at British Airways are preparing to strike just a few days before Christmas. The Unite union, which represents 2,500 BA cabin crew, said a strike could happen as early as December 22, disrupting roughly 50 short and long-haul routes. (CNN Money)

Tokyo regained its top spot among the world's most expensive cities for expatriates for the first time since 2012 thanks to the yen rising, while London fell out of the top 100 priciest after Brexit crushed the pound. (Investor's Business Daily)

Because more than half of recent African American college graduates are underemployed and 12 percent are unemployed, UNCF today announced that 24 colleges and universities will receive five-year grants totaling $35.3 million to implement programs to improve employment outcomes for their graduates. (UNCF)

Creative people can gain skills by studying the economics of streaming and royalties. (Financial Times)

A team of six Jenkins MBA students in the NC State University Poole College of Management earned second place – and a $15,000 team prize – at the 2016 National Black MBA Conference Case Competition held in New Orleans, La., in October. A total of 34 teams had been selected to compete in the annual case competition; first place, with a $25,000 prize, went to the University of Michigan. The prize award is split evenly among team members. (Jenkins MBA News)

Amazon’s quest to be a one-stop-shop for corporate customers continues. The retail giant’s cloud computing arm, Amazon Web Services, said Monday it has built a new feature called AWS Managed Services. Instead of merely offering just storage and computing resources on demand, the new feature lets customers offload to AWS the mundane legwork required to operate and manage corporate software infrastructure. (Fortune)

As streaming has taken hold, U.S. album sales, both physical and digital, have plummeted from a peak of 785 million in 2000 to just 241 million in 2015. The change comes from people switching from purchasing full albums, either online or offline, to listening to individual songs through a streaming platform such as Spotify, Tidal, or Pandora. (Harvard Business Review)

Donations have doubled since the election as supporters turn to the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) to defend the Internet during a Trump presidency. Even though the President-elect has yet to make formal policy pronouncements, his comments about surveillance and apparent hostility to the tech sector are causing many in Silicon Valley to fear the worst. (Fortune)

When Jeff Bezos, Amazon’s chief executive, first said that the e-commerce giant wanted to use drones to deliver packages directly to customers’ homes, many people thought he was crazy. Three years later, his claims no longer look so outlandish. (The New York Times)

Author, Activist and Conscious Commerce Expert Maggie Anderson announces her latest venture MAGGIESLIST.com. The website, built by iSwop Networks is an empowerment resource for consumers whose habits, attitudes, and moral compass drive a duty and desire for buying from Black-owned businesses; and all institutions committed to supporting economic growth in the Black community. (SAT Press Releases)

Want better schools, resources and services in your neighborhood? The first step is supporting businesses that are owned by people who look like you. Studies show that the lack of cooperative economics is killing the Black community—and keeping others smiling all the way to the bank. EBONY breaks down how to move past fault and toward change. (Ebony)

According to Consolidate Credit, the average household credit card debt is $6,600. This includes personal debt. Being in debt can be a form of slavery that can keep you from buying the necessities for your business, owning a new home, buying a new car, helping your children with college expenses along with many other things that you may want or need for yourself. There are several helpful smartapps that can help people work on ways to reduce their debts. (Black Enterprise)

Are you buying things you don’t need with money you don’t have? When you look in your closet is it full of items you don’t remember buying — or worse — with tags still on them? Then it’s time to improve your financial habits. If you have fallen into the trap of purchasing items you could do without, you are putting your financial health at risk. (Cheat Sheet)

Donald Trump is seeking help from the real-life Iron Man. Elon Musk, who has drawn comparison to the fictional superhero, joined the president-elect's advisory council on Wednesday, along with Uber CEO Travis Kalanick, and Indra Nooyi, the CEO of Pepsi. (NBC)

Coca-Cola CEO Muhtar Kent will step down as CEO of the soda giant after nearly a decade at the helm. James Quincey, the company's current president and chief operating officer, will succeed Kent as CEO on May 1, 2017. (USA TODAY)

The phrase "Thucydides Trap" refers to the likelihood of tensions and even war between an established power and a rising challenger. Even before Donald Trump’s election to the U.S. presidency, the relationship between the U.S. and China was often cast in these terms, with analysts such as Graham Allison concluding that war was not an unimaginable outcome. How, if at all, do Trump’s election and recent pronouncements influence our assessment of that relationship? (Harvard Business Review)

RexTillerson, if confirmed by the Senate, would be the first person in modern history to lead the State Department without any prior public service. His selection has raised questions about whether a private sector CEO – one with close ties to Russia and whose company has been accused of complicity in human rights abuses – possesses the skill, perspective and credibility to address some of the most complicated issues of our time, from the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinians to the civil war in Syria and the tensions between China and its neighbors. (U.S. News & World Report)

The Federal Reserve raised its benchmark interest rate on Wednesday for just the second time since the 2008 financial crisis.Economists talk a lot about the impact this will have on markets, but what about everyday consumers? (The New York Times)

Glenda Swain wasn’t happy in her career for a long time. Like many black Americans, she often faced microagressions that made her feel marginalized in the workplace. In 2011, she realized it was time to switch from a career in human resources, which her degree is in, to media. While researching the best way to go about a career change, however, she noticed there weren’t many career development resources that considered the obstacles black people face. So she created one. (The Huffington Post)

Hayma "Screech" Washington has been elected as chairman and CEO of The Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, also known as the Television Academy. Washington is the first African-American to hold the position of CEO in the organization’s 70 years of existence. (Black Business News)