Investor optimism: market surges into historic November.

Good morning! You know the holiday season is really upon us when the Hallmark Channel beats the famed Fox News Channel in ratings for the notable evening broadcast. The channel showed seven brand-new Christmas movies last week and averaged 1.53 million viewers between 8 p.m. and 11 p.m., according to Nielsen data, compared to 1.29 million on Fox News. There's more for regular Hallmark fans: the network is set to release as many as 40 new Christmas movies this year. The real joy of Christmas!

After a seven-day truce between Israel and Hamas militants ended, rising puffs of smoke were seen in Gaza following Israeli airstrikes. Israeli troops resumed aerial bombardment of Gaza and heavy fighting was reported in the Palestinian enclave on Friday, signaling the end of a seven-day truce between the two sides. According to the Associated Press, Hamas has released more than 100 hostages in exchange for about 240 Palestinian prisoners from Israeli jails.

California Governor Gavin Newsom mocked the lagging number of votes in favor of Florida Governor Ron DeSantis in the Republican Party's presidential primary election on a Fox News program called "The Great Debate Between Red and Blue States." Newsom pointed out that DeSantis is losing to Trump by 41 percentage points in "his own home state" and refused to acknowledge the Florida governor's bid for his own presidential nomination.

Thanks to growing investor interest in risk, the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 Index finished the best-performing month of the year. On Thursday, the Dow hit its highest level since February 2022, making an impressive 9% gain after Salesforce's earnings report.

In October, inflation fell to its lowest level in two years, according to the preferred personal consumption price index released by the Federal Reserve. The core of that index, which reflects Americans' spending on goods and services, rose 3.5% annualized and 0.2% from the previous month, according to a Commerce Department report. This is the lowest reading for this index since April 2021 and a significant drop from last year's inflation rate of 5.3%.

Bernard Arnault, owner of LVMH Luxury Group, wraps up the Louis Vuitton Menswear Spring Summer 2020 fashion show next to his daughter and Christian Dior CEO Delphine Arnault at Paris Fashion Week on June 20, 2019.

The people who enriched themselves as billionaires last year got more of their money and assets from inheritances than from their investments and entrepreneurial activities, a study by Swiss bank UBS has found. This is the first time in the 9 years of the UBS report on billionaires that the world's richest people inherit more than they receive themselves. More than 1,000 aging billionaires are expected to pass $5.2 trillion to their heirs over the next 20-30 years.

When OpenAI released its ChatGPT chatbot last November, sparking new fashion in the Siloviki Valley, Meta chief scientist Ian Lecun was puzzled. "The amazing thing is that if you give this tool to people, and if it's not from a big tech company, people are very impressed with it," Lecun said in an exclusive interview with Forbes for the 10th anniversary of Meta Labs' artificial intelligence.

Meta has sued the Federal Trade Commission, arguing that courts within the agency are unconstitutional and violate due process rights. The company has also requested a permanent blocking of the FTC process, under which the agency intends to impose new data monetization restrictions on Meta.

Many right-wing accounts on Platform X, formerly known as Twitter, have called on Disney+ subscribers to cancel their subscriptions. The tweets came shortly after Ilon Musk explicitly berated companies that refused to show their ads on X because of concerns about anti-Semitism.

The newly-revealed divorce filings reveal allegations of a "secret life" and help explain why Cornel West, who has made millions of dollars over the years, has kept almost nothing for himself. Cornel West has become a permanent face of American society for over 30 years, publishing books, teaching at Ivy League universities, commentating on cable news, collaborating with Prince, even appearing in the Matrix sequels. And despite West's expected fortune, estimated at $15 million over the past 30 years, a review of federal documents and real estate records confirms his net worth is close to zero, as a result of the discovery of a secret life as indicated by the divorce filings.

When Russia invaded Ukraine, it became clear - causing growing alarm in Washington - that defense contractors could not replenish weapons such as portable missile systems to destroy Russian tanks and planes. "It was a kick in the butt for propulsion," says Joe Laurienti, CEO of Ursa Major, which began developing a 3D-printed system that could radically accelerate the production of solid rocket motors. The startup announced Thursday that it has raised $138 million in a Series D investment to help the Pentagon replenish its reserves.

The Supreme Court of Russia has banned what it calls the "international LGBT movement" and labeled it an "extremist organization," without offering a clear definition of such an organization. The decision was criticized by non-governmental organizations including Human Rights Watch, as well as by UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Wolfgang Türk, who called on Russia to immediately reverse the decision.

For biologists, the process of growing cells for research is laborious and done manually, but London-based startup Mytos is trying to speed up the process. The company just announced it has raised a $19 million Series A investment led by Buckley Ventures and has developed an automated way to grow cells, allowing scientists to focus more on advancing their research. "By automating this process, Mytos can accelerate the development of every new drug," said co-founder and CEO Ali Afshar.

This year will be the hottest year on record, UN Secretary-General António Guterres said during the opening of the COP28 climate summit in Dubai on Thursday, adding that the world is "living in real time of climate collapse" and that the temperature record should "send shivers down the spine of the world's leaders." Guterres' comments refer to preliminary data from the World Meteorological Organization's 2023 climate report.

The unstable retail environment means manufacturers are turning to time-honored and nostalgic brands like Ninja Turtles and Forbee, making it increasingly difficult for entrepreneurs to get a share of the lucrative business.

In this context, it took Jay Foreman a full year to license Care Bears toy bears, winning the bid in 2020 by offering the brand's direction in a new format. He said he would make the bears appealing to older kids and even college students by adding bright new colors, more personality and convincing Target and Walmart to move them out of the toddler department. "We had to work hard to get it," said Foreman, CEO of toy maker Basic Fun (annual revenue: $160 million), which has licensing rights to produce toys for a number of brands including Tonka Trucks, Lite Brite, Lincoln Logs and My Little Pony.

Toy entrepreneurs are unleashing fierce battles over the rights to license decades-old toys in a bid to capitalize on the enduring appeal of nostalgia. Competition is driving up licensing costs and making it harder to get exclusive rights, which means more companies are sharing the rights to license the same brands.

While a few years ago a major licensing agreement could cost $100,000, today such a deal can cost $500,000 to $1 million, says Jonathan Keaty, CEO of Loyal Subjects, a toy maker that holds certain licensing rights to Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Teletubbies, Strawberry Shortcake, Rainbow Brite and other toys.

The licensees get toys that they can promote to a built-in audience, starting with the growing number of adults who buy toys for themselves. Market research from Circana (formerly NPD Group) shows that 25% of all toy sales now go to adults.

Sales of Furby, the popular robot from the '90s, "got off to a good start" after Hasbro released an updated version earlier this year as part of its strategy to double spending on its existing intellectual property, which includes 1,500 legacy brands.

"We've seen a significant increase in demand from consumers, and therefore licensees and retailers, for more representation of our classic merchandise," Hasbro registered consumer product chairman Casey Collins told Forbes. - "We're betting everything on being the best company in the business by understanding our fans and meeting their needs, and the power of nostalgia is evident. "

WHY IT'S IMPORTANT "Big companies like to reuse their intellectual property for one simple reason: to sell people what they already know and love," says Forbes Staff Writer Lauren Debter. - "So don't be surprised when you walk into toy row looking for holiday gifts this year and see shiny new versions of Furby, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and other toys you grew up with. Everything old is becoming new again.".

MORE THAN THAT Despite skepticism about the rise in retail theft, stores are embracing police technology.