“Zootopia 2” had a roaring and record-setting opening at the box office.The animated animal city sequel from the Walt Disney Company brought in $96 million in North America over the weekend, earned $156 million over the five-day Thanksgiving frame, and scored a staggering $556 million globally since its Wednesday opening, according to studio estimates Sunday.That made it the highest international opening ever for an animated movie, the fourth highest global debut of any kind, and the top international opener of 2025.“Wicked: For Good” stayed aloft in its second weekend for Universal Pictures, earning another $62.8 million domestically over the weekend for a North American total of $270.4 million. The second half of the “Wicked” saga has brought in $393 million internationally.The pair of PG-rated sequels combined to make the Thanksgiving weekend a glimmering exception to an otherwise dark year at movie theaters. The five-day holiday run brought in $290 million in total, $188 million of it coming Friday through Sunday.That could be a blip or an indication that a strong finish might salvage Hollywood’s box office year, with “Avatar: Fire and Ash” and “Five Nights at Freddy’s 2” among the films still to be released in 2025.“This is a great result and a big momentum builder for the box office as we head into the final four weeks of the year,” said Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst for Comscore.“Zootopia 2” arrives almost a decade after the original, a hit that outpaced expectations and had a March domestic opening of $75 million.Like the first, it features the duo of bunny cop Judy Hopps (Ginnifer Goodwin) and small-time hustler fox Nick Wilde ( Jason Bateman ) in a city of comically domesticated wildlife.Dergarabedian said the sequel represented “a beloved franchise delivering what audiences were looking for around the world.”It was the sixth biggest North American opening of 2025. But its biggest market was China, which made for nearly half of the film’s global total with a whopping $272 million in ticket sales. No American-made animated film has ever opened bigger. It was the second best nonlocal film opening of all time in China, after “Avengers: Endgame.”Such a result in China was once almost commonplace for Hollywood. But in recent years, as geopolitical relations have grown uneasy, box-office results have turned unpredictable at best. Aside from a handful of exceptions, like the “Jurassic World” films, Hollywood has come to virtually write off Chinese theaters and recalibrate blockbuster budgets accordingly.The big bounty in China for “Zootopia 2” could be an aberration or a signal of a thaw in the freeze. In recent years, China, which censors which films that are released in theaters, has leaned more toward homegrown fare. Earlier this year, the locally made blockbuster “Ne Zha 2” grossed $1.8 billion in China.“Zootopia 2” had a clear path to a big Chinese opening. The first “Zootopia,” known there as “Crazy Animal City,” grew into a surprise hit, grossing $236 million. Shanghai Disneyland has a theme land devoted to the films.“Wicked: For Good” didn’t seem to be hurt by the beastly competition as Universal’s gamble of splitting the Broadway tale of Oz into two films continued to pay off. It brought in a worldwide weekend total of $92.2 million.“Hamnet,” certain to be a major player in awards season after a celebrated festival run, had a strong limited opening and landed in the overall top 10. In just 119 theaters it earned $1.35 million from Wednesday through Sunday and $880,000 on the weekend, with a per-theater average of more than $11,000. Director Chloe Zhao’s Shakespeare story starring Jessie Buckley and Paul Mescal expands next weekend.
Top 10 movies by domestic box office
With final domestic figures being released Monday, this list factors in the estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Comscore:
“Zootopia 2,” $96.8 million.
“Wicked: For Good,” $62.8 million.
“Now You See Me: Now You Don’t,” $7 million.
“Predator: Badlands,” $4.8 million.
“The Running Man,” $3.7 million.
“Eternity,” $3.2 million.
“Rental Family,” $2.1 million.
“Hamnet,” $880,000.
“Sisu: Road to Revenge,” $810,000.
“Nuremberg,” $749,325.
This story has been corrected to show that “Zootopia 2” had the sixth biggest North American opening of 2025, not the fourth.
Andrew Dalton, AP Entertainment Writer
Even as the costs and challenges of doing business continues rising, there is a growing political effort creating artificial barriers that undermine business growth. Legislation and political directives are tying business leaders hands and limiting their choices in an increasingly diverse economy. National political rhetoric and autocratic use of federal and state agency authority preempt business leaders from doing anything with a hint of diversity, equity, or inclusion. This ultimately interferes with smart business decisions, restricts markets, and limits communities from achieving inclusive growth and shared prosperity.
Inclusive growth should be practical business, not a source of conflict. Inclusion is not just ethical. It can, and should, be profitable. Empowering communities creates widespread prosperity.
Inclusion improves the bottom line. Living Cities, the organization I run, has over three decades of experience building inclusive economies for community building and growth. We are witness to the power of people in organizing, governing, and nurturing economic environments that build wealth.
With an inclusive approach to development, everyone can benefit.
THE DIRECT IMPACT OF CAPITAL INVESTMENTS
Most recently, we successfully closed out our Blended Catalyst impact investment fund, which deployed capital around the country in inclusive ways for 10 years. Through that capital, we invested in business models and innovative capital structures that modeled new ways of doing business and delivering results.
Over 10 years, from 2015 to 2025, the Blended Catalyst Fund brought together financial and philanthropic partners to improve capital access and investment as a key driver for equitable and inclusive economic opportunity. With our operating partners, Known, we were able to:
Deploy over $25 million in capital, the majority going to small businesses and real estate or housing.
Leverage that capital 18x for almost $500 million in additional capital to communities that needed it.
Create over 6,500 jobs and offer 4,000 social services.
While those large-scale numbers are impressive, they do not speak to the direct impact of the capital in communities. After 10 years of investing for inclusion, we have found that inclusive capital does more than generate returns. It can create results that go beyond the balance sheet.
NEW BUSINESS MODELS
Inclusive capital creates new business models by unlocking financial resources for organizations and entrepreneurs in undercapitalized communities, giving space for innovative ideas that never had the chance to grow. By removing barriers, an inclusive approach to capital can empower entrepreneurs to create solutions tailored to their communities.
For example, in early 2025, Fortis Capital and Sunrise Banks offered a loan package to NATIFS, an Indigenous organization addressing economic and health disparities in Native communities. Their loan supported the transformation of a property into a hub featuring an Indigenous restaurant, commissary kitchen, and a center for expanding Indigenous food systems. This partnership shows how tailored financial strategies can fuel entrepreneurship and reveal community-driven solutions in undercapitalized markets.
MARKET EXPANSION
Expanding inclusive capital allows businesses to enter new markets. When entrepreneurs have access to personalized investments, companies can take advantage of market opportunities and rapidly scale.
OnShore Technology Group is a Chicago-based firm that provides validation solutions to life sciences companies, part of a regulatory mandate. When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, many of OnShores clients, including Moderna, were hurriedly working to bring COVID vaccines and therapies to market. Systems validation was part of this process. Founders First, which received an equity investment from the Blended Catalyst Fund, developed an accelerator program aimed at supporting entrepreneurs like Onshores founder, Valarie King-Bailey. She participated in the program, and then secured a $500,000 revenue-based financing investment from the business accelerator and investment firm. After their engagement with Founder First, OnShore experienced revenue growth of around 90% in one year and have been named to the Inc. 5,000 list three years in a row.
COMMUNITY WEALTH BUILDING
Inclusive capital is a catalyst for community wealth building, enabling local businesses to grow, create jobs, and foster social and economic connections within undercapitalized neighborhoods. By investing in a diversity of entrepreneurs through business expansion, inclusive capital helps transform small enterprises into engines of prosperity for their communities.
Victor Diaz built Renegade Running in Oakland not only as an athletic shop, but as a hub for community building. Diaz participated in Blended Catalyst Fund loan recipient ICA Funds business accelerator program in 2022. He subsequently applied for growth funding. With that initial investment, Renegade Running was able to increase its capital by 100% with an additional investment from retailer REI. The run club, and the company, has become a community hub for Oakland, and in 2024, expanded its operations into Los Angeles.
These are three of countless examples of how taking a broad and inclusive approach to capital can benefit everyone. The results from the Blended Catalyst Fund show that direct investment can help private enterprises lift entire communities. The evidence is here. It is time for business and investment leaders to act on the growing body of data proving that inclusive investment is both profitable and beneficial to a healthy local and national economy.
Joe Scantlebury is president and CEO of Living Cities.
Chain stores have Black Friday. Online marketplaces have Cyber Monday. For local businesses, it’s Small Business Saturday.In the last 20 years, more segments of the retail industry have vied for their own piece of the holiday shopping season. The travel trade has firmly joined the trend with another post-Thanksgiving sales push: Travel Tuesday.On the same day as the nonprofit world’s Giving Tuesday, airlines, hotels, cruise ship companies, travel booking platforms and tour operators get in on the annual spirit to spend by promoting one-day deals. Consumer advocates say there are legitimate savings to be had but also chances to be misled by marketing that conveys a false sense of urgency.“People see ’40 percent off’ and assume it’s a once-in-a-lifetime steal, without recognizing that the underlying price may have been inflated or that the same itinerary was cheaper last month.” Sally French, a travel expert at personal finance site NerdWallet, said.She and other seasoned travelers advised consumers who want to see if they can save money by booking trips on Travel Tuesday to do research in advance and to pay especially close attention to the fine print attached to offers.People hoping to score last-minute deals for Christmas or New Year’s should double-check for blackout dates or other restrictions, recommended Lindsay Schwimer, a consumer expert for the online travel site Hopper.It’s also wise to to keep an eye out for nonrefundable fares, resort fees, double occupancy requirements or upgrade conditions that may be hidden within advertised discounts, according to French.Shoppers should be wary of travel packages with extra transportation options or add-on offers, French said. Instead of lowering fares or room rates, some companies use statement credits, extra points, included amenities and bundled extras as a way to tempt potential customers, she said.“Many travel brands want to keep sticker prices high to maintain an aura of luxury, but they still need to fill planes, ships and hotel rooms,” French said. “Add-on perks are their workaround.”Consumers who are prepared rather than impulsive and on the lookout for the up-sell are in a much better position to identify authentic bargains, consumer experts stressed. Knowing what a specific trip would typically cost and comparison shopping can help expose offers based on inflated underlying costs and whether the same itinerary might have been cheaper at other times, they said.“Compare prices, check your calendar and make sure the trip you’re booking is something you genuinely want, not something you bought because a countdown timer pressured you,” French said. “What gets glossed over is that the best deal might be not booking anything at all if it doesn’t align with your plans.”Travel Tuesday came about based on existing industry trends. In 2017, Hopper analyzed historical pricing data and found that in each of the nine previous years, the biggest day for post-Thanksgiving travel discounts was the day after Cyber Monday.The site named the day Travel Tuesday. The number of offers within that time-targeted window and the number of travelers looking for them has since expanded.“Nearly three times as many trips were planned on Travel Tuesday last year compared to Black Friday,” Hopper’s Schwimer said. “We continue to see growth in the day, year over year, as more travel brands and categories offer deals.”The event’s origin story is in line with the National Retail Federation coining Cyber Monday in 2005 as a response to the emerging e-commerce era. American Express came up with Small Business Saturday in 2010 to direct buyers and their dollars to smaller retailers, credit card fees and all.A report by the consulting firm McKinsey & Company last year noted that November and December tend to be slow months for travel bookings, making Travel Tuesday a “marketing moment” that could help boost revenue.Hotel, cruise and and airline bookings by U.S. travelers increased significantly on Travel Tuesday 2023 compared with the two weeks before and after the day, the report’s authors wrote, citing data provided by the travel marketing platform Sojern.While Travel Tuesday so far has been mostly confined to the United States and Canada, “European travel companies can anticipate the possibility that Travel Tuesday will become a growing phenomenon in their region, given that other shopping days such as Black Friday and Cyber Monday have spread beyond North America,” the report stated.Vivek Pandya, lead insights analyst for Adobe Analytics, which tracks online spending, said consumers have more tools than ever this holiday season to help them determine if deals hold up to scrutiny.“Social journeys, influencers providing promo codes and values, and generative AI platforms taking all that in the prices, the social conversation, the reviews and giving guidance to the consumer, that’s a very different, dynamic kind of journey consumers are taking than they have in previous seasons,” Pandya said.Both he and French emphasized that prices rise and fall based on multiple factors, and that the winter holidays are not the only major promotional period of the year.“We now have dozens of consumer spending ‘holidays,'” French said. “Amazon alone keeps adding new versions of Prime Day. So if you don’t buy on Travel Tuesday, you haven’t missed your moment.”The Associated Press receives support from the Charles Schwab Foundation for educational and explanatory reporting to improve financial literacy. The independent foundation is separate from Charles Schwab and Co. Inc. The AP is solely responsible for its journalism.
Cora Lewis, Associated Press
Gustaf Westman, the homeware designer known for his delightfully chunky objects, just unveiled his latest project. Its a shelf inspired by classic puzzles.
Gustaf Westman [Photo: courtesy Gustaf Westman]
In a new video posted to his Instagram, Westman introduces the Puzzle Shelf, a modular unit that comes in the form of several components resembling giant puzzle pieces. Users can assemble the shelf however they see fit, as well as select their own piece colors, which include white, forest green, fire-engine red, pink, a range of blues, and even a metallic silver. Its currently available on a made-to-order basis, as each unique shelf is produced by a London-based 3D-print artist.
Westmans irreverent take on design, which evokes memories of childhood play and imagination, is the reason that he’s managed to amass a cult following in just five years since opening his eponymous studio in 2020. The Puzzle Shelf expands on his existing niche of products that turn everyday objects and home decor into whimsical, colorful statements.
[Photos: courtesy Gustaf Westman]
Designing a puzzle shelf
Westmans most beloved designs take ordinary itemslike a dinner plate or wine glassand reimagine them with a twist, often by inflating them to satisfyingly rounded proportions. More recently, hes also been delving into some more experimental designs, like a table specifically engineered to hold glass stems, a spiral bag made to carry a baguette, and a plate that perfectly cradles meatballs.
In an interview with Fast Company back in August for his first collection with Ikea, Westman explained that his designs are often inspired by memories from his own childhood. For this new shelf, he says, Ive always loved toy aesthetics, and puzzles have such a simple, fun function. The idea of pieces connecting to create something new felt like a great starting point.”
[Photo: courtesy Gustaf Westman]
To test the design, Westman first sketched the shapes out on paper before rendering them digitally. Then, he created a 3D-printed miniature model of the structure, small enough to sit on a table. In the final design, each long shelf puzzle piece is supported by two smaller puzzle pieces, which stack together like Lincoln Logs. Westman told Vogue Scandinavia that the design can be styled as a coffee table, a bookshelf, a bar, a side table, and even a desk.
A puzzle can take many forms, Westman said. I wasnt interested in copying the look of a flat puzzle pieceinstead, I focused on the function and the idea of pieces interlocking and creating something new when they come together.
[Photo: courtesy Gustaf Westman]
Major dairy producer Prairie Farms has announced a recall of select gallons of its popular Fat Free Milk due to concerns that the beverage may be contaminated with food-grade cleaning agents, which could make consumers ill if ingested. Heres what you need to know.
Prairie Farms recalls select Gallon Fat Free Milk
Last week, Prairie Farms announced that it had initiated a voluntary recall of select Prairie Farms Gallon Fat Free Milk products produced at its Dubuque, Iowa, facility.
The reason for the recall is that select gallons may have been contaminated with food-grade cleaning agents, according to the recall notice posted by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The cleaning agents have the possibility of causing illness in individuals if consumed.
What Prairie Farms milk is being recalled?
Given the popularity and widespread availability of Prairie Farms milk, news of a recall may cause significant concern. However, the company says the recall is limited to one product and only a subset of the gallons produced.
Specifically, Prairie Farms says that the impacted product is the following:
Product Information:
Prairie Farms Gallon FAT FREE Milk
Code Date: DEC08
Plant Code: PLT19-145
Facility: Dubuque, Iowa
Impacted Production Window (Timestamp): 17:5121:23
UPC: 7273023117
In the recall notice, Prairie Farms states that only a specific segment of the product run DEC08 was affected by the cleaning agent.
The affected product was processed between 17:51 and 21:23, representing a portion of that days production, the notice explains. To ensure complete containment, Prairie Farms is recalling Gallon Fat Free Milk with the DEC08 code date, PLT19-145 plant code produced during the impacted timeframe of 17:51 to 21:23.
The company says that approximately 320 gallons of the milk product were sold before the discovery of the possible cleaning agent contamination.
Where was the recalled Prairie Farms milk sold?
Prairie Farms says the recalled milk was distributed to Woodmans stores in Illinois and Wisconsin.
The company says the remaining product distribution locations include:
Illinois
Bloomingdale
Buffalo Grove
Carpentersville
Lakemoor
North Aurora
Rockford
Wisconsin
Appleton
Beloit
Green Bay
Janesville
Kenosha
Madison
Menomonee Falls
Oak Creek
Onalaska
Racine
Sun Prairie
Waukesha
What should I do if I have the recalled Prairie Farms milk?
Prairie Farms says that if you have the recalled milk, you should not consume it.
Instead, you should return it to its place of purchase or safely dispose of it.
Full details of the recall can be found on the FDAs website here.
Deals promoted as some of the best of the holiday season are expected to keep people across the United States glued to their computers and smartphones as the post-Thanksgiving shopping marathon wraps up on Cyber Monday.It’s no secret that buying things online is now a staple of many people’s everyday routines. And year after year, those purchases mount during the gift-giving holiday rush. Experts expect consumers to drive record Cyber Monday spending this year, even amid wider economic uncertainty.Adobe Analytics has estimated that U.S. shoppers will spend $14.2 billion online Monday, or 6.3% more than in 2024. They already spent $11.8 billion online for Black Friday and another $6.4 billion on Thanksgiving Day, exceeding Adobe’s forecasts.Consumer spending for Cyber Week the five major shopping days between Thanksgiving and Cyber Monday provides a strong indication of how much shoppers are willing to spend for the holidays.“Cyber Week is off to a strong start,” Vivek Pandya, lead analyst at Adobe Digital Insights, said. “Discounts are set to remain elevated through Cyber Monday, which we expect will remain the biggest online shopping day of the season and year.”Deals on electronics and apparel are poised to peak Monday at 30% and 26% off average listed prices, per Adobe’s latest estimates.While the amount of money going into online shopping carts is expected to reach new heights as consumers try to get the biggest bangs for their bucks while they can, rising retail prices also may contribute to any record sales figures that materialize.Businesses and households have watched anxiously for financial impacts from U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs on foreign imports. Workers in both the public and private sectors are also struggling with anxieties over job security amid both corporate layoffs and the after-effects of the 43-day government shutdown.For the November-December holiday season overall, the National Retail Federation estimates that U.S. shoppers will spend more than $1 trillion for the first time this year. But the rate of growth is slowing with an anticipated increase of 3.7% to 4.2% year over year, compared to 4.3% during last year’s holiday season.At the same time, credit card debt and delinquencies on other short-term loans have been rising. More and more shoppers are turning to “buy now, pay later” plans, which allow them to delay payments on holiday decor, gifts and other items.Buy now, pay later loans are expected to drive $20.2 billion in online spending this holiday season, according to Adobe, up 11% from last year. The firm predicted that buy now, pay later loans would pass a new $1 billion milestone on Cyber Monday, the vast majority involving purchases made on mobile devices.Overall, mobile devices have become the dominant shopping platform consumers are turning to for the holidays. Adobe expects smartphones, wearable tech and other handheld electronics to account for 56.1% of online spending this season, worth a total of $142.7 billion.Five years ago, a majority of online purchases were made on desktops.Shopping services powered by artificial intelligence are also expected to play a role in what consumers choose to buy. Software company Salesforce estimated that AI asssitants and digital agents contributed to $14.2 billion of the total $79 billion it said was spent online worldwide on Black Friday.Cyber Monday’s “hot sellers” will include gaming consoles such as the Nintendo Switch 2 and toys-turned-fashion statements like Labubu Dolls, Adobe said. The analystics firm anticipates the newest editions of popular consumer electronics including the iPhone 17, Google Pixel 10 and Samsung Galaxy S25 will also see high demand.To many, Cyber Monday is billed as the “last call” to take advantage of the deepest discounts in the days following Thanksgiving. But its reach has grown over the years.Cyber Monday is two decades old now, dating back to when the National Retail Federation first coined the term in 2005. Today, sales continue to bubble up throughout the week riding on the hype that the industry has built to fuel consumer spending.
Wyatte Grantham-Philips, AP Business Writer
The Koss Porta Pro headphones are one of the most iconic and popular designs in the history of audio equipment. The headphones were first released in 1984 in response to the rise of the Sony Walkman and aimed to translate the companys audio prowess into a portable, affordable form factor.
The results were unmistakably odd. The collapsible headband, blue driver housings and striking shape meant you could spot them from a mile away. But Koss managed to deliver its trademark warm, bassy sound signature into an accessible product, and its retro-futuristic industrial design has never quite gone out of style.
[Photo: Wikimedia]
Koss, which is still a family-run business headquartered in Milwaukee, sold the Porta Pro virtually unchanged for decades. At under $50, they remained a great option for on-the-go listening. But with the demise of the smartphone headphone jack, eventually a modern wireless update was an obvious move.
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Going wireless
Unfortunately, Kosss first attempt in 2018 was a whiff. Despite coming after Apples AirPods made their debut, the wireless Porta Pro relied on a cable that housed an inline remote and a battery that rested on the wearers neck. Between the awkward wearability and a persistently flashing blue LED, the feedback was generally scathing.
But recently, I found out that Koss released a radically updated version around a year ago, dubbed the Porta Pro Wireless 2.0. This feels like the sort of thing I should have noticed at the time, but apparently Koss didnt feel the need to actually tell anyone about the new version. Theres a press release, sure, but for some reason the product got virtually no coverage in the usual channels.
Major sites like The Verge didnt follow up on withering coverage of the 1.0 model. You wont find reviews on major audio equipment outlets. Even the thread on legendarily obsessive audiophile forum Head-Fi has just 13 posts. (For comparison, the thread on my own Koss go-tos, the relatively obscure KPH30i, has 392.)
The Porta Pro Wireless 2.0 is, however, freely available to order on Amazon for $99, so obviously I had to check it out.
[Photo: Koss]
Nailed it
I am pleased to report that Koss actually nailed everything with this 2.0 edition. These are, for mostly better and occasionally worse, exactly what you would have expected from a wireless set of Porta Pro headphones in the first place.
Most importantly, the dangly neck wire has been banished. Its now actually accurate to call these wireless. You lose the controls on the inline remote, sure, but I think most people would take that tradeoff. And while the design of the cans themselves remains the same as the original, the lack of wire makes them much more practical to wear.
On the tech side of things, Koss has thankfully upgraded the 2.0 model to USB-C for charging. There is still a pulsating LED that indicates connectivity, but its tucked away on the underside of the right earpiece and isnt bright enough to be an annoyance. And unlike the previous model, these support analog audio through a cable when the battery dies.
Porta Pro headphones were never known for their sturdy build qualityin fact, theyre positively flimsy. But the upside of this is that theyre very comfortable and can be squeezed down easily into a small circular footprint, which Koss takes advantage of with the helpful inclusion of a compact round hard case.
As for the sound, well, they sound like Porta Pro headphones, which is to say they sound awesome for what they are. Theyre not exactly reference-level audio hardware, but the thumping bass and smoothed-off treble is a great fit for rock, rap and beyond, while the semi-open-back design allows for sound that feels wider and less claustrophobic than noise-cancelling Bluetooth cans.
[Photo: Koss]
The Porta Pro Wireless 2.0 does still feel pretty retro, for better and worse. Theres the lightweight plastic design, of course, which I imagine Koss correctly deemed to be nonnegotiable. But theres also the lack of modern features that are standard on headphones these days, like easy pairing. Getting these up and running on your phone is a roughly equivalent experience to using a Bluetooth earpiece in your car 15 years ago.
If youve never used Porta Pro headphones before, I should also point out that these are not necessarily the most versatile headphones around. The on-ear, semi-open-back design is what enables the surprisingly wide oundstage, but it also means they offer virtually no sound isolation, and your audio is going to leak out to people around you. In other words, dont plan to use them on a plane.
Still, overall the Porta Pro Wireless 2.0 does exactly what it ought tothese are Porta Pro headphones, but wireless. Maybe the muted launch was because Koss was stung by the reception to the previous wireless model. If so, I think that was a mistake. That was a bad product, and this is not.
I think the world should know that you can, in fact, now buy a great wireless version of Porta Pro headphones, which remain a genuine design classic to this day. Im honestly not sure why this was news to me, but if its news to you too, my work here is done.
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December is a month that many look forward to as holiday festivities kick into full gear and extended R&R with our loved ones nears. But for cryptocurrency investors, the month is off to anything but a good start.
As of the time of this writing, cryptocurrency prices are down across the board on the first day of December trading. This encompasses significant price drops of major cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin, Ethereum, XRP, and Solana. Heres what you need to know.
Cryptocurrencies begin December with steep declines
Nearly every major cryptocurrency is seeing significant declines on the first trading day of December. As of the time of this writing, most major coins are down over the past 24 hours, including:
Bitcoin: down 5%
Ethereum: down 5.5%
XRP: down 6.8%
BNB: down 5.9%
Solana: down 6.8%
Additionally, meme coins have also declined, with Dogecoin down 8%.
Unfortunately, these drops aren’t outliers for cryptocurrencies as of late. Over the past month, big-name cryptocurrencies have been hit hard as investors sold off the digital tokens amid declining risk appetites.
Over the last 30 days, Bitcoin has now declined 21%, dropping from around $111,000 per token to todays current price of just over $86,600.
During the same period, Ethereum fell by more than 26%, XRP by more than 18%, BNB by more than 24%, and Solana by more than 31%. Dogecoin is down more than 26% over the past month.
Why are Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies dropping today?
There isnt a single event weighing on Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies today, just like there has not been one single event weighing on the digital token markets over the past month.
Instead, the first trading day of December drops in cryptocurrencies across the board are likely being spurred by multiple factors.
Perhaps the most significant factor behind the December 1 crypto drop is ongoing uncertainty about whether the Federal Reserve will vote to cut interest rates when the central bank meets to vote on the matter on December 9-10.
A drop in interest rates is generally seen as a good thing for cryptocurrencies as rate drops increase liquidity in the markets, which typically spurs investors to take more risk.
As cryptocurrencies are among the most volatile assets, increased risk-taking can stimulate investment in the coins, sending their prices higher. Yet if the Fed does not reduce rates, that increase in liquidity will not materialize, which could impact risk asset investments.
Barchart reports that the markets are discounting an 83% chance that the Federal Reserves monetary policymaking group, the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC), will cut interest rates by 25 basis points.
However, rate drops aren’t the only reason Bitcoin and other cryptos are starting December on the wrong foot.
As Fast Company previously reported, in November, investors increasingly turned sour on artificial intelligence stocks, including on AI heavyweights like Nvidia Corporation (Nasdaq: NVDA) and major OpenAI investor Microsoft Corporation (Nasdaq: MSFT).
Over the past month, NVDA shares have declined nearly 12% and MSFT shares are down more than 9%.
The share prices of AI and AI-adjacent companies have been highly volatile this year amid growing fears of an AI bubble. Many investors who invest in those companies have high-risk appetites, which is why many AI investors are also cryptocurrency investors.
And when one high-risk asset declines, investors tend to sell off their other high-risk assets to lock in any gains and prevent further losses. Continuing fears of an AI bubble, then, could be influencing declines in cryptocurrency prices.
Aside from these two ongoing factors that have been weighing on crypto markets for a while now, there are a few more recent events that may be contributing to crypto losses on the first trading day of December.
According to a report from CNBC, Peoples Bank of China issued a warning on Saturday about illegal activities involving digital tokens. That warning sent shares of companies in the digital asset sector lower on the Hong Kong market.
Additionally, CoinDesk reports that early Monday saw notable forced liquidations in crypto markets as traders failed to meet margin requirements for leveraged positions, putting pressure on cryptocurrency prices.
2025 turns negative for crypto
When the year began, many investors and industry watchers expressed optimism that Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies were in for a tremendous year of growth in 2025, largely thanks to the incoming Trump administration and its crypto-friendly policies.
But while tokens like Bitcoin did reach an all-time high of more than $126,000 this year, the crypto king has declined well below its 2025 starting price.
As of this writing, Bitcoin has lost about 7.24% of its 2025 opening value. Ethereum has lost 14.6% of its value, and Solana has lost 32%.
BNB is a rare bright spot for major cryptocurrencies this year. The coin has seen growth of nearly 18% so far this year.
Of course, given the volatile nature of cryptocurrencies, it’s always possible that things could reverse quickly. There is still one month left in the year, and if there is a late bull run on the tokens, Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies could still come out green for the year.
Whether or not that happens likely depends a lot on the Feds rate cut decision next weekand, of course, the greed and fear that investors feel in the run-up to the new year.
Hello and welcome to Modern CEO! Im Stephanie Mehta, CEO and chief content officer of Mansueto Ventures. Each week this newsletter explores inclusive approaches to leadership drawn from conversations with executives and entrepreneurs, and from the pages of Inc. and Fast Company. If you received this newsletter from a friend, you can sign up to get it yourself every Monday morning.
Leaders juggle a lot of demands and priorities. However, most CEOs tell me theyre highly attentive to company culture, change management, and workforce transformation in the age of AIall areas that their chief human resources officers (CHROs) or chief people officers (CPOs) are tackling, too, notes Jennifer Wilson, cohead of the global Human Resources Officer practice at leadership advisory firm Heidrick & Struggles.
The only other seat besides CEO that has a cross-enterprise view is the chief human resources officer, Wilson says. The best CHROs these days are weighing in and shaping strategy around big corporate issues.
Yet CHROs are rarely tapped for the CEO role. Heidrick & Struggless data shows that only 16 CEOs at Americas 1,000 largest companies by revenue have previous HR experience.
An overlooked role
Most of those executives worked in HR as part of their climb up the corporate ladder. General Motors CEO Mary Barra, for example, was a vice president of global human resources at GM for two years between roles as a vice president of global manufacturing engineering and a promotion to senior vice president of global product development. Joanna Geraghty, CEO of JetBlue Airways, was the CPO of the airline for four years after serving as associate general counsel and before moving to an executive vice president role overseeing customer experience.
More unusual is the case of Leena Nair, who was the CHRO at Unilever when Chanel, the privately held luxury brand, recruited her to be its global CEO.
At a time when chief financial officers, chief technology officers, and even lawyers are moving to the CEO role, Tami Rosen, chief development officer and a board member at Pagaya, an AI-powered fintech, and former CPO at Atlassian, says overlooking HR executives is a miss. For too long, CHRO and CPO roles have been miscast as operational or administrative when in reality they are the only seats with a true 360-degree view of the company, driving strategy, mission, culture, risk, performance, and people, she says.
The CEO’s support system
Megan Myungwon Lee was CHRO andvice president of corporate planning and strategic initiatives when she was promoted to chairwoman and CEO of Panasonic North America in 2021. Lee says Osaka, Japanbased Panasonic has a history of viewing HR, finance, and strategy as a three-legged stool supporting the CEO. In Japan, if you hire a person, its a $3 million investment because people usually retire with the company, she notes. Its not a variable cost.
Lee says her experiences in HRPanasonic initially hired her as a bilingual secretaryexposed her directly and indirectly to all aspects of the company. It has also shaped her leadership style. Being a leader is like [being] a parent in that you lead with empathyguiding, setting boundaries, and making tough decisionswhile always asking,How would I want someone to treat my own children in this situation?
Boards of directors may disregard CHROs in their CEO succession planning for any number of reasons: Some want their chief executive to have client-facing experience; a tech company may prioritize a leader with an engineering background. But Pagayas Rosen says boards ignore HR talent at their peril. More CHROs and CPOs should be elevated to CEO because theirs is the most well-rounded role in the company, connected to the business, the strategy, the culture, and every team, she says.
Does your team elevate HR pros to the top?
Does your company have a CPO or CHRO who is a candidate to succeed the CEO? If so, what are the reasons why your company may elevate them? Id like to hear your stories. Send them in an email to stephaniemehta@mansueto.com.
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When the Los Angeles wildfires swept through the city earlier this year, experts flocked to the internet to dissect the anatomy of a fire-resistant building. Many of them ended up describing bunker-like architecture with boxy buildings, sparse landscape, and lots of concrete. A new building in Malibu offers a more nuanced approach.
Malibu High School, which opened in August, is located in an area that Cal Fire (the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection) recently designated as a very high fire hazard severity zone. This means that the school, which has replaced a nondescript building from the 1950s, had to comply with stringent fire safety regulations.
[Photo: Here and Now Agency]
The new school is distributed across two connected buildings. It was constructed entirely of noncombustible materials like concrete shear walls and floors, steel columns and beams, and fire-rated glass. It is surrounded by a newly built fire road to allow easy firetruck access, and drought-resistant landscaping. Still, it looks less like a fortified concrete bunker, and more like the kind of airy, low-lying buildings you might find elsewhere in Malibu.
“The messages the building sends about your safety is much more like a community center,” says Nathan Bishop, lead architect and principal at local firm Koning Eizenberg Architecture. “It’s about making it feel like a social place to hang out and just be.”
[Photo: Here and Now Agency]
A balanced approach to fire-resistant architecture
Malibu High School, part of the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District, is nestled between the Pacific Ocean and the Santa Monica Mountains. It is located near a ring of coastal shrubs that is notoriously flammable but is also protected by the California Coastal Act as Environmentally Sensitive Habitat Area (ESHA.)
In 2018, the area was hit by the Woolsey Fire, which destroyed over 1,600 structures, and burned nearly 97,000 acres in Ventura and Los Angeles counties. The former high school building, which stood on the same site, narrowly survived, but according to Bishop, the “shared memory” of Woolsey was present in everyone’s mind. “There are still teachers who haven’t replaced their houses because they burned down,” he said.
It’s no surprise, then, that fire resiliency was part of the architects’ mandate from the very beginning, when they won an RFP to redesign the school in 2019. The challenge was ensuring the school didn’t look like a bunker.
[Photo: Here and Now Agency]
To lighten the visible footprint of the building, the architects positioned solar panels over a canopy so they could cast shadows on the building’s glazed facade. This helped reduce solar gain while allowing the building to have more glass to balance the concrete. The panels, which remain quite visible, help the building achieve its net-zero goals, but they also help communicate the value of sustainability to students.
The team used textured concrete that makes the building feel like it is part of the hillside, and copper panels that add some color and texture. They also implemented a dedicated air filtration system for wildfire events. “[The school] is fortified and strong, but not in a defensive way,” says Bishop, noting the school can now serve as a community wildfire shelter.
The open design ensured the building feels like it belongs on the rugged hillside of Malibu. The surrounding drought-resistant landscape, by San Diego-based Spurlock Landscape Architects, further anchors the school with a coastal landscape that doubles as a fuel modification zone. This is meant to reduce the risk of wildfire by thinning or replacing combustible vegetation.
The landscape architects used California-native plants like aloe vera and agave interspersed with locally sourced rock mulch. They laid out the plants so they would grow from low succulents closer to the building to larger canopies on the outer perimeter. Since many buildings catch fire from what is closest to them, the areas nearest to the building are mostly hardscape. (The January 2025 wildfires didn’t reach as far north as the high school, which was therefore spared.)
[Photo: Here and Now Agency]
Rethinking the American high school
By the time Koning Eizenberg Architecture got involved in 2020, Malibu High School had been seeing enrollment issues for years. (The school enrolled about 440 students in 2021, compared to nearly 1,000 in 2017.)
To compete with nearby private schools, where enrollment issues haven’t been as stark, the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District wanted to rethink not just the building but also the way high schoolers studied inside it.
Instead of organizing the school by academic departments, the high school follows a more distributed model where “everything is everywhere,” as Bishop puts it. Science labs abut art studios and teacher rooms are scattered around the campus instead of concentrated in a single building. The distributed model allowed the architects to abolish the archetypal silos that have become high school movie tropesscience geeks hang out here; jocks hang out thereand foster more encounters between different disciplines.
[Photo: Here and Now Agency]
“There is something about rethinking the story of the American high school, and the social fabric of the American high school,” says Bishop.
Before they moved into the new building, high schoolers shared the old building with local middle schoolers, where they studied in nondescript classrooms. Now, each classroom is adjacent to an outdoor space, creating a “fuzzy edge that lets the life of the building spill out,” says Bishop. Students in marine biology class go down to the beach to collect samples. Those in pottery class bring their wheels into the courtyard. Meanwhile, the preserved ESHA acts as a learning lab, where students can learn about ecology.
Instead of cutting off the building from its surroundings, the architects carefully integrated it within the landscape, proof that students can learn from nature instead of turning their back on it.
