Thousands of Amazon staff in more than 20 countries are set to protest or strike on Black Friday in a push for better workers’ rights.
The international strike action is taking place on one of the busiest shopping days of the year and has been coordinated by the Make Amazon Pay campaign.
In addition to the drive to improve workers’ rights at Amazon, the strikes and protests are also to highlight the US retailer’s environmental impact.
More than 80 organisations are part of the Make Amazon Pay campaign and since 2020, it has organised four days of global action on Black Friday.
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The general secretary of the UNI Global Union, Christy Hoffman, said: “No matter how much they spend to fight us, corporations like Amazon cannot break the power of workers standing together.”
“Make Amazon Pay Day is a powerful testament to our unity and momentum,” she said. “No company —no matter how wealthy — can silence the cause of workers demanding justice.”
A spokesperson for Amazon had not responded to Yahoo Finance UK‘s request for comment at the time of writing.
Shares in the US retailer closed Wednesday’s session down 1%, as US markets were closed for the Thanksgiving holiday on Thursday. Trading in New York will resume on Friday but markets are due to close earlier.
Moana 2, the sequel to one of the biggest hits on the Disney+ streaming platform is debuting in cinemas this weekend.
While the first “Moana” wasn’t a major hit when it was released in cinemas in 2016, it became a smash on Disney’s streaming platform. Nielsen’s 2023 “Streaming upwrapped” data showed that since it started measuring streaming, audiences had watched nearly 80 billion minutes of Moana, which was released on Disney+ in late 2019, which translated to watching the full film 775 million times.
Box Office Guru founder and editor Gitesh Pandya told Yahoo Finance earlier this week that the highly anticipated Moana 2 is a “guaranteed hit”.
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Combined with the second weekend of Gladiator II and Wicked in theatres in the US, that this looked to be “probably the biggest Thanksgiving box office in over a decade”.
He said this was set to give the film industry a much-needed boost, with “hardly any big blockbuster films” having come out in recent months.
Another big focus for Disney is its cruise ships business, with its Disney Treasury ship set to take its maiden voyage on 21 December.
This is Disney’s sixth ship and is part of the company’s experiences segment, which also includes its theme parks business, that represents a key area of growth that’s rapidly expanded in recent years.
Disney shares closed Wednesday’s session up nearly 2%.
Chip stocks in Asia and Europe rose on Thursday, following reports that the US was considering toned-down restrictions on semiconductor sales to China.
Bloomberg reported on Thursday that the additional restrictions being considered by president Joe Biden’s administration on the sales of semiconductor equipment and AI memory chips to China, could stop short of some stricter curbs that had previously been proposed.
A spokesperson from the US Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry declined to comment when contacted by Yahoo Finance UK.
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The Amsterdam-listed shares of ASML, which manufactures lithography machines that are key to making chips, was among those that rose on the back of these reports. However, shares have since eased back and were trading flat on Friday morning.
In a note released last week, Barclays (BARC.L) equity researchers Simon Coles and Rohan Bahl said they maintained an overweight rating on ASML.
They said that the company’s recent capital markets day, which is a day for investors, was “largely reassuring”.
“ASML addressed many concerns at its CMD which should provide some comfort on the scope for long-term growth,” they said.
Shares in Indian renewable energy company Adani Green Energy continued to rally on Friday on the back of a company statement in response to recent media reports of bribery charges by US federal prosecutors.
The stock surged 21% on Friday, while Adani Energy Solutions (ADANIENSOL.NS) entity shares jumped 14.5%.
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Shares of companies under Adani Group plunged last week after it was reported that US prosecutors charged its billionaire owner Gautam Adani over an alleged $250m (£197m) bribery scheme.
US federal prosecutors were said to have alleged that Adani and seven other defendants were involved in a scheme to bribe Indian officials to win contracts in relation to a solar power project.
However, in a statement released on Wednesday, Adani Green Energy company secretary Pragnesh Darji said that reports that certain directors — namely Gautam Adani, his nephew Sagar Adani and the company’s CEO Vneet Jaainhad – been charged with violations of the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act were “incorrect”.
Miner Anglo American was the biggest riser on the FTSE 100 (^FTSE) on Friday morning, up nearly 3%.
Shares have been on the rise this week after Anglo American said it had agreed to sell its remaining steelmaking coal business to Peabody Energy for up to $3.8bn.
The company said it would generate a total of $4.9bn from the sale of its steelmaking coal business. This included the already announced sale of its interest in Queensland-based coal company Jellinbah Group for around $1.1bn, in addition to its deal with Peabody.
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On Friday, the Financial Times reported that challenges at rival BHP’s (BHP.L) Escondida mine, which is the world’s largest copper mine, prompted speculation as to whether it would make a fresh bid for Anglo American.
BHP’s initial £39bn takeover for Anglo American fell through earlier this year but a six-month restriction on making a new offer after the withdrawal of its previous bid ends on Friday.
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