On Saturday, President-elect Trump threatened to slap prohibitive 100% tariffs on BRICS countries unless they commit to stand with the US dollar and avoid establishing an alternative currency that would challenge USD’s dominance. It’s another indication that Trump will float tariffs against other countries as a means to achieve his economic goals.

What is BRICS? It’s an informal coalition of emerging economies—Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa (hence the name)—that was created in 2009 and has grown to include other nations such as Argentina, Iran, and the UAE.

Do they want to move away from USD? Russia sure does. At a BRICS meeting in October, President Vladimir Putin complained about Western countries “weaponizing” the dollar to slap sanctions on Russia for its invasion of Ukraine in 2022. He’s led longstanding efforts among the BRICS countries to reduce the role of the US dollar as the world’s reserve currency and to advocate for developing alternatives.

Just how dominant is the dollar?

Michael Bublé-in-December-level dominant. Since the end of World War II, the global financial system has run through the greenback, with the currency now representing about 58% of the world’s foreign exchange reserves, according to the IMF. If you wanted to trade global commodities like oil, odds are you’re going to be buying or selling it using US dollars. In a supreme flex in 1971, then-Treasury Secretary John Connally famously told European finance ministers, “The dollar is our currency, but it’s your problem.”

Don’t the BRICS know it. Despite the growing economic influence of BRICS, experts don’t envision a challenger to the US dollar to emerge anytime soon. In an analysis by the Atlantic Council, the dollar’s status as the top global reserve currency was found to be “secure in the near and medium term,” especially as infighting among BRICS countries stalls the development of a substitute.

Maybe this anecdote sums up their uphill battle the best: At that October meeting in Russia where Putin criticized USD, attendees were encouraged to bring US dollars or euros because their non-Russian Mastercard or Visa cards wouldn’t work in the country.—NF

Moana 2 leads the way on record-breaking box office weekend. Whether it was with your family or to get away from them, everyone wanted to be at a movie theater during Thanksgiving break. Disney’s Moana 2, the sequel to the 2016 hit, pulled in $221 million domestically during its five-day debut, a record opening for the Thanksgiving holiday and the best five-day opening in history. Moana 2 also tagged-teamed with newly arrived heavyweights Wicked ($117.5 million) and Gladiator II ($44 million) to fuel the biggest Thanksgiving holiday ever at the domestic box office: All movies out now combined to rake in ~$420 million over the five day period.

Australia bans children under the age of 16 from using social media. The world’s strictest legislation on curbing social media use among kids was passed by the Australian Parliament on Friday, with the goal of protecting the country’s youth from online “harms.” In the 12 months before the law goes into effect, the government is putting the onus on social media companies to take “reasonable steps” to prevent under-16s from having an account. Should tech companies fail to comply, they could be fined up to $32 million (underage users and their parents will face no penalties). Opponents say the strict guardrails were rushed into law without considering unintended consequences, and enforcement will be virtually impossible thanks to tools like VPNs.

Justin Trudeau flew to Florida to meet with Trump. Canada’s prime minister said he had “productive” talks with the US president-elect at Mar-a-Lago on Friday when the two leaders held a surprise dinner meeting. The chat occurred less than a week after Trump threatened to impose 25% tariffs against Canada and Mexico in response to an influx of fentanyl and migrants into the US, an accusation Trudeau feels unfairly lumps Canada in with Mexico. The US seized 43 pounds of fentanyl at the Canadian border last fiscal year, compared to 21,100 pounds at the Mexican border, per the AP. Trudeau will likely pull out all the stops to prevent tariffs from being enacted, given that the US is a top customer for Canada’s oil and auto industries.

Advent calendars are no longer just a fun way to count down the days until Christmas at your grandparents’ house. They’ve increasingly become a key delivery device for a brand’s products during the holidays, especially in the luxury sector.

• A traditional Advent calendar has 24–25 “doors” to open each day leading to Christmas (Advent began yesterday this year). Behind them, you can usually find a Bible verse, a religious image, or candy.
• Many businesses have joined the party in recent years, selling six-, 12-, and 24-day calendars where you can find a variety of merchandise that includes tea, beef jerky, and candles.

The first chocolate-filled Advent calendars appeared in the 1950s, and Cadbury began selling them commercially in 1971. Today, it’s the beauty and wellness industry behind those doors: The US beauty calendar market is worth $20 million, per the market research firm Circana.

When it goes wrong: Sephora caught heat this year by offering a calendar for 2,500 rewards points, which are typically earned by customers for every dollar spent. Chanel received intense backlash in 2021 when its $825 calendar was deemed a scam by people on social media.

But social media can also give calendars a boost. TikTokers who make “unboxing” videos for the calendars have become a popular avenue to show potential customers what’s behind those doors. The marketing agency SAMY Alliance told Forbes there’s been a 368% increase in engagement on Advent calendar posts on social media compared to last year.—DL

Boomers who think millennials can’t afford a house because they buy $7 lattes just got fresh ammo: Last week, coffee futures hit their highest level since 1977. The most popular kind of bean, arabica, has jumped ~70% this year to reach $3.18 per pound on Wednesday, while prices for cheaper robusta beans rose 7.7% to nearly double the price from the start of the year. Your (actual) morning brew will likely cost more as a result: Nestle, the world’s largest coffee company, said last month it will raise prices and shrink its packs.

What’s going on? Poor growing weather in Brazil and Vietnam, the leading suppliers of arabica and robusta beans, respectively, has caused supply jitters. Coffee roasters are also racing to get their hands on beans ahead of potential new EU legislation that would require importers to prove their beans weren’t grown on deforested land.—DL

Santa’s packing list will only get longer: Today is Cyber Monday, the biggest shopping day of the year. Save for a tiny blip in 2021, spending on the e-commerce extravaganza has increased every year since 2019, and is projected to rise again this year to a record $13.2 billion, according to Capital One Shopping Research. On Black Friday, Americans spent $10.8 billion on online purchases alone, per Adobe Analytics. Tomorrow is #GivingTuesday, a global movement that encourages donations to nonprofits and other charitable organizations the day after Cyber Monday. The GivingTuesday global network reported a record $3.12 billion in donations last year.

Rockefeller Center’s Christmas tree will be lit on Wednesday: The lighting ceremony will air at 8pm ET on NBC and feature performances from Jennifer Hudson, the Backstreet Boys, and the Radio City Rockettes. The 70-year-old Norway Spruce will be topped with a star that has 3 million sparkling crystals on its 70 spikes and will be decorated with 50,000 LED lights on 5 miles of wires. For the first time since 1959, the country’s most famous Christmas tree came from Massachusetts.

The comeback of Notre Dame: The Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris will reopen to the public on Saturday, five years after a fire devastated the iconic church in 2019. The painstaking restoration involved around 2,000 experts, the use of more than 1,300 stones to repair walls and vaults, the removal and cleaning of the 8,000 pipes on the Grand Organ, and three new bells. The estimated cost of the rebuilding effort was ~$737 million, which is less than the $891 million that was raised through donations.

Everything else…

• Spotify Wrapped is likely coming this week…gird yourself for judgement from your friends.
• Jobs data for November will be released on Friday. A strong report could tamp down expectations for future rate cuts by the Fed.
• National Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day is Saturday.