FX.co ★ Warren Buffett donates $750 million and Walmart overcomes Amazon

While investors were analyzing the disappointing data on last week's Black Friday sell-off, Warren Buffett decided to donate more than $750 million in Berkshire Hathaway stock to four foundations related to his family. It was later revealed that on Thanksgiving Eve, the legendary investor said he made the donations and chose the day specifically because it was his way of thanking his children for their charitable work. "I'm personally proud of how my kids turned out," Buffett said. "I feel good about them knowing I feel good about them. That's the ultimate endorsement from my kids, and it's the ultimate statement that my kids don't want to be dynamically rich."

The 92-year-old investor donated 1.5 million Class B shares of his conglomerate to the Susan Thompson Buffett Foundation, named after his first wife. He also gave 300,000 Class B shares each to three funds run by his children: the Sherwood Foundation, the Howard G. Buffett Foundation, and the NoVo Foundation. The recipients this time did not include the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Notably, Buffett has been making these kinds of donations since 2006, and he does so to the same five charities run by his children and relatives. In June 2022, he has already given 11 million shares of Class B stock to the Gates Foundation, 1.1 million shares of Class B stock to the Susan Thompson Buffett Foundation, and 770,218 shares each to his three children's foundations.

It may seem strange that his donations are not linked to any other foundations and come in the form of shares rather than fiat money.

As Black Friday was mentioned above, this time Walmart, according to a study, was ranked first among shoppers searching online for discounts. The retailer dominated online searches for Black Friday discounts, according to Captify, which tracks more than 1 billion searches a day from Web sites around the world. Walmart's Black Friday discount searches rose by 386% year-over-year, surpassing rival retailer Amazon, which took first place last year.

Meanwhile, the holiday shopping season is expected to be more subdued than in past years. Americans are predicted to cut back on their spending this year as skyrocketing inflation reduces their purchasing power. That could put a damper on the Federal Reserve, which remains adamant that the economy feels fine and there is absolutely no reason to slow down the fight against inflation.

Recently, the National Retail Federation said that holiday sales in November and December would be up 6-8% from a year ago, a decline adjusted for inflation. Adobe Analytics predicts that online sales in November and December will grow by just 2.5% to $209.7 billion, compared to an 8.6% increase a year ago.

As for the S&P 500 index, the pressure on the trading instrument has returned. Bulls now need to protect the support level of $4,000. As long as the index is trading above this level, the demand for risky assets may persist. This is likely to strengthen the trading instrument and return the level of $4,038 under control. If the price pierces $4,064, it may start a further upward correction with the target at resistance of $4,091. The next target is located in the area of $4,116. If the S&P 500 index declines, bulls should defend the psychologically important level of $4,000. If this level is broken through, the trading instrument may be pushed down to $3,968, opening the way to a new support of $3,942.