Top 6 Beginner Investing Mistakes to Avoid for Better Returns - Investopedia

Total sales were $74.6-billion for the month, with core retail sales up 1.1%

China’s five-year digital development plan calls for wider blockchain use in trade and manufacturing alongside stronger technical standards. China has set a 2030 target for largely completing a national blockchain network under a five-year digital development plan published Friday. The 15th Five-Year Plan for National Informatization, which sets priorities calls for deeper blockchain use in trade and finance in the Yangtze River Delta, and deployment at scale in manufacturing and agriculture in the Chengdu–Chongqing region in southwestern China. Friday’s plan was issued by the Central Cyberspace Affairs Commission, a senior body within the ruling Communist Party that coordinates digital development policy. The document makes the completion target explicit for a project already included in China’s national development plan released in March. A joint policy from the Communist Party’s central leadership and State Council published on Oct. 9 called for its construction. The new plan also calls for stronger blockchain technical standards and greater use of the technology in data circulation and trading.

Nearly half of Americans haven’t calculated what they’ll need in retirement.

The stress and burnout we’re seeing aren’t only about hours or workload, but about misalignment, Dana Rahat writes

New York Attorney General Letitia James has asked a court to order defunct crypto and forex trading platform NovaTech’s founders, Cynthia and Eddy Petion, and related companies to pay $1.37 billion over its Ponzi scheme. The AG is seeking the return of about $1.13 billion in investor funds, plus $232.5 million in interest, according to a Thursday court filing. The court found the Petions and the companies liable by default in August 2025 after they failed to respond to the lawsuit. Four people who recruited investors into NovaTech have separately agreed to pay nearly $6 million in settlements intended to benefit victims, according to the AG’s office. More than 11,000 New Yorkers lost tens of millions of dollars through NovaTech and an earlier crypto mining scheme, AWS Mining, the AG’s office said. The complaint alleged that promoters targeted Haitian and other immigrant communities through prayer groups, social media and WhatsApp, promising high returns and recruitment bonuses. The filing says that investors deposited about $1.16 billion into NovaTech’s crypto wallets between August 2019 and May 2023.

Open this photo in gallery:The Home of the Week is a Regency-inspired cottage that isn't nearly as old as it looks. Mitchell Hubbel/Modern Movement Creative Inc. This week: A luxury hotel firm stirs up debate in a quaint Ontario town and developers get more creative with their perks to lure buyers. Plus, why you should pay off your mortgage before you retire, and one property worth a look. Take our business and investing news quizIn depthA luxury hotel firm and a quaint Ontario villageOpen this photo in gallery:An influx of new money, people and tourism have many in Elora wondering whose town it is. Sammy Kogan/The Globe and MailIt’s easy to see why Elora was one of the first places I was told to visit when I spent a summer in Toronto. The historic former mill town has reinvented itself as a high-end tourist destination perfect for weddings and weekend getaways. But behind the town’s picturesque exteriors, the growing presence of a luxury hotel company has sparked a debate about who gets to decide how a community grows and changes. As Greg Mercer reports, Kat Florence seems to divide the village as deeply as the gorge that runs through it.