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you invest. This is a high-risk investment and you should not expect to be protected if something goes wrong. American spending is strong heading into the height of the holiday season and

the Federal Reserve renews its focus for the new year.

When we say the Fed is back to being a two-mandate central bank,

that is to say it's looking at both unemployment and inflation.

That doesn't mean that it stopped looking at inflation and so people need to take that into

consideration and be just a little bit circumspect about celebrating too much.

Plus why billions of dollars promised to opioid victims still haven't been paid.

It's Thursday December 14th.

I'm Anne-Marie Fertulli for the Wall Street Journal.

This is the PM edition of What's News, the top headlines and business stories that moved the world today?

U.S. consumer spending was strong in November to kick off the holiday season. Retail sales were up by 0.3%

from October on a seasonally adjusted basis, according to the Commerce Department.

The Strong November report came as a surprise to many economists because consumers are still facing several headwinds like slower hiring and easing wage growth.

But consumers spent more on dining in at clothing stores and online. Speaking of online shopping, those boxes are... in clothing and

...