When you hear Black Friday, you may think of a fun shopping spree. But some people plan to use the day to buy more practical items. Stocks in Japan are up, but will it mean consumer confidence in the economy? And chances are many of you have spent quite some time in airports over the last few days — the Thanksgiving holiday is one of the busiest times of the year for traveling. We take a look at the changing design and attractions of airport terminals.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s conservatives today cut a deal with the center-left in Germany to form a coalition government that is pledging some serious new spending. From the Carolinas to Maine, it’s just filthy out there this morning. The bad weather is settled over some key East Coast airports on this busiest travel day. If your mother is really counting on you showing up for the meal, there are ways to work around the weather without bankrupting yourself. And, in the U.S. smart phone market, the Windows Phone seems firmly stuck in third place, far behind the likes of Android and Apple. But it’s a different story in Latin America. New data show, for the second straight quarter, sales of phone with the Microsoft system surpassed Apple’s iPhone and trailed only Android.

South Carolina is trying to win a bigger share of Boeing’s aircraft building operations. The state will sell $85 million in bonds in part to pay for land for the aerospace giant. South Carolina wants to get in  the business of building the new 777X — but it has to take it from Seattle first. If Scotland were to pull away from the United Kingdom, what would its society look like? What would its economy look like? The Scottish National Party today issued a kind of mission statement to start answering those questions. In 10 months time, voters in Scotland will be asked, yes or no: “Should Scotland be an independent country?” And, would you lend your car to a stranger? A new company is betting that just as people increasingly rent their houses on Airbnb, they may also be willing to hand over their car keys. 

In the U.S., some chief executives get more than a thousand times the average worker pay at their companies. In Switzerland the votes have just been counted on a measure that would limit CEO compensation there to just 12 times what everyone else makes. The holiday season brings with it boom times for retailers each year. But it’s also a great time for charities looking to replenish their coffers. We look at how the Thanksgiving spirit in particular can be a recruiting tool for the philanthropies. And, the British producers of the international hit drama “Downton Abbey” are cashing in new and ornate ways. In Britain and in the U.S., they’ve rolled out a huge range of branded merchandise — clothes, jewelry, make up, wine. But they may have missed out on what could have been one massive market: China.

A dozen long years ago, kicking off in the city of Doha in Qatar, negotiations began to further liberalize trade rules. On Monday or even as early as Sunday, the World Trade Organization could announce a Doha deal, but the agenda isn’t as ambitious as it was in the beginning. The transition to college is tough for any student, but especially for veterans going to college on the post-9/11 G-I Bill. A new report today has some recommendations to ease the transition. And, seven new buildings are going up in New York City’s Midtown Manhattan. They are all luxury towers, many just couple of blocks from Central Park. That has some residents concerned about what the buildings will do to open space and light in the park.

The news from the car shows in Tokyo and Los Angeles: hydrogen-powered cars coming to the market in the coming months. Plus, the latest on the starts and fits of heath care reform in America. It’s been a week since President Obama announced that people with canceled health insurance policies should be able to keep them for another year — that’s if states and insurance companies agreed. So far 13 states have agreed, 8 have said no, and one big one could decide today.  And, First Lady Michelle Obama, a first-generation college graduate, is pushing to get more disadvantaged students into college. About  third of college students today are the first in their families to go. But they’re less likely to graduate than those with parents who went to college. A new YouTube campaign aims to change that.

Talks between world powers and Iran aimed at persuading Iran ease back on its nuclear program are back underway in Geneva today. Iran is looking for relief from economic sanctions. The last round of talks ran into a disagreement over Iran’s insistence that its right to enrich uranium should be recognized by the international community. JCPenney will announce quarterly profits — or lack thereof — today. The company has been on a roller coaster ride since its previous CEO put the company on a disastrous course. And, more in our special series, The New Math of Health Care. Today, we look at people living longer with terminal illnesses. In addition to the often long and sometimes painful process of dying, the costs for end of life care, even for those with insurance, can quickly deplete a lifetime’s worth of savings — and more.

For a time, drugs losing their patent protection and getting cheaper cut into medicine sales around the world. But according to a new forecast from the IMS Institute for Healthcare Informatics, spending on medicines will for the first time top a trillion dollars next year — and it’s the growing middle class overseas. Best Buy has a profit report on the way this morning. About a year ago, business reporters beginning to craft obituaries, as the company seemed headed the way of Circuit City. But Best Buy stock has soared this year. And, one of the great emotional and logistical challenges for baby boomers — caring for parents at a distance: There are the costs of travel and time missed from work. Then there’s the worry and guilt when you can’t be there for sick parents.

The release of a 20,000 word road map by the Chinese government for how China intends to change its society has been getting a lot of attention for the easing of China’s one-child policy. But Chinese officials also want to make key changes to the structure of the world’s second largest economy. The Tennessee Valley Authority announced last week that it will retire 8 coal-fired generators. And there are possibly more to come. And, beware holiday shoppers. That great deal you found on the internet may just be a fake. The amount of counterfeits is proliferating and becoming more sophisticated.