24/7 Wall St.

President Trump said the shutdown will not end until he gets his Mexican border wall. According to Reuters:

U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday said the partial shutdown of the federal government was going to last until his demand for funds to build a wall on the U.S.-Mexico border is met.

The U.S. government partially shut down on Saturday, and there is not yet any sign of tangible efforts to reopen agencies closed by a political impasse over Trump’s demand for border wall funds.

Holiday sales were strong. According to The Wall Street Journal:

Shoppers delivered the strongest holiday sales increase for U.S. retailers in six years, according to early data.

Total U.S. retail sales, excluding automobiles, rose 5.1% between Nov. 1 and Dec. 24 from a year earlier, according to Mastercard SpendingPulse, which tracks both online and in-store spending with all forms of payment. Overall, U.S. consumers spent over $850 billion this holiday season, according to Mastercard.

Real estate buyers are quickly purchasing Toys “R” Us locations. According to The Wall Street Journal:

Toys “R” Us has closed around 800 stores this year, more than any other U.S. retailer. Many of these closed properties have become hot commodities on the open market.

The toy retailer in March moved to liquidate all its U.S. holdings after a failed restructuring. Landlords, discount merchants and other retailers have gobbled up the vacated properties during the last few months. Sales include owned properties and leases, and some tenants have already moved in.

Car sales trouble in China has hurt global manufacturers. According to The Wall Street Journal:

A downturn in China’s car market has wrong-footed some of the world’s biggest auto makers, saddling them with factories they no longer need and that are costly to retool.

Ford Motor Co., Peugeot SA and Hyundai Motor Co. especially mistimed recent expansions, opening new plants just as the seemingly unstoppable growth of China’s auto market went into reverse.