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DETROIT (AP) — November used to be a slow month for U.S. car sales. Not anymore.

Black Friday promotions — some of which began well before Thanksgiving — were expected to push last month’s sales to near-record levels. Car buying site Edmunds.com predicted sales of new cars and trucks will hit 1.33 million, eclipsing the previous November record set in 2001.

Fiat Chrysler’s sales rose 3 percent to 175,974 vehicles, its best November result since 2000. Jeep sales — juiced by a zero-percent financing deal — jumped 20 percent for the month, making up for lower sales for FCA’s Dodge, Chrysler and Fiat brands. Ram truck sales were up 1 percent.

Other automakers report November sales later Tuesday.

November was a notoriously slow sales month until about five years ago, when car dealers joined other retailers in promoting Black Friday, according to Edmunds analyst Jessica Caldwell. Now, like Amazon, Wal-Mart and others, dealers started promoting “Black Friday” deals as early as Halloween. Jeep offered zero percent financing for up to 75 months. General Motors teased savings of up to 20 percent of for its Buick, Chevrolet and GMC brands. Hyundai offered an extra $500 on the Sonata sedan between Nov. 20 and Nov. 30.

“Last year, Thanksgiving weekend accounted for twice as many sales as any other weekend in November. We expect to see that trend continue this year,” Caldwell said.

But deals are only part of the reason for this year’s strong U.S. sales. Low gas prices, low interest rates, improving employment numbers and enticing new products are also driving consumers to dealerships in bigger numbers than expected.

Last week, sales forecasting firm LMC Automotive raised its full-year forecast and said sales are now likely to reach a record 17.5 million in 2015.

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The slow motion implosion of mobile banking company Monitise continues.

The company announced on Tuesday that its CFO, Brad Petzer, is leaving after 2 years in the role. His exit follows the departure of two CEOs this year, one of whom was founder Alastair Lukies.

Monitise, founded in 2003, was once one of Britain’s hottest fintech companies. In fact, it was around before fintech was even a term, pulling in funding from heavyweights such as Visa, MasterCard, and Telefonica.

The company designed mobile payment services and worked with big banks such as Santander, as well as companies like Premier Inn.

But the company always struggled to make a profit, becoming known in the City as a classic “jam tomorrow” company — next year, they said, next year.

The latest set of results, from September, show losses spiralled from £31.4 million in 2014 to £41.8 million and revenue fell 6% to £89.7 million.

The rise of fintech actually hurt Monitise, as it has faced competition from nimbler payment companies like Stripe and Adyen, and giants like Apple and Google, who have both launched payment products.

Monitise has been scrambling to get with the times, transitioning to a cloud and subscription model. Shares have collapsed over 90% this year.

The giants who once propelled Monitise to fame are now deserting the company too. Visa announced last September it was planning to sell its stake, sending shares crashing 26%.

Monitise shares are down almost 5% on news of Petzer’s departure.

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The US seems to be shouldering most of the burden in the fight against ISIS, according to new statistics from the Pentagon.

The US-led coalition of 65 countries fighting the terrorist group also known as the Islamic State has carried out 8,289 airstrikes total as of November 19. Of those strikes, the US has conducted 6,471, as The New York Times pointed out.

And of the 65 countries that are part of the coalition, only 12 countries have participated in the air campaign against ISIS in Iraq and Syria. Just 24 of those countries participate in the coalition’s quarterly meetings, according to The Times.

Some countries are included in the coalition simply because of their anti-terrorism policies, the publication noted.

The UK is currently only bombing targets in Iraq, but Prime Minister David Cameron is planning to ask parliament this week for permission to launch airstrikes in Syria. France stepped up airstrikes in Syria after ISIS-linked terrorists carried out attacks in Paris earlier this month, and Russia (which is not part of the coalition) entered the fray in September.

From the start of operations in August of last year until October 31 of this year, the coalition has spent $5 billion on the fight against ISIS.

State Department spokesman John Kirby defended the coalition at a press briefing earlier this month, according to The Times.

“It’s a coalition of the willing, which means every nation has to be willing to contribute what they can,” he said. He added that while not every country can conduct airstrikes, “that doesn’t mean that other nations’ contributions aren’t important.”

The new Pentagon figures also showed the extent of the damage to Iraq and Syria since operations began:

Airstrikes and ground fights between jihadists and regional forces have damaged some cities to the point of being nearly uninhabitable.

The coalition is now ramping up airstrikes on the ISIS stronghold of Raqqa, Syria, in an effort to oust the jihadists from their de-facto capital.

SEE ALSO: ISIS is preparing a ‘backup’ capital in case its major center in Syria falls

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As part of our month-long build up to WIRED’s Star Wars special issue – and The Force Awakens – we’ve got a special look at some of the hand-crafted props used in the upcoming film.

By: Oliver Franklin-Wallis,

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The long-awaited, much hyped new teaser for next spring’s superhero smackdown (no, not that one) has arrived, with Batman v Superman treating fans to…. 49 seconds in a bunker.

To be fair, they’re 49 tense, rather exciting seconds, starting with Ben Affleck’s Batman strung up in an underground cell, hanging from chains next to what appear to be rebel fighters. Henry Cavill’s Superman crashes in, ominously inspiring armed guards to bend their knees to the Man of Steel, before silently, sullenly tearing off the Dark Knight’s cowl.

By: Matt Kamen,

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Hedge fund manager David Einhorn, the founder of Greenlight Capital, is on track for his second-losing year in his fund’s 19 year history.

According to Reuters’ Svea Herbst-Bayliss, Greenlight’s main fund fell 5% in November. The fund is down 20.6% year-to-date.

The fund’s performance has been hit by wind and solar power company SunEdison’s massive decline, with the stock falling by more than 83% since January.

For the first part of the year, SunEdison had been the fund’s biggest winner. The stock rallied from $19.51 to a peak of $32.13 on June 23 before collapsing. SunEdison’s share price was last trading around $3.27.

In the third quarter, Greenlight pared back its SunEdison stake, selling 6.2 million shares, according to the fund’s 13F regulatory filing. The fund last held 18.6 million shares, the filing showed.

Einhorn’s only previous down year was in 2008, when his fund lost 23%.

The average equity hedge fund is down 1.23% this year, according to data from Hedge Fund Research.

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The Iran nuclear deal will clear a crucial milestone on December 15, when the International Atomic Energy Agency submits a report on the extent of Iran’s previous nuclear-weaponization activities.

The completion of that investigation into the possible military dimensions (PMDs) of Iran’s nuclear program is one of the major prerequisites for the full implementation of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), the landmark nuclear deal that Iran and a US-led group of six countries signed in July.

In theory, the JCPOA won’t be implemented unless Iran complies with a separate “roadmap” agreement with the IAEA. That agreement, which was signed the same day as the JCPOA, lays out the parameters of the agency’s weaponization investigation. The JCPOA isn’t supposed to go into effect unless the sides “fully implement” that roadmap agreement.

But “full implementation” doesn’t really have a fixed meaning within the JCPOA, an agreement that is voluntary and non-binding. And according to an Associated Press analysis out Monday, the IAEA’s investigation is likely going to have inconclusive results.

As the AP notes, the head of the IAEA has “been careful to diminish expectations, describing his upcoming report last week as ‘not black and white.'” And according to the AP, Iranian officials have spoken about the IAEA probe using similar language, “suggesting they already know that the agency’s conclusions won’t be damning.”

Iran has already threatened that it simply won’t comply with the JCPOA if it’s dissatisfied with the IAEA’s report. That might be more than just an empty ultimatum, since according to the AP the announcement is consistent with what Iranian diplomats are saying behind closed doors as well.

“Two Western diplomats familiar with the issue say those same threats have been made in negotiations with IAEA officials,” the AP reported.

The weaponization report is considered crucial to the successful implementation of the nuclear deal, as it will be used to formulate an inspection baseline for Iran’s nuclear program. There is extensive evidence that Iran had a nuclear weapons program until as late as 2003.  The IAEA needs to be able to identify key personnel, facilities, supply chains, and past activities to establish exactly how far along Iran’s weaponization activities really are and to recognize whether those activities have been restarted.

But as the AP’s analysis suggests, the roadmap is also contentious — and perhaps even inconvenient, given its potential to interrupt the smooth implementation of a deal that Iran and the US-led group spent nearly two years negotiating. There are already signs that the US wants to get past the investigation as smoothly as possible — even if the IAEA’s “roadmap” doesn’t result in Iran’s full disclosure of its past weaponization work.

Business Insider has obtained a State Department document submitted to congressional offices during the Congress’s review of the JCPOA in July.

The 18-page document, a “verification assessment report” that is essentially the department’s outline of the nuclear deal’s various stipulations, is unclassified. But congressional staffers were only allowed to read it inside of a SCIF, or a special area for viewing and storing classified or compartmentalized information.

The section entitled “Addressing ‘Possible Military Dimensions'” discusses the US’ interpretation of the IAEA “roadmap” and its requirements.

“Iran’s implementation of its commitments under the Roadmap will bring to an end the years-long delay in the IAEA’s ability to address PMD [Possible Military Dimensions] issues,” the document reads.

Two paragraphs later, it explains that even with this high level of confidence that the IAEA investigation will resolve the PMD issue, the US’ standards fall somewhat short of full Iranian disclosure on weaponization-related matters.

“An Iranian admission of its past nuclear weapons program is unlikely and is not necessary for purposes of verifying JCPOA commitments going forward,” the report reads. “US confidence on this front is based in large part on what we believe we already know about Iran’s past activities”

“The United States has shared with the IAEA relevant information, and crafted specific JCPOA measures that will enable inspectors to establish confidence that previously reported Iranian PMD activities are not ongoing,” it continued. “If credible information becomes available regarding any renewed Iranian efforts, it would be shared with the IAEA as appropriate, whether involving previous people, locations, entities, or otherwise. We believe other IAEA member states will do the same.”

This report was circulated in Congress not long after the deal was signed. From a relatively early stage, the State Department believed that the IAEA was capable of monitoring Iran’s nuclear program without Iran fully disclosing its past activities.

This wasn’t because of any particular US trust in the Iranians. Rather, it was due to State’s confidence that US intelligence already knew enough about the extent of Iran’s weaponization program to make such an admission of past weaponization work unnecessary.

Even so, State apparently never expected full Iranian transparency on weaponization. And the Obama administration believed that Iran had no responsibility to admit to a past weaponization program under the JCPOA.

Washington always intended to give Iran a pass on full disclosure — and the result may be a watered-down IAEA investigation that’s treated more as a formality than as an integral element of an arms control agreement designed to last for decades.

SEE ALSO: Putin is promising to export nuclear equipment to Iran

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SoFi, an online lender based in California, has emerged as a darling of the fintech world.

The company raised $1 billion in September, helping establish Mike Cagney’s startup as one of the best-funded startups in Silicon Valley.

The fundraising was the single biggest financing round by any company in the fintech industry.

Cagney is taking SoFi up against online lenders and brick-and-mortar banks alike — and pursuing a $30 billion valuation.

“We have a path that we’re executing against, and it’s around the idea that these are things, we think, [will] get us to a $30 billion valuation,” he said in an interview with Business Insider.

Entire landscape

So far this year, the startup has lined up more than $4 billion in loans. That accounts for roughly 80% of its $5 billion in loans issued since its launch in fall 2011. Cagney believes there’s a lot more room for its origination platform to grow.

“We’re looking at the entire landscape of financial services,” he told Business Insider. “Like, life insurance, for example.”

He cites the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act as a catalyst for SoFi’s success.

“It’s opened up not just niche opportunities, but large swaths of consumer lending for folks like SoFi, and mortgage loans, and personal loans and student loans that might not have been there pre-crisis.”

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NEW YORK (AP) — Soon, a determined girl named Dorothy will ease on down that road in NBC’s “The Wiz Live!”

Hers is an odyssey that began in 1900 with the publication of L. Frank Baum’s “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz,” then continued with the classic 1939 movie musical starring Judy Garland, followed by the 1975 Broadway production of “The Wiz” (which, billed as “the Super Soul Musical,” won seven Tonys, including best musical) and, in 1978, by the film starring Diana Ross.

To transform “The Wiz” yet again, this time into a live TV extravaganza, is anything but easy.

For weeks the star-studded cast (including Elijah Kelley, Ne-Yo, David Alan Grier, Mary J. Blige, Queen Latifah, Uzo Aduba, Common and newcomer Shanice Williams as Dorothy) has mustered at Long Island’s Grumman Studios (the one-time Grumman aeronautics complex where the Apollo lunar module was built that put man on the moon). In free moments, they and the executive producers of “The Wiz” look ahead to 8 p.m. EST on Thursday, and their one-night-only trip to Oz.

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WHY ‘THE WIZ’:

“People think, ‘Oh, you’re doing “The Wiz” because “Empire” is such a big hit,'” says Craig Zadan, who is producing the show with his longtime partner Neil Meron. “The truth is, staging this musical has been a dream of ours since the ’90s, but the rights were tied up. It’s just coincidental that, this year, when we were choosing a new musical, the rights were cleared.”

“Both of us loved the original Broadway production,” says Meron. “But ‘The Wiz’ is a cultural touchstone in the black community, with an emotional connection we didn’t really know about until we were doing it. Bottom line: ‘The Wiz’ is phenomenal entertainment, and even with the racial divide at its highest point in decades, we want to put that on pause and do something for the family and for the spirit, and have a great time.”

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A TIMELESS MESSAGE:

Kelley (who co-starred in “Hairspray” and here plays the Scarecrow): “Understanding the ability to conquer your fears is one of the things that propels you to any success you desire. That’s what ‘The Wiz’ is about.”

Grammy-winning singer-actor Ne-Yo (the Tin Man): “Everybody thinks, ‘I’m not pretty enough,’ ‘I’m not thin enough,’ ‘I’m not this-or-that enough.’ But none of that is true. ‘The Wiz’ teaches you that everything you need to make your dreams come true is already there inside you.”

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IN DOROTHY’S SHOES:

Williams, a 19-year-old New Jersey native chosen from hundreds of hopefuls, had already appeared in her middle-school production of “The Wiz.” But she had been “too scared” to try out for Dorothy, instead scoring the part of Addaperle, Good Witch of the North.

“But when there was an open call for the TV production, I went, just for the learning experience,” she says. “Then they kept calling me back and calling me back. There was finally a point where I was like, ‘Hold on! I might actually get this.’ Now I’m having the time of my life!”

And at her side is Stephanie Mills, who here plays Auntie Em but was the original Dorothy in the Broadway production.

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DRESSED TO KILL?:

Actor-comedian Grier (on his Cowardly Lion getup): “It is SO very hot, sir! I’m a fuzzy stovepipe!”

Ne-Yo (on his Tin Man costume): “It’s 30 or 40 extra pounds. And it doesn’t breathe!”

Kelley (on his Scarecrow duds): “The costume isn’t heavy, but I have to always stand like this,” and he demonstrates an ache-inducing bandy-legged posture. “What I don’t have to deal with in my costume, I make up for with muscle contortion.”

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HIGH HOPES:

For Ne-Yo, the biggest challenge is “trying to figure out what you can bring to the role. There’s no topping Diana Ross or Michael Jackson (the film’s Scarecrow) or Nipsey Russell (its Tin Man). Instead, you have to ask yourself, ‘How can I add to the legacy of my character?'”

Meanwhile, Zadan and Meron hope to continue their partnership with Cirque du Soleil and take this new production to Broadway next year. They have designed it in a more proscenium-like style than their cinematic “Sound of Music” and “Peter Pan” live specials.

An important visual device: digital effects played across huge LED panels.

Like the tornado: “It’s incredible!” says Zadan. “We’re going in visual directions that are new to television.”

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NERVES?:

Just before airtime, Ne-Yo will be telling himself: “You know what you’ve rehearsed for, so get out there and do what you know you can do and just be great!”

“I’m ‘anticipitatious,'” says Grier. “I’m anticipating the anticipation. But that’s GOOD nerves. We’ll be ready!”

“If you don’t pray, worry,” says Williams. “But don’t worry, if you’re gonna pray. And I’m praying every day.”

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HIGH STAKES:

Two years ago, “The Sound of Music” was alive for a huge audience of 19 million viewers. But last year, “Peter Pan Live!” crashed with less than half that.

“Carrie Underwood clearly drove ‘The Sound of Music,'” says Zadan. “For ‘Peter Pan’ we had terrific actors, but not stars, and we did not do nearly as well. ‘The Wiz’ is contemporary and the music is R&B-cool, plus the cast is amazing — with no shortage of stars!”

“We love the tradition of a live holiday musical every year,” Meron says, “and the only way that’s going to continue is if the numbers are up this year. So the pressure is on for this show.”

With an upsurge in the neighborhood of “Sound of Music” numbers, “we’re assured that NBC will want to do it again next year,” says Zadan. “The future depends on how ‘The Wiz’ does.”

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EDITOR’S NOTE — Frazier Moore is a national television columnist for The Associated Press. He can be reached at fmoore@ap.org and at http://www.twitter.com/tvfrazier. Past stories are available at http://ift.tt/1hRHGTt

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Online:

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NEW YORK (AP) — Taraji P. Henson and Alicia Keys are joining forces to fight HIV and AIDS.

Henson, Janelle Monae and Laila Ali are signing on as ambassadors for the newly formed power council on Keys’ charity, Keep a Child Alive. The announcement was made Tuesday to coincide with World AIDS Day.

Henson, Monae and Ali will offer support to Keep a Child Alive, which Keys launched in 2003 to raise awareness about HIV and AIDS.

Keys held her annual Black Ball charity event in New York City last month, raising $3.8 million.

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