The Daily Money: A rosy holiday forecast

Good morning! It’s Daniel de Visé with your Daily Money.

Holiday spending is expected to grow this year, Betty Lin-Fisher reports.

Consumers are projected to spend between $979.5 billion and $989 billion in November and December, compared with $955.6 billion during the same timeframe last year, the National Retail Federation said in a holiday sales forecast call.

Here's more on how holiday sales should play out.

More car loans are underwater

More Americans are upside down on their car loans, and the average amount they owe is at an all-time high, according to a new survey from car comparison site Edmunds.

In the three months through September, 24.2% of Americans who traded in their car toward a new vehicle purchase owed more on the trade-in than it was worth, Medora Lee reports. That’s up from 23.9% in the prior three months and 18.5% a year ago.

Auto loans account for about 25% of nonmortgage consumer credit, according to the Federal Reserve, and they can provide a window into the financial health of borrowers and overall household financial well-being.

Notorious candle turns up on eBay

Now appearing on eBay: A candle, originally sold by Bath & Body Works, that the retailer recently quit selling over complaints the snowflake design on its label resembled Ku Klux Klan hoods.

The personal care and fragrance retailer apologized for producing the Snowed In three-wick candle, which was part of its holiday line of candles, Mike Snider reports. 

The move came after online commenters called out the design – meant to be a nod to a folded snowflake cutout – for resembling the white supremacist group's white hoods. Some called it the Klandle and the KKKandle.

📰 More stories you shouldn't miss 📰

• USDA to investigate Boar's Head outbreak
• Lyft, Uber to offer discounted rides to the polls
• How immigrants improve housing markets
• A new Disney ride-skipping pass
• Best cities for the middle class

About The Daily Money

Each weekday, The Daily Money delivers the best consumer and financial news from USA TODAY, breaking down complex events, providing the TLDR version, and explaining how everything from Fed rate changes to bankruptcies impacts you.

Daniel de Visé covers personal finance for USA Today.