RETAIL SALES

A November note from the Conference Board placed consumer confidence in the U.S. at a four-month high of 56.0, from a low of 40.9 in July. Most startlingly, however, the Consumer Confidence Index (CCI) soared to its largest month-over-month percentage gain since April, 2009 and its largest single points gain since April, 2003.

Gold prices barely moved Tuesday as investors waited to see if Eurozone finance ministers meeting in Brussels will agree to strengthen the continent's bailout fund to insure sovereign debt.

For Apple customers the disappointment of getting an iPhone 4S instead of a 5 was much like ripping off a Band Aid. The announcement came (on time) it was quick, painful and then people got over it. Verizon Galaxy Nexus fans; however, have taken one blow after another and still no official announcements have been made about the phone's release, which is causing loyal customers to look elsewhere.

Online retail sales on Cyber Monday 2011 hit record highs and jumped 33 percent compared to the same day last year, according to a report from IBM Coremetrics.

Cyber Monday was on course to set another record for retail sales on Monday, as the strong start to the holiday shopping season continued online.

Shares of the Seattle-based retailer rose 6.44 percent to $194.15.

Verizon Galaxy Nexus rumors and puzzling Best Buy ads have left fans in the U.S. confused and frustrated about the phones release date, but Computer World claims to have finally found a credible source who leaked that pre-orders for the phone will start on Tuesday.

One in 10 Internet users plan to buy holiday gifts at either Groupon or LivingSocial this year, up from 4 percent last year.

A retail space at 60 Greene Street in Manhattan's Soho neighborhood has sold for $10.35 million, according to New York City records, one of two recent deals that cement the street's reputation as a desirable retail strip. Across the street, 57-63 Greene's retail condo is close to a deal, according to David Schechtman of Eastern Consolidated, one of the listing brokers.

Online retail sales in the United States on the post-Thanksgiving shopping day known as Black Friday jumped 26 percent this year, led by Amazon.com Inc, comScore said on Sunday.

There's not much to be thankful for if you were working on Wall Street this week. Stocks tumbled for the seventh session in a row, helping push the Standard & Poor's 500 down 4.7 percent.

U.S. retailers trying to woo shoppers with early deals and longer hours this week, and throughout the holiday season, could be putting their profits at risk as shoppers search for bargains and not much else.

When it comes to holiday shopping, more people are phoning it in, forcing retailers to embrace new ways to connect or else lose sales.

The United Arab Emirates, the world's fourth-largest oil exporter and home to gold trading hub Dubai, is rapidly becoming a force in trade of another highly valuable commodity: diamonds.

More people are expected to shop on this year's Black Friday, according to a survey for the National Retail Federation conducted by BIGresearch.

South Africa's rand reversed its earlier losses against the dollar on Wednesday and government bond yields pulled back from the previous day's multi-week highs as local assets took a breather from a hammering brought on by global risk aversion.

Asian stock markets ended lower on Wednesday, as concerns about Europe’s debt crisis offset better-than-expected reports on U.S. economy Tuesday.

Stocks rose in a choppy market on Tuesday, led by gains in technology shares that offset worries the Eurozone's debt troubles will spread.

U.S. stock index futures fell on Tuesday, extending a drop in global equities, as doubts about the ability of Europe to tackle its debt crisis sent Italy's bond yields back into a perceived danger zone.

U.S. stock index futures fell on Tuesday, extending a drop in global equities, as doubts about the ability of Europe to tackle its debt crisis sent Italy's bond yields back into a perceived danger zone.

Investors are still in shock from the August-September 2011 financial market meltdown and still too deeply impacted by the 2008 financial crisis to examine the set of leading indicators that portend a strengthening of the U.S. economy.