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Retail sales look poised for a solid finish to the holiday season as consumers hit stores and went online to snap up last-minute gifts, according to data released on Wednesday.

Still, overall sales growth lagged the increase in online spending and some brick-and-mortar retailers struggled. Steep discounts were prevalent throughout the season, tactics that drove sales but could crimp profitability at some chains.

The International Council of Shopping Centers/Goldman Sachs weekly chain store sales index rose 4.5 percent during the week ending December 24, versus a holiday-shortened pre-Christmas Day week in 2010. Redbook Research put the year-over-year gain at 4.3 percent.

Adjusted for the calendar mismatch, the ICSC/Goldman index rose 0.9 percent for the week ending December 24, compared with the prior week.

“The finish is solid and the season itself was good,” said ICSC Chief Economist Michael Niemira. “November was on the soft side but December will be better.”

ICSC is sticking with its holiday sales growth forecast of 3.5 percent, which it issued in September.

“Major players, such as Macy’s (M.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), are fine,” Niemira added. “Specialty stores are likely to be more uneven. Specialty apparel seems to have been hit by abnormally warm weather. Sales were on the slow side and there has been more discounting consequently.”

The biggest shopping malls and regional malls saw the strongest customer traffic since the first week of 2011. Factory outlets remained busy, but less so than the prior week, he said.

Consumers ratcheted down their online spending compared with

earlier in December, but visits to and spending at electronics and department stores increased during the week, Niemira noted.

U.S. consumer confidence rose more than expected in December, hitting an eight-month high, as Americans grew more upbeat about the labor market and their financial situation, the Conference Board said on Tuesday. That followed a report early in December showing U.S. unemployment at the lowest level since March 2009.

However, U.S. house prices are still falling, tempering economic optimism, and some retailers are suffering.

Sears Holdings Corp (SHLD.O: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) said on Tuesday that it will shut as many as 120 stores after poor sales. Borders Group (BGPIQ.PK: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) and Filene’s Basement were among retailers that filed for bankruptcy protection from creditors this year, and shut down, with Filene’s stores set to close shortly.

Part of the problem may be competition with online retailers, who saw faster sales growth this holiday season, suggesting e-commerce took market share from brick-and-mortar stores.

Online spending in the United States reached a record $35.27 billion from November 1 through December 26, up 15 percent versus the corresponding period last year, comScore (SCOR.O: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) reported.

For the week ending December 25, consumers spent $2.83 billion online, up 16 percent from the corresponding period in 2010, comScore also said.

“E-commerce is going to be awesome this holiday and retail will be mediocre,” said Michael Rubin, head of Kynetic, which owns online retail businesses Fanatics, Rue La La and ShopRunner.

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+%3Cp%3E+Stocks+ended+Friday+mixed+after+a+roller-coaster+week+in+which+all+three+indexes+each+lost+more+than+2.5%25.%3C%2Fp%3E%3Cp%3EAfter+moving+up+more+than+1%25+in+the+first+hour+of+trading%2C+stocks+steadily+retreated.+%3C%2Fp%3E%3Cp%3E%3Cp%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%3Cp%3E%3Cp%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%3Cp%3EThe+Dow+Jones+industrial+average+%28%29+closed+the+day+down+2+points%2C+or+0.02%25.+The+S%26amp%3BP+500+%28%29+moved+up+4+points%2C+or+0.3%25.+The+Nasdaq+%28%29+increased+15+points%2C+or+0.6%25.+Both+the+Dow+and+S%26amp%3BP+shed+2.8%25+for+the+week%2C+and+the+Nasdaq+dropped+3.4%25.%3C%2Fp%3E%3Cp%3EPart+of+the+sell-off+came+after+Fitch+put+seven+European+countries+on+credit+watch+negative%2C+citing+the+higher+probability+that+it+could+downgrade+these+nations+in+the+next+few+months.+Still%2C+investors+breathed+a+sigh+of+relief+that+France%2C+in+particular%2C+retained+its+pristine+AAA+rating.%3C%2Fp%3E%3Cp%3EBeyond+France%2C+Fitch+Ratings+also+affirmed+the+ratings+of+Belgium%2C+Spain%2C+Slovenia%2C+Italy%2C+Ireland+and+Cyprus%2C+while+putting+them+on+review+for+potential+near-term+downgrades+Friday+after+the+European+markets+closed.+%3C%2Fp%3E%3Cp%3E%26quot%3BEveryone+was+concerned+that+France+would+lose+its+AAA%2C+so+overall+investors+are+taking+Fitch%27s+moves+as+more+of+a+positive%2C%26quot%3B+said+Michael+James%2C+senior+equity+trader+at+Wedbush+Morgan+Securities.%3C%2Fp%3EEurope%27s+odds+of+success%3Cp%3EAhead+of+the+opening+bell%2C+the+government+released+its+latest+data+on+inflation%2C+which+showed+consumer+prices+rose+at+a+3.4%25+annual+rate+in+November.+That+was+virtually+unchanged+from+the+prior+month.%3C%2Fp%3E%3Cp%3E%26quot%3BThe+good+news+is+that+we%27ve+had+slightly+better+economic+numbers%2C+but+the+bigger+picture+is+there%27s+no+confidence%2C%26quot%3B+said+Ted+Weisberg%2C+president+of+Seaport+Securities.%3C%2Fp%3E%3Cp%3EWeisberg+and+other+traders+said+volumes+have+been+particularly+light+in+the+past+week+both+ahead+of+the+holiday+break+and+because+few+investors+have+conviction+over+the+market%27s+direction.+%3C%2Fp%3E%3Cp%3EFriday+also+marks+%26quot%3Bquadruple+witching%2C%26quot%3B+when+four+types+of+contracts+expire+–+those+tied+to+market+index+futures%2C+market+index+options%2C+stock+options+and+stock+futures.+%3C%2Fp%3E%3Cp%3EWhile+many+traders+try+to+settle+out+those+contracts+ahead+of+expiration%2C+there+is+often+some+volatility+on+the+actual+day.%3C%2Fp%3E%3Cp%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%3Cp%3E+%3C%2Fp%3E%3Cp%3E%26quot%3BWhen+you+have+options+expirations%2C+it+tends+to+skew+trading%2C%26quot%3B+said+Weisberg.+%26quot%3BThey%27re+sort+of+throwaway+days.%26quot%3B%3C%2Fp%3E%3Cp%3EU.S.+stocks+closed+higher+Thursday+on+upbeat+jobs+and+manufacturing+reports%2C+but+the+market+remains+nervous+about+the+European+debt+crisis.%3C%2Fp%3E%3Cp%3EAfter+the+close+Thursday%2C+Fitch+downgraded+seven+banks%2C+including+Bank+of+America+%28%2C+Fortune+500%29%2C+Morgan+Stanley+%28%2C+Fortune+500%29%2C+and+Goldman+Sachs+%28%2C+Fortune+500%29%2C+as+well+as+Europe%27s+Barclays%2C+Societe+Generale%2C+BNP+Paribas%2C+Deutsche+Bank+and+Credit+Suisse.+Most+major+banks+ended+the+day+down%2C+with+Goldman+Sachs+dropping+almost+2%25.+%3C%2Fp%3E%3Cp%3EEconomy%3A+Federal+officials+also+said+Friday+that+Europe%27s+crisis+could+wind+up+being+a+job+killer+for+the+United+States.+%3C%2Fp%3E%3Cp%3ENew+York+Fed+President+William+Dudley+told+lawmakers+that+deterioration+in+the+European+economy+could+reduce+demand+for+U.S.+products.+And+Steven+Kamin%2C+director+of+the+division+of+international+finance+at+the+Federal+Reserve%2C+echoed+those+comments+with+equally+dire+testimony.%3C%2Fp%3E%3Cp%3ECompanies%3A+Shares+of+Zynga+%28%29+rose+10%25+in+their+public+debut+on+the+Nasdaq%2C+before+closing+the+day+down+5%25+from+its+IPO+price.+The+maker+of+popular+Facebook+game+Farmville+priced+shares+at+%2410+apiece+in+the+its+initial+public+offering+late+Thursday.%3C%2Fp%3E%3Cp%3EResearch+in+Motion+%28%29+shares+dropped+sharply%2C+a+day+after+the+BlackBerry+maker+offered+a+disappointing+outlook+for+the+current+quarter+and+next+year%2C+when+it+released+its+earnings+results.%3C%2Fp%3E%3Cp%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%3Cp%3E+%3C%2Fp%3E%3Cp%3EWorld+markets%3A+European+stocks+closed+the+day+with+modest+losses.+Britain%27s+FTSE+100+%28%29+ticked+down+0.3%25+while+the+DAX+%28%29+in+Germany+edged+down+0.5%25.+France%27s+CAC+40+%28%29+shed+0.9%25.%3C%2Fp%3E%3Cp%3EAsian+markets+ended+higher.+The+Shanghai+Composite+%28%29+rose+2%25%2C+the+Hang+Seng+%28%29+in+Hong+Kong+gained+1.4%25+and+Japan%27s+Nikkei+%28%29+edged+higher+0.3%25.%3C%2Fp%3E%3Cp%3ECurrencies+and+commodities%3A+The+dollar+fell+against+the+Japanese+yen%2C+the+euro+and+British+pound.+%3C%2Fp%3E%3Cp%3EOil+for+January+delivery+increased+12+cents+to+%2493.99+a+barrel.+%3C%2Fp%3E%3Cp%3EGold+futures+for+February+delivery+rose+%2420.70+to+%241%2C597.90+an+ounce.+%3C%2Fp%3E%3Cp%3EBonds%3A+The+price+on+the+benchmark+10-year+U.S.+Treasury+increased+pushing+the+yield+down+to+1.86%25+from+1.91%25+late+Thursday.+%3C%2Fp%3E%3Cp%3E–+CNNMoney%27s+Aaron+Smith+contributed+to+this+report.%26nbsp%3B+%3C%2Fp%3E++%3Cp%3E%3Ca+href%3D%27http%3A%2F%2Fmoney.cnn.com%2F2011%2F12%2F16%2Fmarkets%2Fmarkets_newyork%2Findex.htm%27+rel%3D%27nofollow%27%3ESource%3C%2Fa%3E%3C%2Fp%3E+

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Jon Corzine is expected Tuesday to once again distance himself from an estimated $1.2 billion in customer money that vanished when MF Global collapsed this fall.

This time, Corzine will have company.

Bradley Abelow, MF Global’s president and chief operating officer, and Henri Steenkamp, the chief financial officer, are also scheduled to testify to the Senate Agriculture Committee.

All three say they don’t know where the money is, according to prepared remarks and Corzine’s previous testimony to a House panel last week. Nor do they take responsibility for authorizing the movement of money out of customer accoun.

Depending on the circumstances, transferring money from customers’ accounts could violate securities laws and, in some cases, could amount to a crime. Federal authorities have begun criminal investigations. And regulators are looking into whether the firm broke securities rules.

MF Global collapsed into the eighth-largest bankruptcy in U.S. history on Oct. 31 after a disastrous bet on European debt. Corzine stepped down as CEO on Nov. 4.

Corzine told the House Agriculture Committee last week that he didn’t know what happened to the money. He said he didn’t become aware of the shortfall until Oct. 30, one day before the firm filed for bankruptcy protection.

In his prepared testimony, Steenkamp says he had no direct involvement in the transfer of funds.

“Direct involvement with operational matters such as bank accounts or fund transfers has never been part of my duties,” Steenkamp says.

Abelow says he cannot explain what happened to the money without having access to MF Global documents, which a trustee now controls.

“At this time … I do not know the answers to those questions,” he says in his prepared testimony.

Anthony Sabino, a law professor at St. John’s University in New York, said Steenkamp and Abelow “are in a riskier position” than Corzine because they were responsible for day-to-day operations of MF Global.

Tuesday’s hearing will include an added element of drama because Corzine, a former Democratic senator from New Jersey, will be pressed by some senators he served with from 2000 through 2005 payday loans.

The Senate panel is one of three congressional committees to have issued subpoenas to compel Corzine’s testimony on the issue. It marked the first time a former senator has been subpoenaed by his former peers in more than 100 years, according to the Senate historian’s office.

Many lawmakers have heard from farmers, ranchers and small business owners in their states who are missing money that was deposited with the firm. Agricultural businesses use brokerage firms like MF Global to help reduce their risks in an industry vulnerable to swings in oil, corn and other commodity prices.

Corzine, who also was New Jersey governor from 2006 until early 2010, told lawmakers last week that he never intended to authorize the transfer of funds from customer accounts. If any subordinates moved clients’ money in the belief that Corzine had authorized it, “it was a misunderstanding,” he said.

Along with Corzine, Steenkamp and Abelow have been sued in class-action complaints on behalf of MF Global shareholders. The lawsuits accuse the executives of making false and misleading statements about MF Global’s financial strength and cash balances.

MF Global didn’t list the European debt on its balance sheet for all to see. Instead, those holdings were shifted to the company’s “off-balance sheet,” deep in its financial statements. Some separate filings with regulators excluded the European debt entirely.

A lawyer for the trustee overseeing the liquidation of MF Global’s brokerage operations said in court Friday that the trustee’s staff has discovered some “suspicious” trades in MF Global customer accounts that were made in the last days before the firm failed. The lawyer didn’t provide details.

Corzine said last week that customers’ losses weigh heavily on him.

“I think about this every day,” he said. “I could not be more regretful, more distressed that we are ruining people’s lives.”

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WASHINGTON

Exxon expects to see more and more hybrids on the world’s roads, with gas-sipping models like the Toyota Prius making up half of all vehicles by 2040.

The largest publicly traded oil and gas company says in its annual energy outlook that the use of hybrids _ vehicles that rely on both gas and electricity for power _ and other efficiency gains will keep energy demand in check for the U.S. and other major industrialized countries for years.

Exxon Mobil Corp. predicts that energy demand will remain flat through 2040 in developed nations instant payday loan.

However, Exxon says that China and other developing nations will increase their thirst for oil and other petroleum based fuels. Energy demand within developing nations is expected to rise nearly 60 percent from 2010 to 2040.

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Declaring the American middle class in jeopardy, President Barack Obama on Tuesday outlined a populist economic vision that will drive his re-election bid, insisting the United States must reclaim its standing as a country in which everyone can prosper if provided “a fair shot and a fair share.”

While never making an overt plea for a second term, Obama’s offered his most comprehensive lines of attack against the candidates seeking to take his job, only a month before Republican voters begin choosing a presidential nominee. He also sought to inject some of the long-overshadowed hope that energized his 2008 campaign, saying: “I believe America is on its way up.”

In small-town Osawatomie, in a high school gym where patriotic bunting lined the bleachers, Obama presented himself as the one fighting for shared sacrifice and success against those who would gut government and let people fend for themselves. He did so knowing the nation is riven over the question of whether economic opportunity for all is evaporating.

“Throughout the country, it’s sparked protests and political movements, from the tea party to the people who’ve been occupying the streets of New York and other cities,” Obama said.

“This is the defining issue of our time,” he said in echoing President Theodore Roosevelt’s famous speech here in 1910.

“This is a make-or-break moment for the middle class and all those who are fighting to get into the middle class,” Obama said. “At stake is whether this will be a country where working people can earn enough to raise a family, build a modest savings, own a home and secure their retirement.”

For Obama, saddled with a weak national economic recovery, the speech was a chance to break away from Washington’s incremental battles and his own small-scale executive actions. He offered a sweeping indictment of economic inequality and unleashed his own brand of prairie populism.

He spoke for nearly an hour to a supportive audience, reselling his ideas under the framework of “building a nation where we’re all better off.”

Billed as an important address that would put today’s economic debates in context, Obama’s speech seemed a bit like two packaged into one.

The first was that of the campaigner, full of loft and reclamation of American values. The second was the governing Obama, who recited his familiar jobs agenda, his feud with Congress over extending a Social Security tax cut, even his fight to get his consumer watchdog confirmed.

Obama tied himself to Roosevelt, the president and reformer who came to this town in eastern Kansas and called for a “square deal” for regular Americans. Roosevelt said then the fight for progress was a conflict “between the men who possess more than they have earned and the men who have earned more than they possess.”

It is a theme Obama is embracing in a mounting fight for re-election against Republicans who, regardless of the nominee, will attack his stewardship of the economy.

One of the leading contenders for the GOP nomination, Mitt Romney, ridiculed Obama for comparing himself to Roosevelt.

Obama “said that he is like Teddy Roosevelt,” Romney said at a campaign event in Paradise Valley, Ariz. “And I thought, `In what way is he like Teddy Roosevelt?’ Teddy Roosevelt of course founded the Bull Moose Party. One of those words applies.”

Kirsten Kukowski, spokeswoman for the Republican National Committee, said, “Maybe instead of trying to be like other presidents, Obama should try being president.”

Obama took aim at the Republicans, saying they would only return the same structures that led to America’s economic downturn. “Their philosophy is simple: We are better off when everyone is left to fend for themselves and play by their own rules,” Obama said. “I’m here to say they are wrong.”

The president conceded that the country is in the midst of a consuming re-examination on his watch, prompting national movements against both government spending and an economy that many feel disproportionately favors the elite. Obama went on the offensive about income equality, saying it distorts democracy and derails the American dream.

Responding to those who want to cut taxes and regulation in the belief success will trickle down, Obama said: “Here’s the problem: It doesn’t work. It’s never worked.”

Obama noted that Theodore Roosevelt was called a “radical, a socialist, even a communist” for putting forth ideas in his last campaign such as an eight-hour work day, a minimum wage for women, unemployment insurance and a progressive income tax.

Left unsaid: Roosevelt’s Bull Moose campaign in 1912 failed to return him to the White House.

Obama attempted to sum up the pain and peril for a society where the middle class is struggling. But he also called for individual responsibility.

“In the end,” he said, “rebuilding this economy based on fair play, a fair shot and a fair share will require all of us to see the stake we have in each other’s success.”

Obama also challenged he big banks that took bailouts from American taxpayers, pointing to “a deficit of trust between Main Street and Wall Street.” He said banks that were bailed out had an obligation to work to close that trust deficit and should be doing more to help remedy past mortgage abuses and assist middle-class taxpayers.

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Federal monitors said this week they have found more evidence that Monsanto’s genetically engineered corn is failing to kill the insects it is designed to repel.

The US Environmental Protection Agency posted a report this week saying that corn rootworm — a major agricultural pest — is damaging Monsanto’s corn. 

This summer researchers said they found evidence of problems in cornfields in Iowa and Illinois. The agency said this week, they also have found evidence of corn rootworm damage in Minnesota and Nebraska, and called Monsanto’s monitoring of the problem “inadequate.”

Researchers, in lab settings, have found evidence that the pests are growing resistant to a protein that is genetically engineered into the plants and designed to kill the pests after they consume it.

Monsanto issued a statement saying it takes the report “seriously and remains committed to working with farmers to encourage the adoption of integrated pest management practices when managing high rootworm populations on farm.”

Monsanto did not provide a company representative for an interview, but has said in a previous interview that the problem seems to be confined only to fields with high insect pressure.  The company also says there is no “scientific confirmation” that the pest is developing resistance to the protein.

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Thailand’s prime minister is urging people in flooded areas to be patient because the government is working as hard as it can to drain the water.

Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra said Monday the flooding situation that has plagued the country since late July is improving as waters recede. However, she noted that water spreading across western Bangkok could drain more slowly than in other areas of the capital.

She urged people to “tolerate the flooding situation and turn unity into power to struggle through the crisis payday advance low fees.” Yingluck made the comments on her Facebook page.

The national death toll from Thailand’s worst floods in more than half a century has reached 562. The floods are still affecting 22 of the country’s 77 provinces.

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World stocks climbed Wednesday, bolstered by receding inflation in China and Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi’s promise to resign once a new budget is passed that could prevent the country becoming engulfed in a debt crisis.

Benchmark oil rose to nearly $97 per barrel as the Chinese inflation numbers reinforced expectations that the world’s second-largest economy can continue robust growth and strong demand for crude. The dollar gained against the euro but slipped against the yen.

European shares advanced in early trading on the heels of broad gains in Asia, where Japan’s Nikkei 225 index rose 1.2 percent to close at 8,755.44. Britain’s FTSE 100 gained 0.4 percent to 5,587.13, Germany’s DAX rose 1.1 percent to 6,027.96, and France’s CAC-40 added 0.6 percent to 3,163.50.

But Wall Street was set to fall, with Dow Jones industrial futures losing 0.4 percent to 12,076 and S&P 500 futures dropping 0.6 percent to 1,265.90.

Italy became a key focus for investors this week after doubts emerged that the country would go through with a tough package of austerity measures. Many investors saw Berlusconi as an obstacle to sweeping economic reforms needed to help Italy avoid sinking into a debt crisis.

Berlusconi is the second recent political casualty of the European debt crisis. In Greece, a new interim government _ one that won’t be led by the current prime minister, George Papandreou _ is to be announced Wednesday. New leadership was needed for the passage of an austerity plan in Parliament that would entitle debt-laden Greece to euro130 billion ($179 billion) in new European rescue money.

Some analysts said the political shakeup in Italy won’t stem the tide of debt the country faces. Italy’s borrowing cost spiked to nearly 7 percent this week. That number is important because Greece, Portugal and Ireland were forced to receive financial lifelines after their rates rose above 7 percent. Unlike those countries, Italy is too large to be bailed out by its European neighbors.

“It doesn’t matter who the politician is. They still have the same debt,” said Martin Hennecke, associate director of investment advisers Tyche Group in Hong Kong. Greece’s situation is “peanuts” compared to the financial devastation that could be wrought should Italy default.

“That would sink the whole eurozone rescue process in an instant. That would sink France, too, because of the exposure of French banks to Italy. It’s about seven times more than their exposure to Greece,” Hennecke said.

Yet the optimism generated by Europe’s efforts to contain its debt crisis led investors to plow money back into emerging market equity funds, which posted their biggest weekly inflow since early April, according to Cambridge, Massachusetts-based fund tracker EPFR Global payday lenders.

For the week ending Nov. 2, equity funds posted net inflows of $4.9 billion for the week. Emerging market funds took in 70 percent of that total, EPFR said.

Among Asian markets, South Korea’s Kospi added 0.2 percent to 1,907.53 and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng jumped 1.7 percent to 20,014.43. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 rose 1.2 percent to 4,346.10.

Benchmarks in India, Indonesia, New Zealand and the Philippines were also higher, while those in Singapore, Taiwan and Thailand fell. Mainland China’s Shanghai Composite Index gained 0.8 percent to 2,524.92 and the smaller Shenzhen Composite Index rose 1.6 percent to 1,071.04.

Another market cue came from China, with the release Wednesday of data showing the country’s stubbornly high inflation fell in October as rapid rises in food costs eased. The decline was seen positively by investors as it gives Beijing more room to stimulate China’s economy.

Japan’s Olympus Corp. fell 20 percent as it may be booted off the Tokyo stock market after it admitted Tuesday it covered up investment losses dating back to the 1990s. Brokerage firm Nomura Holdings rose 4.1 percent, a day after hitting its lowest price of the year amid fears that securities companies might have been involved in the coverup.

Hong Kong-listed PetroChina Co. rose 3.3 percent and China National Offshore Oil Corp., known as CNOOC, gained 4 percent. In mainland China trading, China National Software & Service Co. gained 6.1 percent while several media companies hit the daily limit of 10 percent.

U.S. stock indexes fell early Tuesday after Berlusconi narrowly survived a confidence vote. But the market turned higher immediately after news reports said Berlusconi had promised to step down after economic reforms are passed, likely next week.

On Wall Street on Tuesday, the Dow Jones industrial average rose 0.8 percent to close at 12,170.18. The S&P 500 rose 1.2 percent to 1,275.92. The Nasdaq composite rose 1.2 percent to 2,727.49.

Benchmark crude was down 10 cents at $96.66 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract rose $1.28 to settle at $96.80 on Tuesday.

In currencies, the euro slipped to $1.3789 from $1.3835 in late trading Tuesday in New York. The dollar fell to 77.67 yen from 77.70 yen.

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