Dec. 28 (UNION-TRIBUNE)
Retailers made up significant ground in the final week before Christmas after a lackluster start to the holiday shopping season, according to experts who track holiday spending.

As they have been apt to do in recent years, savvy shoppers held back during the early part of this year's holiday shopping season, then came out in droves as the clock ticked toward Christmas.

NEW YORK, 2:02 p.m. Dec. 28 (AP)
Consumer confidence figures spur Wall Street buying: Wall Street resumed its year-end rally Tuesday, bolstered by a new report which showed consumer confidence had jumped sharply in recent weeks. All three major indexes reached new multiyear highs in light holiday-week trading.

NEW YORK, 2:16 p.m. Dec. 28 (AP)
Consumer confidence rebounds in December: Improving labor market conditions and cheaper energy prices led to a sharp increase in a widely watched indicator of consumer confidence in the economy in December, a good sign for growth heading into the new year.

12:42 p.m. Dec. 28 (AP)
Crude futures rise but remain below $42 a barrel: Crude futures rebounded slightly Tuesday, following a 6 percent drop the day before on forecasts calling for warmer weather in the U.S., which eased worries about tight supplies of winter fuel.

TRENTON, N.J., 12:45 p.m. Dec. 28 (AP)
Depositions of Merck CEO expected in March over Vioxx suits: The top executive at troubled pharmaceutical giant Merck & Co., Raymond V. Gilmartin, may testify by March in some of the dozens of lawsuits filed in New Jersey over Merck's withdrawal of its blockbuster arthritis drug Vioxx, a lawyer for the company said Tuesday.

DALLAS, 1:25 p.m. Dec. 28 (AP)
Blockbuster to make hostile bid for Hollywood Entertainment: Blockbuster Inc. said Tuesday it will launch a hostile bid for Hollywood Entertainment Corp. next month if the rival's directors won't negotiate a deal.

WASHINGTON, 2:05 p.m. Dec. 28 (AP)
Treasury: Most alcohol in malts must be brewed: Popular flavored malt beverages must have the majority of their alcohol come from the process of brewing if they want to be taxed and treated as beer products rather than higher-taxed liquor products.

LOS ANGELES, 1:52 p.m. Dec. 28 (AP)
Lawsuit claims Children's Motrin causes severe side-effects: The parents of a 7-year-old girl on Tuesday sued the makers of Children's Motrin and several other companies that distribute the painkiller, claiming their daughter lost her eyesight and suffered other severe side effects after taking the medication.

SAN MATEO, 1:59 p.m. Dec. 28 (AP)
Apple's Steve Jobs tops list of highest paid Bay Area executives: Steve Jobs, co-founder and CEO of Apple Computer Inc., was the highest-paid executive in the San Francisco Bay area in 2003, according to a new study.

SAN JOSE, 2:17 p.m. Dec. 28 (AP)
PeopleSoft CEO resigns in advance of Oracle takeover: PeopleSoft Inc. founder David A. Duffield, who returned as chief executive during the company's bruising takeover battle with Oracle Corp., has quit the business software maker, according to a regulatory filing Tuesday.

WASHINGTON, 6:34 p.m. Dec. 28 (AP)
Fannie Mae agrees to pay ousted CEO Raines $1.3 million annually: Franklin Raines, who was forced out as Fannie Mae's chief executive after five years, is due to receive a pension of $1.3 million a year for life, according to an agreement with the mortgage lending giant.

Dec. 28 (UNION-TRIBUNE)
Final week to holiday sales boon for stores: Retailers made up significant ground in the final week before Christmas after a lackluster start to the holiday shopping season, according to experts who track holiday spending.

Dec. 28 (UNION-TRIBUNE)
'Engaged in the community': When a former board member of San Diego National Bank applied for a hefty loan in 1984 that was going to tax the lending limit of the young bank, Robert Horsman knew the regulators would be wary.

Dec. 28 (UNION-TRIBUNE)
New tax law dings car donors, charities: Vehicle donations to local charities are revving up as owners race to take advantage of a tax write-off that will lose much of its allure once a new law goes into effect Jan. 1.

BEIJING, 5:51 a.m. Dec. 28 (AP)
Chinese TV maker Changhong Electric to post big loss for 2004: Leading Chinese television manufacturer Sichuan Changhong Electric Co. said Tuesday it will post large losses in 2004 due to unpaid accounts arising from antidumping duties imposed by the United States.

TOKYO, 5:29 a.m. Dec. 28 (AP)
Troubled Japanese retail giant gets government-backed bailout: Troubled Japanese retailer Daiei Inc. and housing builder Misawa Homes Holdings Inc. will receive financial assistance from a government-backed organization that orchestrates corporate bailouts.

BERLIN, 5:24 a.m. Dec. 28 (AP)
Dollar slips to new all-time low against euro: The dollar slid to a new all-time low Tuesday against the euro, which rose to $1.3643 in thin post-holiday trading.

DEARBORN, Mich., 4:57 a.m. Dec. 28 (AP)
Ford recalls 262,113 Escape SUVs: Ford Motor Co. is recalling 262,113 Ford Escape sport utility vehicles to repair a defect in the rear gate.

ST. LOUIS, 4:53 a.m. Dec. 28 (AP)
Top executive at Edward Jones stepping down at end of 2005: Edward Jones' top executive is stepping down from that post at the end of next year as the company deals with a $75 million scandal and investigations by federal regulators and the U.S. Justice Department.

NEW YORK, 4:50 a.m. Dec. 28 (REUTERS)
Holidays not so merry for some clothing retailers: Clothing retailers lacking the season's hottest labels had a difficult time this holiday period, but overall apparel sales appeared to be in line with limited expectations.

MADRID, Spain, 4:48 a.m. Dec. 28 (AP)
Government pacts minimum salary at euro512 ($697) for 2005: The Spanish government has reached an agreement with unions and employers to raise the minimum monthly wage by 4.5 percent to euro512.90 ($699) on Jan. 1, news reports said Tuesday.

TOKYO, 4:32 a.m. Dec. 28 (AP)
Tokyo market's main index rises to five-month high, dollar down against yen: The Tokyo stock market's main index climbed to a five-month high Tuesday on expectations share prices in Japan and the United States would rise in the coming new year. The dollar was lower against the yen.