December, Holiday Shopping | featured news

When top retailers post their December sales this week, Wall Street analysts are expecting them to report a healthy end to the holiday season, helped by discounts, improved consumer sentiment and tactics like extended hours and layaways.

Though December was weaker than expected, the overall holiday season was still relatively strong, analysts said.

Amid the deluge of holiday music that comes in November and December, Mariah Carey’s Merry Christmas II You and Susan Boyle’s The Gift are poised to make all those other seasonal crooners sound like off-key carolers.