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8B Daily News – Tuesday, November 29, 2011 A weekend of strong holi- day shopping in the U.S. and radical proposals for stanching Europe's debt crisis sent stocks soaring Monday. The Standard & Poor's 500 index broke a seven-day losing streak and the Dow Jones indus- trial average jumped 291 points, its biggest gain in a month. Markets in Europe also Stocks soar on big shopping weekend, Europe Wall Street NEW YORK (AP) — surged as leaders there dis- cussed previously unthink- able approaches for con- taining the region's debt troubles, such as joint bond sales and much tighter fiscal controls. France's CAC-40 jumped 5.5 percent. Indexes in Germany and Italy rose 4.6 percent. The battered euro rose against the dol- lar. European finance min- isters discussed aggressive measures to stop the debt crisis from destroying the 17-nation currency union. In a sign of how desperate the situation has become, one proposal being dis- cussed ahead of a financial summit Tuesday calls for having nations cede con- trol over their budgets to a central European authori- ty. Profligate borrowing and spending by Greece and other countries helped trigger the two-year old crisis. Another plan calls for Europe's most stable economies like Germany, France and Austria to jointly sell bonds to pro- vide assistance to the region's most indebted members. Retail stocks, mean- while, spiked after initial reports showed a record number of shoppers hit the mall or bought gifts online during the holiday week- end. Macy's Inc. rose 4.7 percent and Best Buy Co. rose 3.4 percent. Thanks- giving weekend is a make- or-break time for many retailers. Black Friday is often the biggest retail sales day of the year. The Dow soared 291.23 points, or 2.6 percent, to 11,523.01. Alcoa Inc. jumped 5.7 percent, the most of the 30 stocks in the Dow. The Dow plunged 564 points last week on fear that Europe's debt crisis was spreading to large countries like Spain, Italy and even Ger- many. The S&P 500 rose 33, or 2.9 percent, to 1,192.55. The gains came across industries and sectors; only six stocks in the index fell. The Nasdaq compos- ite rose 85, or 3.5 percent, to 2,527.34. As the threat of an imminent meltdown in Europe ebbed, U.S. investors focused on a strong weekend of holiday shopping. A record 226 million shoppers visited stores and websites during the four-day holiday weekend starting on Thanksgiving Day, up from 212 million last year, according to early esti- mates by The National Retail Federation. They spent more, too: The aver- age holiday shopper spent $398.62 over the weekend, up from $365.34 a year ago. That's an encourag- ing sign for consumer spending. The retail numbers added to a growing set of indicators, including steady drops in the number of new applications for unemployment benefits, that suggest the U.S. econ- omy is continuing to heal. As recently as August, there were widespread concerns that the U.S. could enter another reces- sion. ''This goes in stark contrast to the gloom and doom that had been over Attention Tehama County Small Business Owners (5 or fewer employees, including self) Increase your company's business output, identify new customers and markets, sell more of your company's products and services, and manage existing resources more effectively. Receive professional assistance from the Business Incubator Program (BiP), but time is running out! Services are free to qualifying businesses. Companies that meet the program's eligibility criteria receive hands- on mentoring assistance targeted specifically to benefit your company. To apply, visit www.tehamabip.org today. There is no cost to apply and someone will get back to you shortly. This program is sponsored by the County of Tehama, Job Training Center, 3Core EDC, The ChicoProject, and the State CDBG program. Timothy Frantz M.D. Board Certified Otolaryngologist markets,'' said Rob Lutts, president of Salem, Ma.- based investment firm Cabot Money Manage- ment. ''A lot of the stocks I follow have been more oversold than any time I can remember in the last few years.'' That negativity has helped drag the S&P 500 down 5.9 percent in November. Monday's gains broke a seven-day losing streak for the index, its longest since the wild market swings from this August. That slide took the S&P down 7.9 percent. Bank stocks rose sharply as investors became less fearful of an imminent freeze-up in Europe's financial system. Citigroup Inc. leapt 6 per- cent and Morgan Stanley jumped 4.1 percent. Despite the big move in the markets Monday, many troubling questions remain about the situation in Europe. Borrowing rates remain onerously high for several major European countries including Spain and Italy. That's a sign markets still don't believe enough is being done to get the region's finances in order. Credit rating agency Moody's warned on Mon- day that the ''rapid escala- tion'' of Europe's financial crisis is threatening the creditworthiness of all euro zone governments, even the most highly rated. Only six of the euro zone's 17 countries have the top rating — Germany, France, Austria, the Netherlands, Luxembourg and Finland. Also, the Organization for Economic Coopera- tion and Development issued a report Monday saying the continued fail- ure by EU leaders to stem the debt crisis ''could massively escalate eco- nomic disruption'' and end in ''highly devastating outcomes.'' After the market closed, there was another reminder of the debt trou- bles still looming in Wash- ington. 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