Business news for Sat, 22 Dec 2007 & with words government+major. 2 news.

Stocks rose sharply Friday on strong consumer spending numbers and word that Merrill Lynch may get a big cash infusion from a foreign government. The Dow gained more than 200 points and, along with the other major indexes, posted a gain of more than 1.5%.

A plan to relieve a major source of this year’s credit crisis that was backed by the U.S. government and three of the world’s largest banks has been shelved, partly because of a lack of interest in the project, people familiar with the situation said.