Business news for Mon, 17 Dec 2007 & with words recession+shares. 2 news.

CONSUMER confidence is falling, the odds of a recession have risen, analysts predict the worst holiday shopping since 2002 - and retail-industry executives are buying their companies' shares like never before. Limited Brands Inc Chief Executive Officer Leslie Wexner and eight other executives bought a record amount of stock last month after prices fell to a four-year low. Dillard's Inc director Warren Stephens made the biggest insider purchase ever as shares of the Arkansas-based department store chain headed for the steepest decline since at least 1980. Cambiar Investors LLC, Royce & Associates LLC and Becker Capital Management Inc say insider buying foreshadows a rebound. The last four times executives added to their holdings, the Standard & Poor's Supercomposite Retailing Index rose an average 9.9 percent in the next three months, topping a 6.2-percent average rise in the S&P 500 Index. Retail company officials increased their investments by US$346.4 million since the start

(AP) -- Shares of Caterpillar Inc. fell Monday after a Morgan Stanley analyst downgraded the stock, saying a "mild U.S. recession" will hurt Caterpillar and other heavy equipment makers. Robert Wertheimer downgraded Caterpillar shares to "underweight" from "equal weight," and said the Peoria ...