Business news for Mon, 24 Dec 2007 & with word christmas. 78 news.

More businesses are finding out that it pays to stay open on Christmas day.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Bargain-seeking consumers headed into stores for their last-minute Christmas shopping during the "Super Saturday" weekend, to the relief of some worried retailers, according to data released on Monday.

Reuters - Bargain-seeking consumers headed into stores for their last-minute Christmas shopping during the "Super Saturday" weekend, to the relief of some worried retailers, according to data released on Monday.

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) - U.S. stocks ended higher Monday in a shortened Christmas Eve trading session, aided by flurry of deals which included Alcoa Inc.'s $2.7 billion sale of its packaging and consumer businesses.

Stocks closed higher Monday afternoon at the end of a half-day of trading on the eve of a Christmas pause, as investors flocked to financial services firms after yet another Wall Street firm announced a big foreign cash investment.

MAXjet Airways ceased operations on Monday — leaving jets on tarmacs and stranding passengers on Christmas Eve — as the all-business class airline said it would file for bankruptcy protection.

Treasury prices fell Monday as investors concentrated on opportunities in the stock market, with many players absent ahead of the Christmas holiday.

For the first time in history, a newsprint mill in central Newfoundland will stay open through the Christmas holidays.

Slot machines and blackjack tables aren't usually associated with Christmas, but Ontario's government-operated casinos will be open Dec. 25, a day most other businesses are closed.

European markets ended slightly higher the day before Christmas, as miners and deal speculation buoyed shares.

Commodities prices closed mostly higher Monday following an uneventful, shortened trading session ahead of Christmas. Oil, gold and industrial metals rose slightly.

Shoppers have hit the high street in big numbers as stores opened their doors for the first post-Christmas sales.

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Airline stocks took an early turn into positive territory Monday, led by 3% gains for American Airlines parent AMR Corp. and US Airways Group . The Amex Airlines Index was ahead 1.5% in early trades at 37.04 points, drawing strength from lower fuel prices to outpace a 0.6% rise in the broader equities market. Volume is likely to be light in the shortened pre-holiday session, which wraps it all up ahead of Christmas at 1 p.m. Eastern Time.

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- The dollar ticked higher against the yen while losing ground against the euro Monday, but remained in recent ranges in extremely thin trading ahead of the Christmas holiday. "The U.S. economic calendar is empty on Monday, and we expect the greenback to remain rangebound through the morning session," wrote currency analysts at Action Economics. The dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of six major currencies, was at 77.595, compared with 77.730 late Friday. The euro was trading at $1.4396, up from $1.4356 late Friday, while the pound was at $1.9773, down from $1.9810. Against Japan's currency, the dollar was buying 114.29 yen, up from 114.06 yen Friday.

Maxjet Airways, one of the new breed of business class long-haul airlines, collapsed into bankruptcy on Christmas Eve, stranding hundreds of passengers in the middle of transatlantic holiday journeys

SAN FRANCISCO -- (MarketWatch) -- Crude oil fell below $93 a barrel on Monday ahead of the Christmas holiday. Crude futures for February delivery were last seen down 46 cents, or 0.5%, at $92.85 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It rose to an intraday high of $93.84 in electronic trading early on speculation demand for heating oil may increase during the winter.

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- U.S. stocks opened higher Monday, with shares of blue-chip index component Alcoa Inc. up more than 1.6% after the aluminum giant agreed to sell its packaging and consumer businesses for $2.7 billion. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 59 points, or 0.4%, at 13,509.39. The broader S&P 500 Index rose 5 points, or 0.3%, to 1,489.06 and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index rose 5 points, or 0.2%, to 2,697.17. Trading will end early, at 1 p.m. Eastern in observance of the Christmas holiday.

SAN FRANCISCO(MarketWatch) -- Gold futures were little changed on Monday ahead of the Christmas holiday. Gold futures for February delivery were last up $1.4, or 0.2%, at $816.8 an ounce on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The futures rose to an intraday high of $817.5 earlier. In currencies trading, the dollar were slightly lower against a basket of other major currencies. The dollar index was last down 0.2% at 77.58.

U.S. stocks opened higher Monday in an abbreviated - and likely light - trading session on Christmas Eve.