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Dow soars on Black Friday boost

NEW YORK, Nov. 28 (UPI) -- A strong start to the holiday shopping season overcame worries about the eurozone, sending U.S. stocks soaring Monday.

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Deep discounts sent shoppers scurrying to stores, pushing post Thanksgiving Day sales up 6.6 percent for Black Friday and 16.4 percent for the full weekend compared to last year, ShopperTrak and the National Retail Federation reported, respectively.

The retail federation estimated consumers spent an average of $398.62, up 9.1 percent from last year, with 38 percent coming from online sales.

Investors were also heartened by reports the International Monetary Fund was considering $529.6 billion in financial aid to Italy.

By close of trading, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 291.23 points or 2.59 percent to 11,523.01. The Standard & Poor's 500 gained 33.88 points or 2.92 percent to 1,192.55. The tech-heavy Nasdaq added 85.83 points or 3.52 percent to 2,527.34.

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On the New York Stock Exchange, 2,610 stocks advanced and 512 declined on a volume of 3.5 billion shares traded.

The benchmark 10-year U.S. treasury note was off 2/32 to yield 1.974 percent.

On currency markets, the euro rose to $1.3315 from Friday's $1.3239. Against the yen, the dollar rose to 78.01 yen, compared to Friday's 77.74.

On foreign markets, the Tokyo's Nikkei rose 1.56 percent to 8.287.49 and London's FTSE was up 2.87 percent to 5,312.76.


Black Friday sales at record $11.4 billion

CHICAGO, Nov. 28 (UPI) -- U.S. shoppers spent a record $11.4 billion on Black Friday with sales up 6.6 percent from last year, a retail research firm said.

The firm, ShopperTrak, said owners of retail firms "can breath a sigh of relief," as sales were markedly higher during the post-Thanksgiving sales event that brought millions of shoppers out to malls across the country.

ShopperTrak said foot traffic rose by 5.1 percent over Black Friday 2010.

Overall, it was the largest year-over-year gain in sales since Black Friday of 2007 when sales rose 8.3 percent over 2006.

"Despite our sluggish economy, shoppers proved they are looking for value and ready to buy if given a good customer experience," said ShopperTrak founder Bill Martin.

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ShopperTrak said customers were making fewer stops per shopping trip, stopping at an average of 3.1 stores per trip this holiday season, a decline from 3.19 stores per trip last year.

However, shoppers are "also more likely to buy when they enter the store," ShopperTrak said.

The next test, of course, is whether stores can parlay Black Friday momentum into season-long gains.

Retailers on average do 20 percent of their annual sales between Thanksgiving and Christmas, making the holiday shopping season an all-important month-long sales event.

Amazon.com said the Kindle Fire tablet computer released eight weeks ago saw sales soar on Black Friday.

"Customers purchased four times as many Kindle devices as they did last Black Friday, and last year was a great year," said Dave Limp, vice president Amazon Kindle.

"Even before the busy holiday shopping weekend, we'd already sold millions of the new Kindle family and Kindle Fire was the bestselling product across all of Amazon.com," Limp said.


GM backs up Volt with loaner program

DETROIT, Minn., Nov. 28 (UPI) -- U.S. automaker General Motors Co. said it was offering Chevrolet Volt owners a replacement vehicle while regulators investigate a potential after-crash fire hazard.

"We are contacting all Volt owners to assure them and reassure them the car is safe to drive. The Volt is our pride and joy and we will do all we can to make Volt owners as happy with it as we can," Mark Reuss, head of General Motors' North America, was quoted by USA Today Monday as saying.

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The National Highway Safety Traffic Administration said it had opened an investigation to determine if the Volt's batteries had a high probability of catching fire after a crash.

In several tests, the car's lithium-ion batteries either caught fire or became heated, USA Today reported.

The Volt runs on an electric motor and a gasoline engine, the latter of which kicks in when the electric power from the advanced battery system is depleted.


Beatles' venue sues Hard Rock Cafe

LAS VEGAS, Nov. 28 (UPI) -- The Cavern Club in England is seeking to overturn a ruling that allowed Hard Rock Cafe International to use the club's name, court papers say.

A lawsuit filed in federal court in Las Vegas seeks to overturn the Sept. 29 decision by the U.S. Trademark Trial and Appeal Board that gave Hard Rock International rights to the name "Cavern Club" in the United States.

The Cavern Club owns the trademark for the name in Britain, most of Europe, Australia, Hong Kong, Brazil and Canada, the Las Vegas Sun reported Monday.

In 2005, the club filed its initial complaint against the rival Hard Rock Cafe, which is owned by the Seminole Indian tribe of Florida.

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There is some hard rock 'n' roll pride at stake.

The Cavern Club in Liverpool is considered the home turf of the Beatles, who played there nearly 300 times. Other legendary British bands that played at the Cavern Club include the Yardbirds, the Who and the Rolling Stones, the Sun reported.

The lawsuit says the Hard Rock Cafe's use of the name Cavern Club for an events room in a Las Vegas franchise "is likely to cause and has caused confusion, mistake or deception."

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