These 3 Stocks Just Raised Their Dividends

So far, 2017 has been a fertile year for payout hikes — income investors have plenty of reason to be optimistic going forward. Yet there’s no telling whether the next 10 months or so will be similarly rich, so we should enjoy the soiree while it lasts.

Ted Baker Sales Provide Sharp Crease for British Clothing Retailers

Ted Baker defied gloomy expectations for the British retailing sector as the self-proclaimed “global lifestyle brand” reported double-digit sales growth over the Christmas season. The clothing retailer saw retail sale grow 17.9% for the eight-week period from Nov. 13, 2016 to Jan. 7, 2017 compared with the same time period last year.

Last-Minute Spending Surge Lifts Holiday Shopping Season

A jump in consumer spending in the final stretch of December significantly offset a slow start to the U.S. holiday shopping season, and is likely to help many retailers beat sales forecasts, industry research groups said on Tuesday. The December spending boost is in contrast to a muted November, when early holiday promotions and expectations among consumers that deals would always be available took a toll.

What Is the Santa Rally?

The term refers to the idea that the stock market tends to rise during the period just before Christmas through the end of the year. In its length, the phenomenon is actually closer to Hanukkah, with the rally period being the last five trading days of the calendar year and the first two trading days after New Year’s Day.

Looking back: December 25, 2016

Dec. 25, 2006 – As Alaska Wireless Cable gets ready to leave Fairbanks, its local employees are looking for work, and an up-and-coming internet provider is quietly assuming control over Alaska Wireless Cable’s exclusive broadband spectrum in Fairbanks.

Holiday Rush: FedEx Says Deliveries Running on Schedule

In this Jan. 5, 2016 photo, a FedEx truck drives past the skyline in San Francisco. Two giants, the U.S. government and FedEx, are set to do battle in a federal court over the explosive claim that the shipping company knowingly delivered illegal … prescription drugs such as Ambien from pill mills to dealers and addicts, some of whom fatally overdosed.