| Consumer sentiment improves in December and Europe summit: 'The world is watching us' |
| News - Financial News |
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A customer carries shopping bags at South Park mall in Charlotte, North Carolina November 25, 2011. REUTERS/Chris KeaneNEW YORK (Reuters) - Consumer sentiment rose to its highest level in six months in early December as Americans adopted an improved economic outlook while the trade deficit narrowed in October, pointing to gathering momentum in the economy.The Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan's preliminary reading on their index of consumer confidence climbed for a fourth straight month to 67.7, beating expectations as it rose from 64.1 in November."U.S. consumers appear to be ending the year in a better mood," said Paul Dales, an economist at Capital Economics in London.Improved confidence could lead Americans to spend more readily, which would add to the recent momentum from retail sales and factory output. At the same time, the narrowing in the trade deficit showed more of the purchases U.S. [Read the full article] NEW YORK (AP) -- The euro is rising against the dollar after the European Union said that most of its member countries were open to joining a new treaty that they hope will prevent another debt crisis and save the single currency. The euro rose to $1.3389 in midday trading Friday from $1.3340 late Thursday. The 17 nations that use the euro said they will sign the treaty, which will give a central European authority more oversight of their budgets. Nine other European Union nations said they will consider the treaty. Britain was the lone holdout. European leaders announced the plans Friday after a summit in Brussels. In other trading, the British pound rose to $1.5650 from $1.5642. The dollar fell to 77.54 Japanese yen from 77.67 Japanese yen. [Read the full article] A Twitter page is displayed on a laptop computer in Los Angeles October 13, 2009. REUTERS/Mario AnzuoniSAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) Twitter revamped its website on Thursday to make the microblogging service easier to use and to help companies better showcase their brands.The new version of Twitter, which the company is gradually making available starting on Thursday, will feature a new look and feel and faster performance, the company said.The redesigned website comes as Twitter is taking steps to introduce more advertising on the site and as Twitter faces increased competition from Web giants Facebook and Google Inc ."We have to provide the simplest and fastest way for people around the world to connect to everything they care about," Twitter Chief Executive Dick Costolo said as he introduced the new version of the site at an event at the company's future headquarters in San Francisco. [Read the full article] 
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