Business Week — Confidence among U.S. consumers increased in December for the first time in three months as companies slowed the pace of job cuts and stocks advanced. (Business)

MSNBC — (Business)

MSNBC — If you're confused about the outlook for the economy and stocks one year after the market hit bottom, then you've got good company the Wall Street economists and strategists who are supposed to have this all figured out. (Top Stories)

Business Week — Asian stocks rose to a six-week high and concerns about corporate defaults declined as French President Nicolas Sarkozy yesterday pledged fiscal support for Greece and reports from the U.S. to New Zealand showed sustained economic growth. The euro strengthened vs. the dollar and yen. (Business)

Reuters — Technology shares pushed the Nasdaq higher on Monday on an otherwise flat day for stocks, led by BlackBerry maker Research in Motion and Cisco Systems.<p><a href=''http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/9Q79fs6TXTaFpc9MmokMZqp0oLk/0/da''><img src=''http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/9Q79fs6TXTaFpc9MmokMZqp0oLk/0/di'' border=''0'' ismap=''true''></img></a><br/><a href=''http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/9Q79fs6TXTaFpc9MmokMZqp0oLk/1/da... (Business)

Reuters — Exane BNP Paribas has 15stocks on its M&A target list, according to Barron'spublication, including diagnostics-products maker Qiagen, telecoms firm Tele2 AB and sportswearmanufacturer Puma AG Rudolf Dassler Sport . (Business)