31.   A promising start to the Christmas shopping season helped retail shares advance.

32.   A weak start to the crucial shopping season could be bad news for retailers, analysts say.

33.   A weak start to the crucial Christmas shopping season could be bad news for retailers, analysts say.

34.   Additionally, a University of Michigan survey showed Americans grew more optimistic about their finances as the holiday shopping season approached.

35.   Also, manufacturers have stepped up activity as the holiday shopping season kicked off last week, economists said.

36.   Businesses hope Friday, along with the rest of the holiday shopping season, will help boost a sagging economy.

37.   But because the tennis off-season is shorter than the holiday shopping season, this is the first event that counts for many top players.

38.   But marketers really crank up to near-frenzy levels during the holiday shopping season.

39.   But revolving credit, which includes credit cards, showed a modest increase and analysts said that the numbers would not affect the holiday shopping season.

40.   But retail sales have been surprisingly strong as the holiday shopping season gets under way, suggesting that many consumers are less gloomy than their employers.