Shoppers spent more time – and money – in malls last month, with many retailers posting on Thursday strong results in what tends to be the final month of their fiscal year. The rich are doing a better job of prying open their wallets, as RetailMetrics, a research firm that covers the industry, reported that luxury retailers such as Saks (SKS) enjoyed larger gains in January than bargain stores. Signs of life in financial markets have made wealthier consumers more willing to spend ... and we all know that a recovery has to start someplace.

This week, the world's top retailers will tell investors how the much-discussed holiday season went. Analysts expect a year-over-year gain of 1.3% for stores open at least a year, which of course uses a dismal 2008 as a benchmark.

The holiday shopping season is the last chance retailers get to pump up their financial statements before the close of their fiscal year, which usually comes at the end of January. For some retailers, up to 40% of their revenue comes in the weeks heading into Christmas.

The first estimates for the holiday shopping season have come in. MasterCard (MA) Advisors unit SpendingPulse, which tracks retail spending, puts the result at a year-over-year increase of 3.6%. This includes all form of payment and does not factor in gas and auto sales. The increase comes relative to the 2008 holiday season, which was the worst season in decades for retailers thanks to the global financial crisis.

Says Kamalesh Rao, director of economic research at SpendingPulse, "Last year the economy and consumer spending were in free fall. This year we're talking about an environment that has stabilized, that has seen a leveling off." But, that doesn't mean it's turned the corner yet. Holiday spending isn't enough to cure what ails us.

Analyst Upgrades

• Deutsche Bank upgraded Research in Motion (RIMM) to hold from sell to reflect the company's Q3 results and guidance. The firm raised its target price on shares to $75 from $60.
• Keefe Bruyette upgraded Northern Trust (NTRS) and State Street (STT) to outperform from market perform to reflect valuation and favorable longer-term secular trends. The firm keeps a $58 price target on Northern Trust and a $51 target on State Street.
• UBS upgraded Universal Health (UHS) to buy from neutral and raised its target to $38 from $31. The firm said hospital checks indicate bad debt has not increased vs. Q3 and that Universal Health should report an in-line to better-than-expected Q4.
• Take-Two Interactive (TTWO) was upgraded to hold from sell at Kaufman Bros.
• Whiting Petroleum (WLL) was raised to outperform from market perform at Wells Fargo.
• BP Plc (BP) was upgraded at Goldman to buy from neutral.

Stores were busy on Black Friday, as deals lured recession-weary consumers out of their homes. The spending was cautious, but the crowds and transactions signaled strength.

Nonetheless, retailers are still concerned that the momentum is only temporary. With consumer spending still under pressure because of high unemployment, there's a risk that holiday shopping may not reach the levels the stores would like to see. The day after Thanksgiving is usually the hottest of the year and can account for close to 20% of annual retail sales.

There's a chill in the air and a slight up-tick in confidence. Holiday discounts are coming a bit earlier, too. For retailers, this has been a great combination, leading to the second consecutive month in which retail sales increased.

This follows more than a year of drops. Consumers aren't going crazy, but they are loosening their wallets a little bit. Consumer spending accounts for 70% of the U.S. economy, and the coming holiday season is where the action is -- for the retail sector and, consequently, for everyone else.

Retail sales were down for the twelfth month in a row in August, according to an Associated Press report. Consumers stayed focused on what they need rather than what they want, as unemployment remains high and even those employed worry about the future of their jobs.

The silver lining, though, is that the coming holiday season might not be as bad as many thought.

Some retailers actually showed gains. TJMaxx (NYSE: TJX) and Old Navy, a Gap (NYSE: GPS) company, for example, saw year-over-year sales increases, though upscale stores generally sustained declines. The action on the discount side could be an early sign that the consumer is ready to play.

Gap Stores (NYSE: GPS) is expected to report EPS on November 21. GPS December option implied volatility of 41 is above its 26-week average of 32 according to Track Data, suggesting larger price risk.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE: WSM), a home-furnishings retailer, is expected to report Q3 EPS of 24 cents on November 15. RBCM says, "Macros very difficult; too soon for longs, but scarcity value could increase." WSM November 30 straddle is priced at $2.80. WSM December option implied volatility of 55 is above its 26-week average of 38 according to Track Data, suggesting larger price fluctuations.

Daily options Update is provided by Stock Specialist Paul Foster of theflyonthewall.com.

24/7 Wall St. generated a list of 10 public company CEOs in December where investors in the underlying companies would be better served by a new CEO. Three of these have already been axed, and that is in roughly 6 weeks. Some calls aren't actually calling for the CEOs to be fired, but a title change or strategy shift was in order. There were few outright "He's Gotta Go!" and there still are. The FIRED CEO's are first, and the others are alphabetical by company. The names are highlighted so you can see the full comments and suggestions from the original article on each, and the original comments left on Bloggingstocks are here for the 7 of the 10 that are still pending:

Dell's (NASDAQ:DELL) Kevin Rollins.
STATUS: FIRED! His name will be forgotten by Wall Street most likely and will be referred to as 'That guy that took Dell down.'

Gap Inc.'s (NYSE:GPS) Paul Pressler.
STATUS: KIA! He's done and he'll have to go in for that old Japanese executive retraining boot camp before anyone speaks to him again.

The Home Depot's(NYSE:HD) Bob Nardelli.
STATUS: FIRED! But beware, he took a huge exit-payout and only has a 1-year non-compete. He'll probably end up in private equity and his name won't quietly disappear.

Amazon.com's (NASDAQ:AMZN) Jeff Bezos. He doesn't need to go away entirely! He just needs to do a partial title change. But will anyone inside the company tell the emperor he is wearing no space suit?
STATUS: Earnings are today, but either way the company could use an add-on here. I like Bezos and this will give him the latitude needed.

Citigroup's (NYSE:C) Chuck Prince. The prince calls for Draconian measures, and maybe the prince didn't mean just THIS Prince.
STATUS: Everyone has told this prince he isn't wearing clothes and he keeps ruling and ignores this. Sally Krawchek wasn't the problem. The stock is up in hopes that he'll leave and that new management can run the beast better.

Eastman Kodak's (NYSE:EK) Antonio Perez. Maybe he's nice, but for heaven's sake get the restructuring over with and get some mojo. Bring in a digital media leader.
STATUS: The earnings have turned, but the long painful restructuring continues and the last medical imaging sale funds might not be used aggressively enough. EK would still be better under a different digital leader.

Qualcomm Inc.'s (NASDAQ:QCOM) Paul Jacobs. He isn't being sent home yet, but his dad's shoes are proving very hard to fill.
STATUS: The note here is still in the pending file and he may survive if he can keep the stock from falling and if he can keep the company's patents and contracts alive.

Sirius Satellite Radio (NASDAQ:SIRI) & XM Satellite Radio (NASDAQ:XMSR). It is a dead heat in the race, and if two companies need to merge, it's these two. There can be only one.
STATUS: Still pending, still a tie! They should just merge and get it over with. A merger wouldn't be great for consumers and competition, but would be best for investors.

Wal-Mart Stores Inc.'s(NYSE:WMT) Lee Scott. The company is struggling under its own weight, and it needs some good PR. Getting rid of the Darth Vader of Corporate America and bringing in someone fun and likeable would be the best start.
STATUS: He's still gotta go. If he is still there at the end of this year it is because he intimidated every internal external challenger. Darth Vader wasn't a hero until the last 10 minutes of the original series after almost 6 hours of being the bad guy. Lee Scott could become a good guy if he would just leave.

Yahoo!'s (NASDAQ:YHOO) Terry Semel. Yes, when you see him leave or forced out, Yahoo! holders should be happy.
STATUS: Panama may save him, but Wall Street would rather see Semel leave. Sue Decker is better suited for the role.

A lot of these may be controversial, and there are plenty of other companies that might benefit from a new CEO. None of these attacks are personal and these are merely based on observation and analysis. The list could probably be 100 CEO's long.

Jon Ogg is a partner in 24/7 Wall St. LLC; He does not hold securities in the companies he covers. He also not been compensated to represent any of these companies in any light.

The Gap Inc. (NYSE:GPS) said net sales of $1.40 billion in November was a 2% decrease from the year-ago November sales month. With holiday shopping already at full-throttle by November, this strikes me as odd. The Gap also reported an 8% decrease in same-store sales this November, compared with half the amount, or 4% reported for the same period last year.

I was traveling at the end of November and saw a Gap store brimming with sales, long lines and stressed clerks, so at least one store in the Midwest seemed to be doing well. I think Gap's Old Navy division was doing more business, but the combined results still pour into a single company balance sheet.

With clothing retailers Kohl's and J.C.Penneys showing results that pumped up same-store sales results for November, I guess Gap's clothing-only business didn't fare as well as the department store approach.

When these numbers were released, Sabrina Simmons, senior vice president of corporate finance at The Gap Inc. said, "Overall, November was a challenging month as negative traffic trends persisted .. promotional and markdown activities at Gap and Old Navy drove total company merchandise margins below last year, and we expect pressure on merchandise margins to continue into December."