The stock market has been alternating between declines and gains so far today, but has recently firmed. Investors appear to be holding off on big moves, awaiting more decisive action on the "fiscal cliff".
- The Republican-controlled House has pushed ahead with a bill that would raise taxes on people earning over $1 million a year. Senate Democratic leaders vow to let the measure die in their chamber without a vote and urge House Speaker John Boehner to return to the negotiating table.
- The Commerce Department says the nation's economy grew at a stronger annual rate in the latest quarter than estimated just a month ago. GDP is now put at 3.1 percent in the third quarter.
- Ads promoting quality failed to draw in new sales. So, Darden Restaurants, the parent company of Olive Garden and Red Lobster, is retooling its strategy to attract diners by being more promotional.
- Twitter is offering its more than 200 million users a chance to keep a digital scrapbook of all their tweets. The tool, announced this week, is designed to make it easier for people to review all their activity on Twitter's trend-setting messaging service with an archive. It may take a few weeks to roll out the feature for all users.
