Consumers stepped up their spending at retail stores last month, providing a boost to the economy in the early phases of the winter holiday shopping season.

Retail sales rose 0.7% in November, the Commerce Department said Tuesday, a solid increase and higher than October’s 0.5% gain. Sales jumped 2.6% at auto dealers, driving most of the gain. Some of that demand likely reflected a need for new cars in parts of the southeast slammed by Hurricane Helene in October, as well as healthy incentives provided by car dealers. Big discounts at many retail chains also attracted some consumers.

The boost in spending underscores that the economy is still growing at a healthy pace even with higher interest rates, a trend that could cause the Federal Reserve to lower borrowing costs more slowly next year than they have previously signaled. The Fed will announce its latest rate decision Wednesday.

At the same time, there were some signs of consumer caution, as sales at grocery stores, clothing shops, and restaurants fell. Outside of car dealers and online retailers, sales gains were modest.

Paychecks are growing a solid 4% pace, on average nationwide, which is modestly faster than inflation and helps fuel more spending.

Sales rose modestly at stores selling furniture, electronics, and home and garden supplies. Since the retail sales report isn’t adjusted for inflation, some of the increase reflects higher prices. Sporting goods stores reported a 0.9% gain. Sales at online retailers jumped 1.8%.

Spending at restaurants and bars, meanwhile, dropped 0.4%, a sign that consumers did pull back in one discretionary category. Grocery store sales also dipped 0.2%.

The retail sales report comes as retailers are stepping up deals and other perks to get shoppers into their stores for the crucial final stretch before Christmas.

Adobe reported earlier this month that “cyber week” — the five-day period from Thanksgiving to Cyber Monday — brought in $41.1 billion online overall, up 8.2% from the year-ago period. Adobe expects full holiday season sales — Nov. 1 to Dec. 31 — to hit $240.8 billion, up 8.4% compared with a year-ago. And Mastercard SpendingPulse, which tracks in-person and online spending, reported that overall Black Friday sales excluding automotive rose 3.4% from a year ago.

In the United States, the top 10 busiest shopping days account for about 30% to 40% of all holiday retail traffic, according to Sensormatic Solutions, which tracks foot traffic at retail stores. And six of the top ten busiest days during the holiday season are still ahead, including the day after Christmas, Sensormatic noted.

— Associated Press

Japan’s Honda, Nissan said in merger talks

Japanese automakers Nissan Motor Corp. and Honda Motor Co. confirmed Wednesday that they are discussing closer collaboration but denied reports they have decided on a merger.

Nissan’s share price soared more than 22% after reports citing unnamed sources said it might merge with Honda to form the world’s third largest automaking group.

Honda’s share price sank 2.3%.

Nissan has an alliance with Renault SA that is under review. It recently announced it was slashing its headcount by 9,000 and cutting its global production by a fifth due to weaker sales in China and the U.S.

Honda, Japan’s second-largest automaker, and Nissan, the third-largest, agreed in March to study a strategic partnership for making electric vehicles.

Joining forces would help the two companies gain larger scale to compete with market leader Toyota Motor Corp. and with Germany’s Volkswagen AG.

Spirit shareholders left empty in bankruptcy

Spirit Airlines said Tuesday it still expects shareholders will get wiped out in its bankruptcy as the carrier pushes forward with a restructuring deal that hands control of the airline to its bondholders.

The airline tried its best to avoid bankruptcy and filed Chapter 11 as a last resort after it failed to complete a merger with rival Frontier Group Holdings and exhausted all other restructuring options, Spirit lawyer Marshall Huebner said during a New York court hearing.

More than a dozen shareholder letters that have been submitted to Judge Sean Lane that criticize Spirit CEO Ted Christie or board members for putting the airline in Chapter 11 and supporting a deal that will cancel their shares for no compensation.

Huebner said company equity is “out of the money.” Spirit shares are trading at about 60 cents on Tuesday.

— From news services