Money Matters: Holiday sales expected to rise

(NECN/AP) - Here's a rundown of the morning's developing business headlines, which may impact stock performance:

- Upper Crust's Groupon flap

Several franchise owners of the now-bankrupt Upper Crust pizza chain says that they will not be honoring any groupon vouchers, after the chain's owners failed to share the profits from the sales of the voucher.

The owners of the two remaining locations in Massachusetts, as well as the owner of a New Hampshire store, told The Boston Globe that they were not aware the owners were selling Groupon deals to the restaurants.

Those stores are not part of the bankruptcy.

Ten Upper Crust locations closed on Monday.

- Survey: New grads can expect modest rise in hiring

Prospects for new college graduates looking for work, especially those with associate degrees, are expected to increase next year, but not so for people with MBA degrees.
 
A new annual survey from Michigan State University's College Employment Research Institute finds employers expect a 5 percent increase in hiring of new 4-year college graduates next year. Demands for associate degree holders from two year schools could rise sharply, by about 30 percent. Hiring of MBAs is expected to decline.
 
The 42nd annual survey paints a mixed picture reflecting an improving economy but also uncertainty over whether Congress and the White House will carry the country off the fiscal cliff in January, potentially sending the economy back into recession.
 
Survey director Phil Gardner attributes the results to the political situation as well as weakness in sectors like defense.

- Salvation Army seeks help for Thanksgiving

The Salvation Army is asking for help this Thanksgiving holiday, to put more turkeys on the tables of struggling families in Boston.

The organization told The Boston Herald that the number of families in need has risen 50 percent from last year.

Anyone looking to donate food to the Salvation Army may bring items to community centers in Boston, the South End and Chelsea over the weekend.

- Holiday sales on the rise

The Massachusetts Retailers Association is anticipating a rise of 3.5 percent between this month and next.

That would be the third consecutive year of increased holiday sales.

National sales are also expected to rise 4.1 percent this holiday season, despite fears over the fiscal cliff at the end of the year.

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