Economics Report.The season for buyingChristmas gifts is the busiest timefor most stores and online retailersin the United States.Final numbers for the holiday seasonincluding after-Christmas saleswill not be known for a while.But a report this weekon retail sales in Novembersuggested that economic growthmay be gaining speed.The Commerce Department saidsales increasedfor the fifth month in a row.They grew by eight-tenthsof one percent over October.But Tuesday's report camethe same day the central bank saidthe economy is not growingfast enough to reduce unemployment.So, policy makersat the Federal Reserve votedto continue a programof buying government bonds.That program, launched in November,could inject six hundred billiondollars into the economy.The aim is to increase economicgrowth by lowering long-terminterest rates.That would reduce borrowing costsfor businesses and individuals.But long-term rates have risensince the Fed launchedits latest program of so-calledquantitative easing, known as "QE2."The rates are up in partbecause investors are concernedabout government policies.But experts say investors mayalso be more hopeful aboutthe economy and lookingfor investments with higherreturns than Treasury securities.One way to get a senseof how Americans feel about the economyis through retail sales.Consumer demand drives aboutseventy percent of the nation'seconomic activity.The National Retail Federation saysits members employ twenty-fivemillion people in the retailand services industry.Those businesses reported almosttwo and a half trillion dollarsin sales last year.Terry Lundgren is chiefexecutive of Macy's, the companythat owns Macy's andBloomingdales department stores.TERRY LUNDGREN: "Retail and restaurantsrepresent one in five jobs in America.So if we do well, we grow,than we're going to be the onesthat will start to lead us intoa recovery and out of the difficultythat we've had in terms of job hiring,unemployment and all of thosechallenging issues that relate to that."The kinds of stores where salesare up also says somethingabout the economy. Storeswith the lowest prices do wellin hard economic times.But the retail federation saidat the end of November that discountershad fewer shoppers this year.Stores that sell jewelryand other higher-priced itemshave seen sales grow.Another change: Americansare less willing to buy on credit.Over forty percentof holiday shoppers saidthey planned to mainly use debit cardsinstead of credit cards.Instead of borrowing money,debit cards take money directlyfrom a bank account.And that's the VOA Special EnglishEconomics Report,written by Mario Ritter and Mil Arcega.