MasterCard Advisors, a division of MasterCard, and analytics firm Mu Sigma announced a new partnership to develop analytic products toward solving business challenges such as acquiring customers and increasing customer loyalty.

Despite some groups’ claims, the National Retail Federation said that few, if any, merchants are expected to surcharge customers for using a credit card as theoretically allowed under a controversial proposed lawsuit settlement with Visa and MasterCard being debated in the courts.


A report released by MasterCard revealed that Canadian retail sales, which grew just 1.6% in December, trailed the U.S., which also posted less than stellar results for the month.

Total retail sales (excluding automotive) for December 2012 grew by 2.4% year-over-year, according to a SpendingPulse report released Wednesday by MasterCard Advisors, the professional services arm of MasterCard.

Spending in key categories experienced a slight year-over-year gain of 0.7% during the 2012 holiday period, with the season slowed down by a combination of factors, according to a SpendingPulse report released by MasterCard Advisors, the professional services arm of MasterCard.

A report issued by CEB TowerGroup found that sales of gift cards will surpass $110 billion and spillage will drop 20% to $1.7 billion.

A SpendingPulse report released Monday by MasterCard Advisors found that after a three-week recovery of retail spending growth that started two weeks after Superstorm Sandy and lasted through the week ending Dec. 1, a slowdown occurred in the week ending Dec. 8.

A SpendingPulse report released by MasterCard Advisors in partnership with Wells Fargo found that spending at small retailers in November picked up a percentage point since October, showing a 5.2% year over year improvement.

On Tuesday, a majority of named class plaintiffs filed a notice of appeal to challenge a ruling from the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York granting preliminary approval to a proposed settlement of a long-standing antitrust class action filed by merchants against Visa, MasterCard and the largest banks.

Spending in most of the key holiday categories, for the first two weeks of the retail month of November was down on a year-over-year basis, according to a SpendingPulse report released by MasterCard Advisors, the professional services arm of MasterCard.

A report released by MasterCard Advisors, the professional services arm of MasterCard in partnership with Wells Fargo, found that spending at small retailers in October slowed to an increase of 4.2% year over year, down from a 5.8% growth rate in September.

The National Retail Federation said it will explore all legal options following a judge’s preliminary approval of a proposed class-action settlement of an antitrust lawsuit over the $30 billion a year in credit card swipe fees charged by Visa and MasterCard.