Fred Business News - U.S. retailers have released a flood of advertisements this week urging consumers to spend their gift cards quickly, so that the companies issuing them can write off the income as 2006 revenue and pocket the last few shopping dollars of the season.

"If [retailers] don't get [consumers] to cash gift cards this week they won't be able to count it as December revenue," BigResearch Vice President Philip Rist said in an interview. "It is a challenge for them."

An estimated $24.8 billion will be ...   more »