RETAILING

MasterCard Weekly Retail Activity Up Sharply: MasterCard International said its U.S. sales authorizations totaled $4.16 billion for the week ended Friday, up 28.5% from a year ago. The company said on a percentage basis, sales at discount stores and mail order retailers gained most sharply. Discount stores tallied $5 million in sales, up 56%, and mail order retailers $5.8 million, up 51.4%, it said. It said sales authorizations for the holiday season so far totaled $11.98 billion, up 29.5% from last year.