weak dollar

WHAT'S NEW: Consumers will be facing price hikes of up to 15 percent on holiday goods, from toys to European luxury handbags.

Many retailers had resisted passing along higher prices to consumers, but escalating costs — fueled by rising energy prices, higher labor costs in China and a weak dollar — are forcing stores, from warehouse clubs to high-end merchants, to pass more of the burden to shoppers.

Google's hard-hit shares surged 18 percent above $500 -- a level last seen in February -- as the company showed signs of better cost control and earned more revenue abroad than at home for the first time, partly because of the weak dollar.

McDonald's Corp. said Monday that February sales at restaurants open more than a year jumped a better-than-expected 11.7 percent, boosted by growth in Europe, the weak dollar and the benefit of an extra selling day this year.