Morning Money Memo…

Caption: Customers shop at the Best Buy store, which opened at 1am, in Cambridge, Mass. Nov. 29, 2013. Brian Snyder/Reuters

Many retailers are planning for a merry Christmas. The National Retail Federation is forecasting a stronger gain for holiday spending than last year. The annual survey by the global consulting firm Deloitte is even more optimistic - forecasting a 9 percent rise in spending on gifts. A rise in consumer confidence and falling gasoline prices may lead to more spending at stores. Online shopping is also having a growing impact on the retail industry. Consumers who shop across store, mobile and online channels are expected to spend 66 percent more on gifts than those shopping stores only, says the survey. "Despite concerns about the security of personal information, shoppers also appear resilient to reported data breaches and desire to still shop with affected retailers," says Alison Paul, vice chairman and retail sector leader of Deloitte.

For much of the retail industry Black Friday has become black November. Shopping experts say the deals will begin at some big stores this Saturday - Nov. 1. "If you're looking to get the best price and you're assuming Black Friday is the day to get the best price, you're mistaken," says Loren Bendele, president of the coupons site savings.com: "Retailers offer deals much earlier than Black Friday. They do them later than Black Friday." As for WalMart, Best Buy, Amazon and several other big store chains, "They all release their Black Friday deals and their door buster deals as early as Nov. 1."

The Federal Reserve today is expected to announce an end to its innovative and controversial $4 trillion monthly bond buying program. The stimulus had been put in place to keep interest rates as low as possible. Investors are looking for clues as to when the central bank might start raising interest rates.

A big comeback for the stock market after losses earlier this month: The Dow Jones index is above 17,000 for the first time since early October. The S&P 500 rose 1.2 percent Tuesday and is close to its record high reached in September. Strong earnings reports have been feeding gains on Wall Street this week.

California's deepening drought is shrinking its rice crop, and that's bad news for farmers, migratory birds and sushi lovers. The state's $5 billion rice industry exports to more than 100 countries and specializes in premium grains used in risotto, paella and sushi. But this year rice farmers only planted 420,000 acres - 25 percent less than last year - because of water restrictions.

Richard Davies Business Correspondent ABC News Radio abcnews.com Twitter: daviesnow