VENTURE CAPITAL POST

U.S. consumers have not turned out in force for the final shopping days before Christmas, suggesting that traditional retailers will just meet industry sales forecasts in a season marked by deep discounts and growing encroachment from online rivals led by Amazon.com Inc (AMZN.O).

Cyber intrusions and other data breaches put the personal records of 18.5 million Californians, nearly half the state's population, at risk in 2013, a seven-fold increase over the year before, the state attorney general reported on Tuesday.

J.C. Penney Co Inc (JCP.N) named Home Depot Inc (HD.N) executive Marvin Ellison as its new chief on Monday, ending an 18-month search but barely allaying investor concerns over problems facing the money-losing department store chain.

Wal-Mart Stores Inc, the biggest U.S. private sector employer, said on Tuesday that its 1.3 million workers would have to pay more for healthcare and it would end benefits for some part-time staff in a move that could prompt other companies to follow suit.

Supermarket chain Supervalu Inc(SVU.N) reported on Monday a second attack against its payment systems barely two months after it said it was investigating a potential data breach.

Sandwich restaurant chain Jimmy John’s said there was a potential security breach involving customers' credit and debit card data at 216 of its stores and franchised locations on July 30.

Two senators asked the federal government to investigate a data breach on the payment-card processing systems of Home Depot Inc (HD.N) and five U.S. states launched a probe into the matter on Tuesday as fallout from the attack intensified.

Home improvement retailer Home Depot Inc confirmed on Monday that its payment security systems have been breached, which could impact customers using payment cards at its stores in the United States and Canada.

Home Depot Inc said on Tuesday it was working with law enforcement to investigate "some unusual activity" related to customer data but that it could not confirm if it had become the latest retailer to be hit by a large-scale security breach.

U.S. stocks ended mostly lower on Tuesday, retreating from records set the previous month, as falling crude oil prices dragged energy shares down and offset strong manufacturing data.