U.S. stocks finished higher Monday, as investors received a better-than-expected U.S. consumer spending report. In U.S. economic news, U.S. consumer spending rose more than expected in December, and consumer purchases for all of 2010 rose at the fastest pace in three years, the Commerce Department said. Consumer spending, which accounts for more than two-thirds of U.S. economic activity, rose 0.7 percent in December after rising by 0.3 percent in November, it said. In U.S. company news, technology shares were mixed after Intel said it discovered a manufacturing flaw in one of its chips that would cost the company $300 million in revenue this quarter. Meanwhile, U.S. coal producer Massey Energy was acquired by rival Alpha Natural Resources on Saturday in a $7.1 billion deal that led shares of Massey to jump 9.4 percent.
