PRESS DIGEST-New York Times business news - Dec 28

The following are the top stories on the New York Times business pages on Friday. Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.

* Consumer confidence fell sharply in the first half of December despite improvement in new home sales and a slight drop in new jobless claims.()

* Developers of wind farms are running a race against the calendar. A federal subsidy for new installations will not apply to anything that goes online after Dec. 31, so the industry is rushing to complete projects now - and it expects to do little thereafter.()

* Fear of Amazon.com has pushed a variety of stores to embrace delivery within hours as a must-have promotion, even though it's costly and logistically complicated.()

* With labor costs so low, Spain is attracting car manufacturers that see a large competitive advantage in producing there rather than in other European countries.()

* Apple Inc filed documents with regulators revealing that its chief executive, Timothy Cook, took what might look like a significant pay cut in 2012. But the giant stock package Cook received last year will vest over 10 years.()

* President Barack Obama will meet with Congressional leaders on Friday, and House Republicans summoned lawmakers back for a Sunday session, in a last-ditch effort to avert a fiscal crisis brought on by automatic tax increases and spending cuts scheduled to hit next week.()

* Many retailers will soon be able to charge more for purchases made with credit cards, though they may not do so.()

* Paul Schnell has worked on some of the biggest mergers announced this year, a period in which, he says, the business of buying and selling companies is in the doldrums.()