Ahead of the Bell: FedEx (AP via Yahoo! Finance)

Recession worries won’t be slowing down FedEx this holiday season. The global shipping giant said Monday that this December 12 is set to be the busiest day in company history, with more than 17 million packages in transit. This haul is part of the roughly 260 million shipments FedEx expects to handle between Thanksgiving and…

The now-defunct ATA Airlines accused FedEx of breach of contracts; the appeals court said there was no such contract. More: continued here

The International Brotherhood of Teamsters have petitioned FedEx Corp. shareholders to support the union’s proposal to remove Fred Smith as chairman of the Memphis-based shipping giant. (FDX) More: continued here

MARYVILLE, Ariz. (AP) — Eric Gagne, identified as a user of illegal drugs in the Mitchell Report, apologized Monday to his new Milwaukee Brewers teammates for “a distraction that shouldn’t be taking place.” More: continued here

FedEx will resume contributing to employee retirement accounts and lift a freeze on merit pay Jan. 1, reversing a pair of austerity measures put in place a year earlier.Citing modest improvement in the economy, growing shipping volumes and generally healthier business, FedEx officials said they’ll restore half the company’s match of 401(k) retirement fund contributions…

U.S. industrial shares lifted the Dow and the S&P 500 on Monday to new 15-month highs after China bolstered expectations the world economy would strengthen, but Nasdaq fell on profit-taking in tech stocks. More: continued here