WASHINGTON — Consumer confidence hit an eight-month high in January. The increase suggests the rising spirits that fueled a holiday shopping boom are carrying over into the new year as people feel better about the job market.

The Conference Board said Tuesday its Consumer Confidence Index climbed to 60.6 this month from 53.3 in December.

While confidence is still far from the 90 that signals a healthy consumer mindset, the January improvement was better than expected. Some economists said the big tax relief package Congress passed in late December may have helped.

“So much for a ho-hum January,” said Jennifer Lee, senior economist at BMO Capital Markets. “The signing of the stimulus bill and all that it is intended to bring is buoying sentiment.”

The $858 billion package extended the Bush-era tax relief at all income levels for two years, provided tax breaks for businesses and reduced Social Security payroll taxes by 2 percentage points this year.

SAN FRANCISCO — Google Inc. plans to hire more than 6,200 workers this year — boosting its work force by at least a quarter — in the biggest expansion yet by the Internet's most profitable company.The hiring spree comes as President Barack Obama emphasized the need for more jobs during his State of the Union address Tuesday night. Google CEO Eric Schmidt was among a group of business leaders who met with Obama last month to discuss ways to bolster the economy.But Google's push to further expand its work force, which grew by 23 percent last year, may not be well received on Wall Street. The Internet search leader's spending has annoyed some investors who prefer a more frugal approach in hopes of fatter returns.Google executives have consistently brushed aside those concerns. They say the company needs to aggressively recruit the smartest computer engineers and the most persuasive sales representatives to maintain its lead in online search and advertising. They also stress the need to diversify into other services in computing, telecommunications and the media.

WASHINGTON — The government has opened a preliminary investigation into reports of wheel studs breaking on some 2010 model year Ford Fusion sedans.The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says it has received four complaints of wheel studs fracturing on Fusions, which could cause the wheel to separate from the car and the driver to lose control.The investigation covers about 280,000 vehicles.All of the complaints involved vehicles with low mileage of 5,000 miles to 11,000 miles. One of the complaints alleges the wheel studs broke on multiple wheels.The government says there have been no crashes or injuries reported.