<sod >The National Retail Federation, the nation's largest retail trade group, reported last week that holiday sales for the November and December period rose 4 percent to about $658.3 billion.< eod>< sod > The National Retail Federation, the nation's largest retail trade group, had said last week that sales for November and December rose 4 percent to about $658.3 billion, better than the 3.6 percent forecast.< eod>