U.S. stocks ended 2009 on Thursday with their best gains since 2003, with optimism about the economy’s recovery pushing the benchmark Standard & Poor’s index up 23.5 percent for the year.

BOSTON—-Putnam Investments and the Board of Trustees of the Putnam Funds today announced that the meeting of shareholders of Putnam Municipal Opportunities Trust previously called for February 25, 2010 has been rescheduled to April 8, 2010 at 11:00 a.m., Eastern Time, at the principal offices of the fund on the 8th floor of One Post Office Square, Boston, Massachusetts.

The stock market has closed out a remarkable 2009 with a loss as investors bet the improving U.S. economy will lead the government to pull back on its stimulus measures. But stocks still managed their best year since 2003 as they recovered from the financial crisis and recession.

Restaurant chains and beef processors defended their products’ safety Thursday after a report that an ammonia treatment thought to kill harmful germs in meat isn’t as effective as the industry and regulators believed.

The Washington Times slashed its staff by more than 40 percent and will eliminate its sports section and most local coverage in 2010, shifting its focus to politics, business and investigative reporting.

Oil prices ended 2009 with a bang, surging by about $10 a barrel in the final two weeks as the country cut into its hefty crude supply.

A record 20 million-plus Americans collected unemployment benefits at some point in 2009, a year that ended with the jobless rate at 10 percent.

The bank account is thin, but the future looks pretty good. That, oddly enough, is the view of many Americans who predict 2010 will be a better year than this one, even if they fear that the U.S. economy and their own financial circumstances won’t improve.

The number of U.S. workers filing new applications for jobless benefits unexpectedly fell last week to the lowest level in about 17 months, suggesting the economy might be on the cusp of creating jobs.

The car industry got a historic makeover in 2009, most of it not for the better. General Motors and Chrysler almost went broke and now largely owe their survival to billions in taxpayer money.