| Last | Change | Percent | |
| S&P Futures | 1407.0 | -1.3 | -0.09% |
| Eurostoxx Index | 2598.5 | 6.4 | 0.25% |
| Oil (WTI) | 87.52 | -0.4 | -0.41% |
| LIBOR | 0.311 | 0.000 | 0.00% |
| US Dollar Index (DXY) | 79.76 | -0.015 | -0.02% |
| 10 Year Govt Bond Yield | 1.58% | -0.01% | |
| RPX Composite Real Estate Index | 191 | -0.2 |
Markets are flattish this morning as Washington continues to grind to some sort of agreement on the fiscal cliff. Initial Jobless Claims fell to 370k. The ECB kept rates at .75% and cut their 2013 GDP forecast to a range of -.9% to .3%. S&P lowered Greece's bond rating to "selective default." Bonds are up 1/4 while MBS are flat.
FHFA Acting Chairman Ed DeMarco will be speaking at SIFMA at 1:00 pm. HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan will head to the Hill today to talk about the sorry state of the FHA.
More Republicans are showing openness to increasing rates on the rich in exchange for entitlement spending cuts. So far, the President has shown little interest in cutting any spending aside from defense. One possibility under discussion involves splitting the difference between 35% and 39.6% on the top rate. That would allow both parties to claim victory.
Challenger and Gray reported job cuts increased 34% in November to 57,000. This was the second-highest month of the year. About a third of the announcements come from the Hostess bankruptcy. Of course December already has 11,000 cuts in the bag as well, courtesy of Citi. Wall Street has shed 300,000 jobs in the last two years, and more are on the way if revenues don't start increasing.
The NY Department of Financial Services has ordered Ocwen to hire a monitor to ensure compliance with its agreement with the state. The state found instances where Ocwen did not provide a single point of contact to borrowers and did not send a 90-day notice before instituting foreclosure proceedings.
Is the overseas cheap labor arbitrage coming to an end? Apple announced that it will bring some production back to the US from China. It is a nominal amount - $100 million - and it might just be a symbolic move after the Foxconn PR disaster. The compay has $121B of cash on its balance sheet.
Citi is now advising clients against putting money with Stevie Cohen. SAC spin-off Diamondback is shutting down.
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