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Good morning. Here's what you need to know.
  • Asian markets were mixed in overnight trading with the Shanghai Composite falling 1.16%. Europe is surging as Nicolas Sarkozy and Angela Merkel meet today, ahead of the EU summit. US futures are also rallying nicely.
  • French president Nicolas Sarkozy and German chancellor Angela Merkel are meeting in Paris today to come up with a new debt plan. They are expected to give a news conference after the meeting. Markets are looking to this meeting for clues ahead of the December 9 EU summit. Meanwhile, the leaders being dubbed Merkozy are expected to present a plan to create a "stability union" after the meeting. 
  • Italian prime minister Mario Monti unveiled a €30 billion austerity package to parliament in an effort to curb a debt crisis threatening to deepen the euro zone crisis. The package dubbed the "Save Italy" decree by Monti intends to raise over €10 billion from a new property tax, and to cut down on tax evasion. Meanwhile the yield on Italy's 10-year government bond has eased today. 
  • The eurozone could be moving towards a 0.6% contraction in the fourth quarter, after the region's PMI contracted for a third consecutive month in November. PMI which measures changes in business activity rose to 47 in November, from 46.5 the previous month, but stayed below the reading of 50.
  • Time Warner is launching a new digital film service that will allow users to watch movies on any device. This is part of the company's effort to reverse an industry-wide decline in home entertainment sales.
  • In earnings news, Dollar General posted Q3 net income of $171 million or $0.50 per diluted share, beating estimates. Sales jumped 11.5% to $3.60 billion, form $3.22 billion a year ago. The company also raised its full-year adjusted earnings guidance to $2.29 - $2.32 per share.
  • Factory orders for October and ISM non-manufacturing for November will be released at 10 AM ET. Consensus is for a 0.3% month-over-month drop in factory orders, and a rise in the non-manufacturing composite index level to 53.9. 
  • Ireland is expected to reveal €2.2 billion in spending cuts today, as the country pushes into its fourth year of austerity. Meanwhile, finance minister Michael Noonan is expected to unveil about €1.6 billion of tax increases tomorrow.
  • Troubled bank Dexia SA said France, Belgium and Luxembourg have reached a draft agreement for temporary guarantees, that has been submitted to the European Commission. The temporary guarantee will be the first step by the three countries to provide as much as €90 billion. Meanwhile, German Commerzbank AG is looking to buyback €600 million of hybrid instruments, as it is looking to boost its capital reserves, and the German Ministry could be looking to increase its stake in the bank.
  • China's service sector as measured by the HSBC PMI fell to 52.5 in November, showing the weakest growth in three months. This is down from 54.1 in October. Meanwhile, official PMI for the non-manufacturing sector fell to 49.7 in November, from 57.7 in October.