Image: AP Images

Low trading volume and not much news.  We'll make this quick so you can get back to your long weekend.
First, the scoreboard:
Dow: 12,294.0, +124.4, +1.0%
S&P 500: 1,265.3, +11.3, +0.9%
NASDAQ: 2,618.6, +19.2, +0.7%
And now, the top stories:
  • So while most people took the day off, Italian bond yields soared through 7% again.    Earlier this morning, we learned that Italian consumer confidence plunged to 91.6, the lowest reading in 16 years.  This was well below economists' estimate of 95.3.  Despite the angst, European stock markets closed higher.
  • U.S. income and spending data fell short of expectations.  November personal income was up 0.1% and spending was up 0.1%.  Economists were expecting an increases of 0.2% and 0.3%, respectively.  Also, the personal saving rate came down to 3.5% from 3.6% a month ago.
  • Durable goods orders jumped 3.8% to $207 billion in November, beating expectations.  However, this was driven largely by huge aircraft orders that Boeing booked during the month.  Excluding transports, orders climbed 0.3%, just shy of expectations.
  • November new home sales climbed to 315k, up from October's revised figure of 310k.  So, while the absolute sales number was in line with expectations, the month-over-month growth rate wasn't what trendwatchers were hoping for.  The average sales price was $242.9k. 
  • Congress finally agreed to extend the payroll tax cut and emergency unemployment benefits by two months.  Expectations of our legislators have been pretty low, so this was somewhat surprising news.  These actions will help prop up the consumer for a little while.  JP Morgan's Michael Feroli thought the development was good enough to warrant a hike in his 2012 GDP growth forecast.  Specifically, he raised first half GDP growth from an average annualized rate of 1.0% to a rate of 2.5%.
  • Thanks for reading.  Have a safe long weekend. And we'll see you next Tuesday.