le ballon rouge
Laurent Touil-Tartour via YouTube
Today was all about the Fiscal Cliff.
First the scoreboard:
Dow: 12,815, +4.07, +0.03 percent

S&P 500: 1,379, +2.34, +0.17 percent

NASDAQ: 2,904, +9.29, +0.32 percent

Now the top stories:
  • The University of Michigan consumer sentiment index rose to 84.9 in November, up from 82.6 the previous month and higher than expectations of a 83.0 print. This was the highest reading since July 2007. But Gennadiy Goldberg at TD Securities wrote that while confidence has improved notably, the index continues to run below the pre-recession average of 91.

  • But the day was really about the fiscal cliff, with both President Obama and House Speaker Boehner holding press conferences to discuss the situation. House speaker John Boehner went first and he said he hoped for a "Grand Bargain" in 2013, but he also said that he would not be willing to raise taxes on upper-income Americans.

  • President Obama held his press conference at 1:05 p.m. ET, and he continued to call for rich Americans to pay more in taxes. He said he was open to compromise, but not on the issue of raising taxes on upper-income Americans. The president invited leaders of both parties to talk about the fiscal cliff next week. Obama is reportedly ready to 'barn-storm' the country if Republicans don't agree to a deal. 

  • After closing down two days in a row, markets stayed in the red early this morning. Stocks climbed after consumer sentiment data beat expectations, but the rally faded after President Obama's press conference.

  • Groupon is taking a beating today with the stock off nearly 30 percent and reaching an all-time low of below $3. Ken Sena of Evercore reiterated his 'conviction sell' rating and cut his price target to $2 from $3.

  • CIA director David Petraeus resigned over an extra-marital affair according to a letter submitted to CIA staff. Deputy CIA director Mike Morell is expected to be offered the role of acting director.