Lindsay Lohan
AP
Good morning. Here's what you need to know.
  • Asian markets were mixed in overnight trading as the Nikkei edged up 0.13 percent while the Shanghai Composite fell 1 percent and the Hang Seng fell 1.2 percent. European stocks are up across the board, with Italy gaining 1 percent, and bond yields are falling. In the United States, S&P 500 futures are up 3 points and Dow futures are up 27 points.

  • German Chancellor Angela Merkel hinted in an interview that future debt writeoffs may be feasible in Greece. Many have argued that such a move would be the only way to bring Greek debt back to sustainable levels, and Merkel's comments have helped spark a big rally in Greece today.


  • China's HSBC manufacturing PMI rose to 50.5 from last month's reading of 49.5, indicating the first expansion in Chinese manufacturing since July. On the services side, China PMI ticked up slightly to 55.6 from 55.5.

  • Euro area PMI rose to 46.2 from 45.4 last month, indicating the slowest rate of contraction in eight months. Italian PMI fell to 45.1 while French PMI rose to 44.5, German PMI rose to 46.8, and U.K. PMI rose to 49.1.

  • Fiscal cliff negotiations dragged on over the weekend as Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner told Republicans that the president had put forth a plan and that the ball was in the GOP's court now. Republican House Speaker John Boehner said he was flabbergasted by the president's plan and asked Geithner, "You can't be serious?" 

  • A labor strike at ports in Los Angeles and Long Beach, which has forced a closure of 10 of the 14 terminals that comprise the two ports, concludes its first week today. The strike is currently costing the U.S. economy $1 billion per day.

  • At 8:58 AM ET, Markit releases its final estimate on U.S. PMI for the month of November. The index is expected to fall to 51.7 from a reading of 52.4 last month. November ISM manufacturing follows at 10 AM and is expected to tick down to 51.4 from 51.7 last month. Growth in construction spending, also out at 10 AM, is expected to have slowed to 0.4 percent growth in October from 0.6 percent the month before.

  • Boston Fed president Eric Rosengren will speak 12:15 PM ET at a New York Fed conference on the state of the mortgage market and continued challenges in housing. At 1:40 PM ET, St. Louis Fed president James Bullard will give a speech in Little Rock on the state of the U.S. economy.

  • Global auto manufacturers announce November sales figures today, and analysts expect the industry to post its strongest numbers in over four years, with auto sales projected to rise to over 15 million at an annualized rate.