A great jobs report.
First the scoreboard:
Dow: 13,155, +81.0, +0.6 percent

S&P 500: 1,418, +4.1, +0.2 percent

NASDAQ: 2,978, -11.2, -0.3 percent

And now the top stories:
  • U.S. companies added 146k new jobs in November, which was much higher than the 85k expected by economists.  Private payrolls jumped by 147k.  And the unemployment rate unexpectedly fell to 7.7 percent; economist were expecting the rate to stay flat at 7.9 percent.

  • Nomura's Ellen Zentner predicted jobs would rise by 145k, which means she effectively nailed the number.  However, her instant reaction to the report wasn't one of elation. "Despite the better-than-expected job growth in November, a net downward revision to prior months of nearly 50k should temper market elation," wrote Zentner.  "The 12-month moving average of jobs growth has moved sideways this year, at 150k, which is roughly the average monthly amount need to maintain a fairly steady unemployment rate." 

  • Consumer confidence unexpectedly plunged to 74.5 from last month's reading of 82.7.  This was far below the  82.0 reading economists were looking for.  Nomura's Roianna Reid noted that this was inversely correlated with all of the hype around the fiscal cliff.

  • Speaking of the fiscal cliff, we still have no deal.  "The White House has wasted another week," said House Speaker John Boehner.

  • Consumer credit, according to new data from the Federal Reserve, jumped by $14.2 billion in October, which was higher than the $10 billion increase expected.  Revolving credit grew by $3.4 billion, which reversed the $2.2 decline in the previous month.