T-Mobile wins (and climbed 1%) since it can attract low-income, Facebook-addicted people to buy phones with their GoSmart plans. At the risk of sounding like an infomercial, for just $25 a month, users will get unlimited calling and Facebook. Talk about enabling -- read about how T-Mobile's using a drug dealer's ploy by giving kids a try of the Internet for free (they'll be ready to pay once they've got a taste).
Facebook nudged up 0.3% on the news. Mark Zuckerberg's company will actually pay for the access, instead of the plan holders. How's that good for business? It's unclear, but with "Internet.org" and other campaigns to bring Internet to the masses, Zuckerberg is putting on his finest hoodie and definitely experimenting with this new strategy to increase Facebook mobile access.
First up, orders for durable goods (we're talking big-ticket items, like cars, planes, or anything that Mike Tyson owned before going broke) jumped 3.5% in November, much better than economists' expectations of a 2% rise. The pop was driven by increasing demand for small aircraft from American manufacturers.
On top of that, the Federal Housing Finance Agency announced that U.S. home prices rose 0.5% in October as a result of a tighter supply, as more homes keep getting sold (funny how Michael Jordan couldn't sell his house last week). That means new home sales hit a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 464,000 homes sold -- that is the strongest two-month pace since mid-2008, baby.
The takeaway is that econ data continues to impress and show the economic recovery speeding up like red-nosed Rudolph on Red Bull. Because of this trend, the Federal Reserve announced last week that it will slow its economic stimulus policies a tad -- although investors love them some stimulus and were glad the Fed's stimulus program isn't completely gone, they're starting to understand why the central bank is pulling in the reins.
Today:
- Weekly jobless claims
- The New York Stock Exchange is open (though your boss is still on vacation)