1. Netflix drops 5.6% on Morgan Stanley downgrade
Uncles Sam's stars-and-stripes pants are in style lately. According to the monthly International Trade Report, U.S. exports rose and imports fell way more than expected in November, narrowing the deficit (the difference between the two) to $34.3 billion. Growing demand abroad for the American muscle of industrial supplies and commercial airlines led the big change.
The takeaway is that econ data across a whole bunch of sectors (housing prices, job gains, and manufacturing activity) have been increasingly improving into the New Year -- and now Wall Street is picking up on the trend. Following the Trade Report, some top analysts revised their GDP projections for the U.S. because the surprise pop in exports means America's manufacturing mojo was movin' more than initially anticipated last quarter.
Today:
- The ADP Employment report previews Friday's big jobs report
- Minutes from the Fed's last meeting
- Consumer credit report