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In a day that will be remembered for the first major snowstorm to hit New York in 2014 and test the clean up capabilities and resolve of the city's new populist mayor (not starting on a good note following reports that JFK airport will be closed at least until 8:30 am Eastern), it was only fitting that there was virtually no overnight news aside for the Chinese non-manufacturing PMI which dropped from 56.0 to 54.6, a new 4 month low. Still, following yesterday's ugly start to the new year, stocks in Europe traded higher this morning, in part driven by value related flows following the sell-off yesterday. Retailers led the move higher, with Next shares in London up as much as 11% which is the most since January 2009 and to its highest level since 1988 after the company lifted profit forecast after strong Christmas trading performance. Other UK based retailers with likes of AB Foods and M&S also advanced around 2%.

That yet another major retailer was hacked, as happened last week when Target announced that as many as 40 million credit and debit cards used from November 27 until December 15 at its stores  (one wonders why it took the retailer three weeks to realize/announce what was happening) had been "compromised", is no surprise. What was a big surprise is the action one major financial company took in response to the mega hack. The company in question was JPMorgan, and what it did was to tell customers whose debit cards had been used at Target stores during the period in question, that it was limiting use of their cards to cash withdrawals of $100 and purchases to $300 per day. However, what is perhaps most surprising is the sheer number of cards with spending caps: The new limit effects roughly 2 million accounts, or roughly 10% of Chase debit card accounts, according to a bank spokeswoman.

• China cash injection fails to calm lenders (AFP)
• European Union Stripped of AAA Credit Rating at S&P (BBG)
• Last-Minute Health-Site Enrollment Proves a Hard Sell (WSJ)
• Bernanke’s Recession-Fighting Weapon Developed by 1900s Banker (BBG)
• Asia Stocks Are Little Changed Amid China Funding Concern (BBG)
• Regulators' Guidance on Volcker Rule Gives Banks Little Relief on Debt Sales (WSJ)
• On one hand: Man Who Said No to Soros Builds BlueCrest Into Empire (BBG); on the other: Michael Platt's BlueCrest Capital Poised for Rough Close to 2013 (WSJ)
• BOJ Keeps Record Easing as Fed Taper Helps Weaken Yen (BBG)
• Bank of England becomes more cautious on economic predictions (FT)
• Gold Climbs From Lowest Close Since 2010 as Goldman Sees Losses (BBG)

• Tough Question for Fed: Time to Act? (Hilsenrath )
• Merkel Begins Third Term Strengthened by SPD Partner Backing (BBG)
• Wary of Roma, Europe cold-shoulders its new eastern workmates (Reuters)
• New Medicines Emerge, but Few Blockbusters (WSJ)
• SIP in the crosshairs: U.S. Exchanges Near Deal for Infrastructure Upgrade (WSJ)
• Secret Inside BofA Office of CEO Stymied Needy Homeowners (BBG)
• AIG Said to Near Sale of Plane Unit to AerCap (BBG)
• Inside the Saudi 9/11 coverup (NYPost)
• Russian Bank Chief Weighs Firings as Costs Absorb Revenue (BBG)
• Video Boom Forces Verizon to Upgrade Network (WSJ)
• Chinese Manufacturing Slows (AP)

• Presidential Task Force Recommends Overhaul of NSA Surveillance Tactics (WSJ)
• Monte Paschi's Largest Shareholder Says It Will Vote Against $4.1 Billion Capital Increase (WSJ)
• SAC Reconsiders Industry Relationships—and Its Name (WSJ)
• Icahn’s Apple Push Criticized by Calpers as ‘Johnny Come Lately’  (BBG)
• In Yemen, al Qaeda gains sympathy amid U.S. drone strikes (Reuters)
• Missing American in Iran was on unapproved mission (AP)
• In China, Western Companies Cut Jobs as Growth Ebbs (WSJ)
• U.S. lays out steps to smooth Obamacare coverage for January (Reuters)
• Las Vegas Sands Said to Drop $35 Billion Spanish Casino Proposal (BBG)
• Twitter Reverts Changes To Blocking Functionality After Strong Negative User Feedback (TechCrunch)

• Glass-Steagall Fans Plan New Assault If Volcker Rule Deemed Weak (BBG) ... "if"? The banks control the legislators and regulators...
• Cellphone data spying: It's not just the NSA (USA Today)
• Major tech companies push for limits on government surveillance (Reuters)
• Shanghai Warns Kids to Stay Indoors for Seventh Day on Smog (BBG)
• Protesters fell Lenin statue, tell Ukraine's president 'you're next' (Reuters)
• Everyone must be flying private these days: EADS to cut 5000-6000 jobs, close Paris HQ in restructuring (FT)
• Big Players Trade 'Upstairs' (WSJ)
• There’s no way to tell how many people who think they’ve signed up for health insurance through the U.S. exchange actually have (BBG)
• Slower China inflation reduces worries of tighter policy (Reuters)

• Apple, China Mobile Sign Deal to Offer iPhone (WSJ)
• Japan approves $182 billion economic package, doubts remain (Reuters)
• Volcker Rule Won't Allow Banks to Use 'Portfolio Hedging' (WSJ)
• He went, he saw, he achieved nothing: Biden's Trip to Beijing Leaves China Air-Zone Rift Open (WSJ)
• Britain announces sharp upward revision to growth forecasts (Reuters)
• U.S. Airlines to Mortgage-Backed Debt Top List of Best ’14 Bets (BBG)
• Thaksin's homecoming hopes dashed as Thai crisis reignites (Reuters)
• Age of Austerity Nearing End May Boost Global Economy (BBG) - or it may expose that it was just corruption and incompetence at fault all along
• China aims to establish network of high-level FTAs (China Daily)

• The second coming of Obamacare website - will it work? (Reuters)
• Winter Storm Moves North as Macy’s Waits to Make Parade Call (BBG)
• Eyeing holiday sales, more U.S. retailers to open on Thanksgiving (Reuters)
• It's all Verizon's fault: H-P Will Replace Verizon in Hosting HealthCare.gov Website (WSJ)
• Bitcoin Service Targets Kenya Remittances With Cut-Rate Fees (BBG)
• Embattled Thai PM easily survives no-confidence vote, protests persist (Reuters)
• For U.S. stores it is ugly out there: in more ways than one (Reuters)
• Japan and S Korea military flout China air zone rules (FT)
• UBS Restructuring Forex Unit (WSJ)
• Trader Messages Scrutinized as UBS Bans Chats Among Firms (BBG)
• ECB warns on external risks to eurozone financial system (FT)

• When it fails, do more of it - Bank of Japan hints at extending ultra-loose monetary policy (FT)
• PBOC Says No Longer in China’s Interest to Increase Reserves (BBG)
• Fed casts about for endgame on easy-money policy  (Hilsenrath)
• Big trucks still rule Detroit in energy-conscious era (Reuters)
• Debt Limit Rise May Not Be Needed Until June, CBO Says (BBG)
• Some Insurance Regulators Turn Down White House Invitation (WSJ)
• Say Goodbye to the Car Salesman (WSJ)
• U.S. drone kills senior militant in Pakistani seminary (Reuters)
• French business sector contracts sharply (FT)
• How Germany's taxman used stolen data to squeeze Switzerland (Reuters)
• Fed casts about for endgame on easy-money policy (WSJ)
• France, Italy call for full-time Eurogroup chief (Reuters)

• Christie Sets Himself Up for Run in 2016 (WSJ)
• De Blasio Elected Next New York City Mayor in Landslide (WSJ)
• Hilsenrath: Fed Study: Rate Peg Off Mark (WSJ)
• MF Global Customers Will Recover All They Lost (NYT) - amazing what happens when you look under the rug
• Virginia, Alabama Voter Choices Show Tea Party Declining (BBG)
• Explosions kill 1, injure 8 in north China city (Reuters)
• Toyota boosts full-year guidance as weak yen drives revenues (FT)
• Starbucks wants to recruit 10,000 vets, spouses to its ranks (Reuters)
• U.S. Economy Slack Justifies Stimulus, Top Fed Staff Papers Show (BBG)
• Israel set to become major gas exporter (FT)

Exactly as anticipated, T-Mobile is pulling the US wireless industry into a game of [margin]compressed chicken! Google's negative margin strategies exacerbate this problem - boon for consumers.

• Investors are stampeding into initial public offerings at the fastest clip since the financial crisis (WSJ)
• Kerry hails disgruntled Saudi Arabia as important U.S. ally (Reuters)
• SAC Capital prepares for a second life (FT)
• BlackBerry's Fate Goes Down to the Wire (WSJ)
• Dutch Gamble on U.S. Housing Debt After Patience Wins (BBG)
• U.S. Wants Broad Divestitures From AMR, US Airways (WSJ)
• Tensions with allies rise, but U.S. sees improved China ties (Reuters)
• China berates foreign media for Tiananmen attack doubts (Reuters)
• China manufacturers squeezed as costs rise (FT)
• European Borders Tested as Money Is Moved to Shield Wealth (NYT)
• Zurich Probe Finds No ‘Undue Pressure’ Put on Late CFO (BBG)

• US admits surveillance on foreign governments ‘reached too far’ (FT)
• He must be so proud: Obama halted NSA spying on IMF and World Bank headquarters (RTRS)
• Obamacare website gets new tech experts; oversight pressure grows (Reuters)
• R.B.S. to Split Off $61 Billion in Loans Into Internal ‘Bad Bank’ (NYT)
• Draghi’s Deflation Risk Complicates Recovery (BBG)
• Abenomics: Nissan slashes full-year profit forecast 15% (FT)
• Credit Suisse Dismisses London Trader Over 'Unusual Trading' Losses (WSJ)
• RBS avoids break-up with 38 billion pounds 'internal bad bank' (Reuters)
• Twitter Said to Attract More Than Enough Interest for IPO (BBG)

• US Blasts Germany's Economic Policies (WSJ)
• Citigroup, JPMorgan Said to Put Currency Dealers on Leave (BBG)
• Watchdog: Syria Destroys Chemical-Arms Equipment (WSJ)
• Kynikos Alumni Start Hedge Fund Betting on Declining Stocks (BBG)
• China state media calls for stern action after Tiananmen attack (RTRS)
• IMF warns of financial shock risk to Africa (FT)
• Insurers Oppose Obamacare Extension as Danger to Profits (BBG)
• BoJ content to ignore Fed tapering and go its own way (FT)
• U.S. attorney wants DOJ to take civil action against BofA (RTRS)
• NSA Fallout Hits AT&T's Ambitions In Europe (WSJ)

In what can only be characterized as a stunning moment of transparency for the Obama administration, now 5 years into its reign of "unprecedented transparency" not to mention hope and change, US Health Secretary actually did the unthinkable: she took responsibility.  "Hold me accountable for the debacle," Sebelius said in response to accusations at a congressional hearing today that her deputies failed to do their jobs. "I’m responsible."