Schacknow - Today's Brief, December 2, 2013

Wall Street begins December with Fed, jobs in focus
Peter Schacknow, Senior Producer, CNBC Breaking News Desk

Amid growing concerns about a stock bubble, Wall Street's major averages come off a third straight month of gains, with the S&P 500 on track for its best yearly gain since 1998. Possible stumbling blocks include the November jobs report due this Friday, and the Fed policy meeting set for December 17-18. 

Two economic reports kick off the new week, both at 10 am ET. The Institute For Supply Management's monthly manufacturing index is seen coming in at 55.2 for November, down from October's 56.4. And the government will issue both the September and October construction spending numbers, both expected to rise 0.4 percent. The September construction report had been delayed by the government shutdown. 

It's a relatively light day for earnings, with no reports scheduled for the morning, and Krispy Kreme (KKD) among the few companies set to report after the closing bell. 

Retailers including will be prominent among our stocks to watch today, after record weekend traffic but lower spending. The National Retail Federation says spending was down 2.9 percent over the four day weekend compared to a year ago. 

Amazon.com (AMZN) CEO Jeff Bezos told "60 Minutes" the online retailer is testing delivery drones that could deliver packages that weight up to five pounds. Bezos said use of those jets is probably four or five years away. 

ArcellorMittal (MT) has bought ThyssenKrupp's U.S. steel finishing plant in Alabama for $1.55 billion dollars, in partnership with Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal. 

LionsGate (LGF), Walt Disney (DIS) – LionsGate's "The Hunger Games: Catching Fire" and Disney's "Frozen" broke box office records over the holiday weekend. Both beat the former five-day record gross of $82.4 million set by "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone" in 2001. 

Comcast (CMCSA) is testing technology that puts new commercials into old episodes of TV shows that are available on demand, in an effort to cash in on the increasing use of "binge viewing". Comcast is the parent of NBCUniversal, which owns CNBC.