Here are 10 things you should know for Monday, Jan. 6:
1.-- U.S. stock futures were pointing lower on Monday ahead of economic data from the U.S. and after surveys last week showed that manufacturing activity in China weakened in December.
European stocks were flat to mostly lower. Asian shares finished the session with losses. Japan's Nikkei 225 index fell 2.4% and China's Shanghai Composite Index declined 1.9%.
2.-- The economic calendar in the U.S. Monday includes factory orders for November at 10 a.m. EST, and the ISM Services Index for December at 10 a.m.
3.-- U.S. stocks on Friday closed mixed as Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke gave his final prepared speech which emphasized that the U.S. economy has made considerable progress since the recovery began.
The S&P 500 shed 0.03% to close at 1,831.37, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed up 0.17% to 16,469.99. The Nasdaq declined 0.27% to 4,131.91. For the week, the S&P, Dow and Nasdaq closed lower by 0.54%, 0.05% and 0.59%, respectively.
4.-- Congress gets back to work on Monday, and at the top of its agenda is President Obama's nomination of Janet Yellen to head the Fed. A Senate vote is scheduled for Monday night.
Yellen would become the first woman to chair the U.S. central bank. She would become chief on Feb. 1, one day after Ben Bernanke ends his two-term stint.
5.-- Liberty Media (LMCA) said Friday it would seek to make SiriusXM (SIRI) a wholly-owned subsidiary of the media conglomerate.
The decision comes nearly five years after Liberty Media -- chaired by John Malone -- took a 40% stake in Sirius through a lifesaving $530 million capital infusion into the satellite radio leader. Over subsequent years, Liberty Media has increased its holding in Sirius as the company rebounded from the verge of bankruptcy, became profitable and generated positive cash flows. Nearly a year ago, Liberty Media built its stock ownership of SiriusXM to a controlling interest.
Liberty Media's offer values SiriusXM shares at $3.68 apiece. Sirius shares jumped 3.64% to $3.70 in after-hours trading on Friday.
6.-- U.S. prosecutors and regulators are expected to announce this week that JPMorgan Chase (JPM) will pay slightly more than $2 billion in penalties for alleged failures to warn about Bernard Madoff's massive fraud, people familiar with the negotiations told The Wall Street Journal.
The federal actions could be announced as early as Tuesday, the people said.
The bulk of the fines are expected to be routed to victims of Madoff, who pleaded guilty to charges he ran a Ponzi scheme. Penalties paid to the Justice Department are expected to form the largest chunk of the total, an amount above $1.5 billion, the people told the newspaper.
7.-- Boeing's (BA) machinists union agreed to concede some benefits to secure assembly of the new 777X airplane for the Puget Sound region.
Under the terms of the eight-year contract extension, Boeing said the 777X and its composite wing will be built in the Seattle area by Boeing employees represented by the machinists union.
Local officials of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers had urged their 30,000 members to oppose the deal, arguing that the proposal surrendered too much at a time of company profitability. The contract passed with a 51% yes vote.
8.-- General Motors (GM) said Sunday at the International CES gadget show that it will start outfitting most Chevrolet vehicles with 4G cellular capabilities in partnership with AT&T (T).
9.-- Sonic (SONC), the fast-food chain, is expected by analysts on Monday to report fiscal first-quarter earnings of 13 cents a share on revenue of $128 million.
10.-- Disney's (DIS) Frozen retook the box-office top spot with $20.7 million, topping horror spinoff Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones.
Paramount's The Marked Ones debuted in second place with $18.2 million, according to studio estimates.
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