STOCKS RISE: HERE'S WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

And now top stories:

• The New York Fed's Empire State Manufacturing Survey surged to 12.51, crushing expectations. It's the highest reading since May 2012.
• Producer prices came in in-line at 0.4% MOM. Higher cigarette prices drove much of the increase.
• Mortgage applications climbed 11.9% last week after climbing just 3% prior.
• Netflix shares fell 2%, a slide attributed in part to a judge's ruling against the concept of net neutrality, which means service providers can charge higher fees for Internet subscriptions.
• The Fed says two-thirds of its districts noted increases in hiring in December. In the latest edition of its Beige Book of anecdotes about the U.S. economy, the Fed also found most of the U.S. continued to grow at a moderate pace.
• BP says the Great American Shale Boom won't peak for at least another decade. In its annual energy outlook to 2035, the energy giant also found the U.S. will become a net exporter of energy in just a few years.
• BI's Matt Boesler explained why markets are rethinking last Friday's apparently disastrous jobs report. "...the market is moving back closer to its pre-payrolls state as participants express skepticism over the weak jobs numbers. The idea is that given a plethora of other economic data points that point to robust labor market trends, the December jobs report may be an outlier. 'Very few bullish participants out there given the way the market underperformed yesterday,' says Tom di Galoma, head of fixed income rates sales at ED&F Man Capital Markets.