TRUMP TRANSITION
President-elect Donald Trump is set to meet with ex-Texas governor Rick Perry, a one-time rival for the GOP nomination, who's been mentioned as a possibility to head the Agriculture or Veterans Affairs. (USA Today)
Trump met this weekend with other contenders for top U.S. posts, including retired general James Mattis who's emerged as a leading candidate for defense secretary, and Mitt Romney, who's under consideration for secretary of state. (Reuters)
Russian President Vladimir Putin said Trump confirmed to him that he's willing to mend ties between the two nations, though he also said he would welcome President Barack Obama in Russia. (Reuters)
President Obama, speaking in Lima, Peru, said he doesn't intend to be Trump's constant critic, but reserved the right to speak out if the president-elect or his policies breach certain "values or ideals." (AP)
Incoming first lady Melania Trump and son Barron are expected to move to the White House "right after" Barron's school year is completed in New York City, President-elect Trump told NBC News. Donald Trump is expected to spend some of his time at Trump Tower.
Alec Baldwin returned to "Saturday Night Live" to play Trump for the first time since the election, but the president-elect did not see the funny side, tweeting SNL is a "biased show." (NBC News)
CORPORATE NEWS
The Justice Department's antitrust case against Anthem and Cigna's $54 billion merger gets underway in federal court in Washington today. The Obama administration is also trying to block Aetna's (AET) $43 billion merger with Humana (HUM). (CNBC)
Headwaters (HW) is being bought by Australian construction firm Boral for $1.86 billion in cash, or $24.25 per share, a 20 percent premium on Friday's close for shares of the Utah-based maker of building products. The stock was soaring about 18 percent. (Reuters)
LifeLock (LOCK) has agreed to be purchased by cybersecurity firm Symantec (SYMC) for $2.3 billion or $24 per share, a 15 percent premium to Friday's close for shares of the identity protection specialist. The stock was rising about 14 percent. (Reuters)
Alibaba (BABA) is planning to launch four new data centers across the world, as the Chinese e-commerce giant steps up its competition against Amazon (AMZN) and Microsoft (MSFT) in the rapidly-growing cloud computing market. (CNBC)
Apple (AAPL) said it's providing a free battery replacement to a "small number" of customers globally who have experienced an unexpected shutdown with their iPhone 6s smartphones. (WSJ)
Intel (INTC) is denying a TechCrunch report that the tech giant is stepping back from wearables. But Intel, in a statement, did not directly comment on the layoffs part of the TechCrunch story.
Taking a page from Amazon's (AMZN) success, for the first time this season, Wal-Mart (WMT) kicks off its Cyber Monday deals the day after Thanksgiving — a time typically reserved for in-store Black Friday doorbusters. (CNBC)
INTERNATIONAL NEWS
The election of Trump showed the "massive return" of the people, the leader of France's far right movement Marine LePen, tells CNBC. Le Pen said there are similarities between Trump's platform and that of her own party
Former French president Nicolas Sarkozy conceded defeat, in the first round of presidential primary voting. The ultimate conservative winner is likely next year to face Le Pen. (NY Times)
Angela Merkel who has steered Germany through several global crises as its first woman leader, will seek a fourth term as Germany's chancellor in general elections next year. Merkel met with Obama last week. (AP)
BY THE NUMBERS
Ahead of busy days tomorrow and Wednesday on the economic calendar, there are no data points out today. But Fed Vice Chairman Stanley Fischer speaks on longer term challenges for the economy at 8 a.m. ET.
Since the election, the average 30-year fixed rate mortgage has soared roughly a half percent, with top tier scenario quotes of over 4 percent, the highest levels since July 2015, according to MortgageNewsDaily.com.
Tyson Foods (TSN) leads this morning's earnings calendar, while Brocade (BRCD), Jack In The Box (JACK), and Palo Alto Networks (PANW) are among companies reporting after this afternoon's closing bell.
Facebook (FB) announced a stock buyback of up to $6 billion. Separately, Facebook said its Chief Accounting Officer Jas Athwal is going to leave the company on Feb 17.
STOCKS TO WATCH
U.S. asset manager Blackstone (BX) is in talks to sell as much as $2.3 billion in Japanese property to Anbang Insurance, the acquisitive Chinese firm that tried to buy Starwood, which eventually sold to Marriott (MAR).
U.S.-based domain name and web services provider GoDaddy (GDDY) is finalizing a roughly $1.8 billion bid for European web hosting firm Host Europe Group, according to London's Sunday Times.
Wells Fargo (WFC) was hit with new management restrictions by the OCC, with the bank now required to get approval before making various business decisions or giving out executive severance packages.
Citigroup (C) replaced HSBC (HSBC) in an annual list of 30 banks deemed globally systemic by the G-20's Financial Stability Board. Those banks are required to hold extra capital to insure financial stability.
Swiss pharma giant Novartis (NVS) is buying privately held U.S. drugmaker Selexys Pharmaceuticals for up to $665 million. Selexys specializes in treatments for blood diseases.
GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) filed for U.S. approval of its new three-in-one inhaler chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, meaning it could beat similar treatments by rivals AstraZeneca (AZN) and Novartis.
WATERCOOLER
At a time of concerns in Mexico about Trump, the NFL's Monday Night Football goes south of the border tonight, with the Oakland Raiders playing the Houston Texans. (USA Today)
Harry Potter spinoff "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them" cast a spell over audiences in its debut, summoning $75 million and unseating "Doctor Strange" from the top spot. (AP)