Volkswagen CEO Matthias Mueller and chairman Hans Dieter Potsch presented findings from the company's emissions scandal probe at a press conference today, in what was billed as a "watershed moment" for the beleaguered automaker. "It proves not to have been a one-time error, but rather a chain of errors that were allowed to happen," Potsch declared, stating that nine employees had so far been suspended and that "winning back trust is our top priority and challenge." VW (OTCPK:VLKAY) intends to offer technical solutions for European vehicles in 2016, but sees a greater challenge for customers in the U.S., where there are far stricter nitrogen oxide limits.

Economy

Middle class Americans now comprise less than half, or 49.9%, of the nation's population, down from 61% in 1971, according to a new Pew Research Center report. Pew defined middle class as households earning between two-thirds and twice the overall median income, after adjusting for household size. A family of three, for example, would be considered middle income if its total annual income ranged from about $42K-$126K.

Under pressure to help Puerto Rico avoid a bond default on Jan. 1, Senate Republicans have introduced a bill to extend assistance to the island, but stopped well short of giving the U.S. commonwealth access to bankruptcy court. The legislation introduced would slash employee payroll taxes and extend as much as $3B in funding to the island, which is struggling with a debt burden of $72B and a 45% poverty rate.

The Swiss National Bank left its interest rates unchanged in negative territory today, declaring that it would remain active if necessary to weaken the highly-valued Swiss franc. "Despite depreciating somewhat in recent months, the franc is still significantly overvalued," the central bank said in a statement. The SNB kept its target range for three-month Libor at between -1.25% and -0.25%, and maintained a -0.75% interest rate on sight deposits.

Deciding how much crude to pump isn't the only dispute splitting the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries. The cartel is also fighting over who will be its next secretary-general. The dispute highlights the clash within OPEC over whether to keep pumping to pressure rivals including U.S. shale producers, a strategy that has driven oil prices to six-year lows. Crude futures -0.4% to $37.01/bbl.

Stocks

Wal-Mart Pay is on the way. The retail behemoth is adding a feature to its existing mobile app so that consumers can pay at the register with information stored in their Walmart.com account, including gift cards, debit cards or credit cards. With the new system, shoppers use Wal-Mart's (NYSE:WMT) app and camera feature to scan a QR code at the checkout counter, which then connects to the cards on file. The solution works on both Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) and Android (GOOG, GOOGL) devices.

Prepackaged software company Atlassian has priced its 22M-share IPO at $21 (above an elevated $19-$20 range), raising $462M and valuing the firm at $4.38B. The IPO is the last of the year and the only IPO in December, marking the weakest December since 2008, when there were none. Atlassian will begin trading on the Nasdaq today under the ticker symbol "TEAM."

Shares of First Solar tanked 9.6% in after-hours trading yesterday following 2016 financial guidance that disappointed investors on the revenue end. The company is expecting revenue of $3.9B-$4.1B, compared to consensus estimates of $4.09B. First Solar's (NASDAQ:FSLR) forecast for earnings per share came in at a range of $4.00-$4.50, beating estimates of $3.98.

Despite a 75% dividend cut and a 30% drop in the stock since Thanksgiving, the worst may not be over for Kinder Morgan (NYSE:KMI), Barron's Andrew Bary writes, saying the company's growth outlook is "clouded by a very weak energy price environment." A 2016 dividend increase "looks out of the question" given KMI's new emphasis on self-funding its capex, and it is unclear where any dividend boost would occur in 2017. Bary also adds that Kinder Morgan executives were non-committal after repeatedly being asked about the issue during yesterday's analyst call.

Halliburton's proposed $35B acquisition of rival Baker Hughes (NYSE:BHI) will likely close in 2016 instead of this year as talks with U.S. regulators continue, Halliburton (NYSE:HAL) CFO Christian Garcia told a Wells Fargo Energy Symposium. Both companies have already agreed to divest $5.2B in overlapping businesses to quell concerns that the merger, which would create the second-largest oilfield services company, would lead to higher prices and less innovation.

Royal Dutch Shell is reviewing its business interests in New Zealand as the company seeks to streamline its global portfolio amid a slump in energy prices. "Shell is increasingly focusing on large growth opportunities, with deep water and integrated gas as growth priorities," said Rob Jager, country chairman of Shell New Zealand. Shell (RDS.A, RDS.B), which reported its biggest net loss in more than a decade in October, has been in New Zealand for more than 100 years and is the country's largest gas producer.

Embattled miner Glencore is planning to deepen its spending cuts and increase its overall debt reduction goal. The move translates into a net debt target of $18B-$19B by the end of 2016, against previous guidance in the low-$20B range. Under measures announced in September, Glencore (OTCPK:GLNCY) already scrapped its dividend, raised $2.5B in a share sale, signed a $900M silver streaming deal and started talks on selling a stake in its agricultural unit.

Insurance software company Ebix is still interested in making an offer for Xchanging (OTC:XCNGF), a day after Computer Sciences (NYSE:CSC) agreed to buy the British outsourcing company for about £480M. Last month, Ebix (NASDAQ:EBIX) made a £450M takeover approach for Xchanging, which offers services ranging from back-office invoice processing to insurance claims settlement.

Two top executives of Avon are leaving, WSJ reports, as the embattled cosmetics giant restructures its operations and explores strategic options, including selling its North American operations. Brian Salsberg, senior vice president for global strategy, and David Powell, senior vice president for business transformation and global supply chain, plan to leave at year-end. James Scully, who joined Avon (NYSE:AVP) as finance chief earlier this year, will assume more duties as a result of the departures.

New Ebola cases have surfaced in Liberia, the worst hit of all Ebola-affected nations, suggesting that the fight against the disease could take months, or even years, to fully eliminate. Recent scientific studies and case reports indicate the Ebola virus can persist in survivors' bodily fluids months longer than previously thought. Liberia has already been declared Ebola-free (42 days pass without a new episode of hemorrhagic fever) twice this year, only to see new cases appear. Ebola-related stocks: JNJ, GSK, HEB, BCRX, NLNK, NNVC, INO, OTCQB:GOVX, SRPT, CMRX, PLX, NSPH, LAKE, APT, VSR, SMED

Since April's announcement of a plan to sell most GE Capital assets, General Electric (NYSE:GE) has inked deals for $149B of the roughly $200B it intends to sell. More than $100B of these transactions have now taken place (the company had guided for $90B by the end of the year). No longer a bank disguised as an industrial company, GE plans to apply for SIFI de-designation in the first quarter of 2016.

Tesla Motors opened a pop-up store in Mexico this week, according to Electrek, where local customers can schedule test drives of the Model S. Elon Musk disclosed the plan about seven weeks ago and also tipped a gradual roll-out to Central and South America. Electrek also reports that Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) has hired Google (GOOG, GOOGL) executive Ricardo Blanco to help run its Latin American business.

Fiat Chrysler has agreed to pay $70M in fines to resolve a U.S. investigation over its failure to disclose vehicle crash death and injury reports, sources told Reuters. The settlement is expected to be announced as early as today. In July, Fiat Chrysler (NYSE:FCAU) reached a separate $105M settlement with the NHTSA over its handling of nearly two dozen recalls covering 11M vehicles.

Chinese Internet search giant Baidu is joining the race to develop autonomous cars, with plans to field its first such vehicles in China within three years. The cars will operate on fixed routes or within set urban areas, and are equipped with laser radar, mapping data and "deep-learning" technology. Baidu's (NASDAQ:BIDU) move marks the latest tech giant jumping into the hot driverless vehicle market.

Has Honda been drinking too much Red Bull? The FAA just certified the HondaJet, a $4.5M entry level business jet, which has been in development for almost three decades. With leather seats for as many as seven passengers, Honda (NYSE:HMC) bills the plane as the fastest, quietest and most fuel-efficient jet in its class. Other features? Its jet engines are located on top of the wings, increasing fuel efficiency by about 15% and freeing up about 20% more cabin space than comparable aircraft.

Today's Markets

In Asia, Japan -1.3% to 19046. Hong Kong -0.5% to 21704. China -0.5% to 3456. India +0.9% to 25252.
In Europe, at midday, London -0.6%. Paris -0.2%. Frankfurt -0.3%.
Futures at 6:20, Dow +0.2%. S&P +0.3%. Nasdaq +0.3%. Crude -0.4% to $37.01. Gold -0.3% to $1073.50.
Ten-year Treasury Yield flat at 2.21%

Today's Economic Calendar

8:30 Initial Jobless Claims
8:30 Import/Export Prices
9:45 Bloomberg Consumer Comfort Index
10:00 Quarterly Services Report
10:30 EIA Natural Gas Inventory
1:00 PM Results of $16B, 30-Year Note Auction
2:00 PM Treasury Budget
4:30 PM Money Supply
4:30 PM Fed Balance Sheet