Need to know…

• Third Quarter GDP Revised Up, Fed Reports Modest Growth. The U.S. economy expanded at 2.7% pace in the third quarter, mostly because of higher inventories and exports, the Commerce Department said this morning. The government originally put third-quarter gross domestic product at 2.0%. Meanwhile, the Federal Reserve's latest beige book shows nine of 12 Fed bank districts saw modest growth in October and early November. Growth was reported in the Cleveland, Richmond, Atlanta, Chicago, Kansas City, Dallas, and San Francisco districts, while the St. Louis and Minneapolis regions enjoyed a "somewhat stronger increase in activity." Continuing affects from Hurricane Sandy weakened growth in the New York, Philadelphia, and Boston districts, and uncertainty over the fiscal cliff hurt manufacturing and office leasing.

• Investors See Global Economy Strengthening. The world economy is at its strongest point in 18 months, according to Bloomberg's latest Global Poll of investors. Two-thirds of those surveyed said the global economy is stable or improving, the largest percentage since May 2011. Respondents said the United States is likely to avoid the Fiscal Cliff and China's future growth looks brighter. The United States topped the list of places where markets will offer the best opportunities, with China ranking second.

• New Home Sales Drop Marginally. Sales of new single-family homes fell slightly in October, according to the Commerce Department. Sales dropped 0.3% last month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 368,000, slightly lower than the 369,000 annual rate in September and 20.4% higher than the same month in 2011. While the modest decrease shows a continuing housing market recovery, new-home sales are still far lower than the 700,000 annual rate considered healthy by economists.

Worth the read…

• Spellings: Texas Higher Education Could Be Improved – Margaret Spellings, former Secretary of Education, president of the U.S. Forum for Policy Innovation
• Three immediate Small Business Implications If Congress Can Reach a Fiscal Cliff Deal – Washington Post
• Katrina Business Survivors Look Back, Offer Advice to Sandy Victims – Fox Business
• World Economy in Best Shape Since 2011 Investors – Bloomberg
• Big Firms Pay 50 Percent Higher Wages Than Small Businesses, Study Shows – Washington Post
• Small Biz Marketing in 2013 – Fox Business
• Dodd-Frank's Fate Unclear with Changes at Top of SEC – Forbes
• Unemployment Rates Fall in Most Large Cities – USA Today
• U.S. Pushes to Keep Entrepreneur Jobs in the Country – Businessweek
• Four Ways to Beat Small-Business Tax Audit – Fox Business
• The Problems With Software Patents – Forbes
• Construction Industry Faces Worker Shortage – USA Today