STOCKS RISE: Here's what you need to know

Stocks closed higher but little changed on Thursday. The S&P 500 closed just a hair below its all-time high of 2,190.15.

But Treasurys continued to sell-off, sending the yield on the benchmark 10-year note to a new 2016 high.

First, the scoreboard:

• Dow: 18,888.38, +20.24, (0.11%)
• S&P 500: 2,186.08, +9.14, (0.42%)
• Nasdaq: 5,329.00, +34.41, (0.65%)
• US 10-year yield: 2.283%, +0.060

1. The CEO of Valeant's secret pharmacy was arrested and charged with "engaging in a multimillion-dollar fraud and kickback scheme." Andy Davenport heads Philidor, the pharmacy whose discovery led to a crisis at Valeant. Valeant hadn't told investors about the pharmacy, which Valeant had an option to acquire and which accounted for at least 5% of the company's sales. Valeant quickly ended its relationship with Philidor after it became known.
2. Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen said she isn't leaving her job before her term is up in 2018. When asked in a Congressional testimony if there was any circumstance in which she could imagine not serving out her term, the Chair replied, "No I cannot." Some analysts had questioned whether Yellen would stay given Trump's criticism of her policies during his campaign.
3. Initial jobless claims unexpectedly dropped to their lowest level since 1973. Claims, which count people applying for unemployment insurance for the first time, fell to 235,000. The number has not been more than 300,000 for 89 straight weeks. This trend reflects a relatively low number of layoffs.
4. Groundbreaking on houses in the US increased more than expected in October and to a nine-year high. Housing starts rose by 25.5% at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.323 million, the biggest increase in nine years. Building-permit issuance rose 0.3% at a rate of 1.229 million.
5. Inflation rose slower than expected in October. The core consumer price index (CPI,) excluding the volatile food and energy categories, rose 0.1% from the month before, less than the 0.2% expected by economists. Gas accounted for half of the increase in non-core CPI. Compared to October 2015, core CPI rose 2.1% (2.2% projected.) Surprisingly, the index for medical care - which has been a substantial driver of inflation over the past year - was flat month-over-month.
6. Manufacturing activity in and near Philadelphia fell more than expected in November amid weak labor-market conditions. The Philly Fed's monthly index of current activity came in at 7.6, compared to the prior's month's reading of 9.7.
7. Wells Fargo has seen a dramatic decrease in the number of new accounts opened at the bank in the aftermath of its fake-accounts scandal. In a release Thursday, the bank announced that the number of new accounts opened in October fell by 27% from September and by 44% from October 2015.

Additionally:

YELLEN: An interest rate hike is coming 'relatively soon'

Here's how money managers at an $813 billion investment giant tweaked their strategy after Trump won

The Bank of Mexico says the US election has made the global economy 'more complex'

The market is ignoring a massive elephant in the room at Valeant

Walmart beats on earnings, thanks to the internet. Also, Best Buy knocked earnings out of the park

KRUGMAN: It's looking more and more like the election was swung by the FBI in virtual 'alliance with Putin'